WRITING HER OWN STORY

Jo Wood tells us how life after divorce gave her confidence, independence and the inspiration to pen her first novel

- LAURA BENJAMIN

Driving up to Jo Wood's off-grid farmhouse means leaving behind the hustle and bustle for a quiet and peaceful idyll.

HELLO! is greeted by the calming sounds of sheep bleating and birds singing as we arrive for our exclusive photoshoot and interview with the entrepreneur and author.

Get closer to the honey-coloured grade II-listed main house, though, and another sound cuts through the atmosphere: the trademark laughter of a woman who's living her best life.

With her blonde hair gleaming in the sunshine, and wearing a series of vintage gowns that perfectly illustrate her fashion and rock'n'roll background, Jo is celebrating her latest achievement: that of published fiction author.

Although she has written a memoir and compiled a picture book covering her life with former husband Ronnie Wood’s band the Rolling Stones, The Resurrection of Flo marks her first foray into fiction. And she couldn't be prouder.

“It’s such a big achievement for me to be an author, because I used to do so badly at school,” she tells us. “My father used to say to me: ‘Josephine, you are going to end up in Woolworths.’ I thought: ‘No I am not!’

“He would be so shocked if he knew his daughter was an author. I am very proud of myself. I never thought I could do it.”

And that sentiment sums up Jo’s attitude to life. “I love it here,” she says as we chat to her in the effortlessly stylish, yet warm and welcoming, living room of the main house as her daughter Leah is helping to make lunch in the kitchen.

“I am so happy here. I’m always busy. I’m in and out of London, I've got my daughter down the road and I've got friends all around.”