An author from Winscombe consulted real life air ambulance personnel as part of the research for her new novel.

Snowflakes Over Bay Tree Terrace, by Fay Keenan, will be released on Thursday (August 20) and is a romantic novel involving an air ambulance pilot and a teacher.

When teacher Florence Ashton receives a surprise inheritance, she decides to make the life-changing decision to up sticks to the charming town of Willowbury in Somerset. With a new house and a new job, she's too busy putting down roots to think about love.

Air ambulance pilot Sam Ellis is definitely not looking for romance either, especially not on his doorstep.

When Florence, his new neighbour, complains about his noisy housemate, he feels more cross than star-crossed.

But as the nights draw in and both find themselves thrown together in Willowbury's seasonal drama production, will they overcome their differences and allow a little bit of winter magic to fall along with the snow?

And what secrets will be revealed by the box of memories Florence finds in the attic at Bay Tree Terrace?

Fay told Cheddar Nub News: "The novel is the second in the Willowbury series, and the first book, which was released last November, A Place to Call Home, is also going into The Works from August, too, as a mass market paperback.

"I draw all of my inspiration from the wonderful county of Somerset, and readers will notice a lot of real life locations in my books, including a fictionalised version of Glastonbury as Willowbury itself.

"When writing Snowflakes Over Bay Tree Terrace, I was lucky enough to be able to spend time with personnel from the Great Western Air Ambulance and the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance organisations, who were both incredibly helpful when it came to giving the male protagonist, Sam, a context."

Fay is the author of the number one best-selling Little Somerby series of novels, and to date she has sold more than 50,000 copies of her novels.

She lives in Winscombe with her husband and two children, and when she's not writing, she's often to be seen on the end of large Weimaraner dog, being dragged across hill and dale in search of her next story idea.

She has led workshops for adults and students on the writing process in conjunction with the University of Bristol and has been a visiting speaker in secondary schools. She has also been a judge of creative writing competitions for local events and organisations.

Snowflakes Over Bay Tree Terrace will be published in paperback, ebook and audio on Thursday by Boldwood Books.