February 2026 is not only the book birthday for my funny winter sports memoir Pups on Piste – A Ski Season in Italy, it is WINTER OLYMPIC MONTH in Cortina, Italy (one of the locations featured in my book!)
As an unofficial warm up act for the Winter Olympics, the Pups on Piste ebook is reduced to 99p/99c FOR A LIMITED TIME – a ski trip to Italy for less than the price of a coffee!
Pups on Piste is:
- ❄️ A winter sports story for people who aren’t Olympians
- 🇮🇹 A love letter to Italy (and the Dolomites)
- 🐕 A dog book as well as a ski book
- 😂 A survival guide for adults who learned to ski badly – and late
Find out how I went from crying on the nursery slopes to fully fledged off piste powder hound. In the Dolomites, come with me down the James Bond Run with its frozen waterfalls, discover The Hidden Valley near Cortina – and ride the world’s only horse-drawn ski lift!
You will also learn about the revenge of the snow chains, how to deal with a Viking invasion, and remove snow balls from the belly of a dog.
In her five star review, Louise Capper of the Waggy Tales Book and Dog Blog said;
“Pups on Piste is a humorous and incredibly informative factual account of the family’s exploits in a small Italian resort, well known for its off-piste skiing…
…The descriptions of Monte Rosa are outstanding, making the book a must-have Italian travel companion or a winter sports destination to add to the bucket list.”
If you would like and share this, we will love you forever!
Blurb:
Are you ready for an exhilarating adventure through the Italian Alps with four furry companions by your side?
Pups on Piste is a funny, heartwarming true story about persistence, survival – and following your dreams.
Jackie and Mark share a passion for planks. When they married, just 37 weeks after they first met, they had ambitious plans: to spend a full ski season in the Italian Alps. This memoir follows their first three months in Monte Rosa, a little-known resort tucked beneath the second-highest peak in Western Europe – which also happens to be one of the world’s finest off-piste freeride destinations.
They arrive with four Cavapoos* – Kai, Rosie, Ruby and Lani – and a healthy dose of optimism.
What follows is glorious chaos. They get lost, stranded and conduct experiments on the edge of control. Then, they take a back-country ski course where the instructor’s advice is simple: “Don’t miss the turn or you’ll go over a cliff.”
Threaded through the narrative is the author’s own skiing journey – from tearful struggles on the nursery slopes to fully-fledged off-piste powder hound – proving that you don’t have to be a natural sportswoman to embrace adventure.
Warm, witty, and sharply observed, Pups on Piste is a love letter to Italy in winter, a celebration of persistence over perfection, and a reminder that the best adventures are rarely tidy.
Whether you’re a seasoned skier, a devoted dog lover, or a dedicated armchair adventurer keen to enjoy the action from the comfort of your own sofa, this memoir is a fun, invigorating ride through Alpine highs, powdery lows, and everything in between.
*Cavalier/Poodle cross
Five Star Reader Reviews for Pups on Piste
- A Really Fun and Interesting Book…the author gives useful skiing tips. I would definitely recommend this book!
- The descriptions of Monte Rosa are outstanding, making the book a must-have Italian travel companion or a winter sports destination to add to the bucket list.
- A thoroughly good read by a very eloquent writer.
- Excellent reference book! Jackie’s story telling and informative approach has not only relieved me of some of my anxieties (about a planned trip) but really inspired me!
Follow my Facebook Author Page for daily updates, funnies, and ski tips for mere mortals!
My book It Never Rains but it Paws: A Road Trip Through Politics and a Pandemic is also set in Italy’s Monte Rosa – where we were locked down for eight months during the Coronavirus pandemic and were unexpectedly treated to an Alpine spring!
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To find out more about Monte Rosa, a little known ski paradise in the Italian Alps check out:
Gressoney, Monte Rosa – Hidden Gem & Off Piste Ski Paradise!
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Keep readingYou can find all my skiing blogs here, including A Life Without Ligaments – And How to Avoid It!, How to Improve Your Skiing IMMEASURABLY! and Winterised World Wide Walkies – 10 Tips to Keep Chilly Canines Cosy!
World Wide Walkies 
Good luck with the promo. I guess you’ll need to add another chapter about your “birthday bash” last year…
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Ha ha! I’m glad the ‘anniversary’ of that has passed. I’m just about ready to laugh about it, but the insurance issues are still ongoing, can you beleive?! It’s with the Ombudsman, who is looking at it again after we blew their previous findings out of the water with the facts we’d already provided. I don’t have much confidence in the system 🙂
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😦
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It’s not a problem. I just want them to do the right thing and admit fault if only to prevent anyone being put through such a trauma. If we get any money out of it, I will donate it to a friend who needs private treatment for an illness that is not covered on the NHS.
I just can’t stand unfairness!
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