A bestselling author releasing her latest book has her Okanagan family cheering her on.

Shelley Wood, part of the Okanagan Spirits family, is launching her new book called The Leap Year Gene at the local distilleries.

Tracing the life of a baby born during the First World War who inexplicably ages just one year for every four, Harper Collins calls it "part medical mystery, part love story.

"The Leap Year Gene is an unforgettable tour de force that traces the past century's burgeoning understanding of genetics, eugenics and what constitutes 鈥榥ormal鈥� while exploring the tensions, losses, love and sense of duty that can bind families together or split them apart.鈥�

琉璃神社-based Wood is launching at both Okanagan Spirits locations: 琉璃神社 Aug. 6 and Vernon Aug. 7. Both events start at 7 p.m. and will include a short reading, book-signing, and a chance to sip a craft cocktail and buy signed copies of the novel from local booksellers, Mosaic Books, in 琉璃神社, and Expressions of Time, in Vernon.

The Quintland Sisters, Wood鈥檚 first novel, covering the early lives of the Dionne Quintuplets, debuted as a #1 bestseller in both the Globe & Mail and Toronto Star newspapers, rounding out the year as the #7 bestselling book in Canada for 2019.

Multi-award-winning novelist, Lawrence Hill, author of the Book of Negroes and The Illegal, described Wood鈥檚 novel as 鈥渁n astonishingly beautiful, wonderfully unique, completely seductive novel about a woman who ages one year for every four. It is also a sweeping and memorable portrait of the 20th century: eugenics, genetics, World Wars, feminism, politics, world travel, and much more. Most of all, it is a novel about love and devotion 鈥� among families, friends, and lovers 鈥� against the backdrop of a persistent violence against people who are judged to be born different.鈥�