New Release Feature Author: Jo Dixon, with Mary-Lou Stephens

Welcome to this new release feature author episode which also has a good dose of the heart of writing. Guest host Mary-Lou Stephens, chats to debut thriller author Jo Dixon about her new release The House of Now and Then. Over ten years ago, Jo moved from suburban Brisbane to rural Tasmania. Since then, she's been wrangling an ever-growing collection of animals, bringing up two sons, and attempting to transform blackberry-infested paddocks into beautiful gardens. Now, she also writes full-time, creating twisty, suspenseful stories that feature flawed characters who've made mistakes, but who turn out to be stronger than they think. Jo has been a dental assistant, an event co-ordinator, a travel agent, and has run an online shop-never really believing her passion for writing could lead to anything. In 2015, while living in Bangkok with her husband and kids, she completed an MA in writing-realising along the way that she had to stop procrastinating and just write (and finish) at least one book. So with the mantra 'if not now, when?' stuck to her computer, she did. The House of Now and Then is her debut novel. She is now working on her second book. Jo writes stories full of imperfect characters dealing with unsettling situations, and making fatal mistakes. There is intrigue and mystery, the moodiness and underlying threat of the wild environment, and provocative twists and turns. Mary-Lou Stephens was is a born and bred Tasmanian. Previously an actor, singer and radio host, she received great reviews for her memoir Sex, Drugs and Meditation (Pan Macmillan, 2013), the true story of how meditation changed her life, saved her job and helped her find a husband. Her debut novel, The Last of the Apple Blossom, was published by HarperCollins (Harlequin HQ) in 2021. Her next novel will be released in February 2024. Mary-Lou has worked and played all over Australia and now she’s slow travelling around the world with her husband and a sense of adventure. Grab a cuppa and join Mary-Lou and Jo on the Writes4Women Convo Couch SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast   W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon   Jo Dixon Website: click  here Instagram: click here Buy The House of Now and Then here   Mary Lou Stephens Website: click here Instagram: click here Facebook: click here Twitter:  click here   Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here  Instagram: click here   This episode produced by  Pamela Cook for Writes4Women.  Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=trueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit writes4women.substack.com/subscribe