A former East London Advertiser journalist has launched her debut novel.

Chloë Mayer, 38, was news editor on the paper in 2013 before becoming a freelance journalist.

The Boy Made of Snow came out in paperback earlier this month, and will be released in the US in November.

The book is set in an English village in 1944, and follows a mother and son who befriend a prisoner of war. Chloë worked on the novel while writing for The Advertiser.

She said: “I absolutely loved working for The Advertiser, but I was writing my novel simultaneously and eventually decided to leave to devote more time to it.

“I didn’t ever quite believe it would really be published though, so this past year has been a dream come true.

“I’ll never forget the first time I saw my books displayed on a table in Waterstones.”

The Boy Made of Snow is available at bookshops and online. To find out more, visit chloemayerauthor.com.