I am delighted to be joining the blog tour for Accidental Damage by Alice May. I have a guest post to share with you in a moment about Alice’s road to publication, but first of all, here is what the book’s about.
The Official Book Blurb
If you think the normal school run on a Monday is entertaining you should try doing it from a tent in your back garden surrounded by the jumbled up contents of your entire home. It is vastly more diverting.
Our heroine has survived the sudden collapse of her home – or has she?
Certain events two and a half years ago led her to deliberately destroy an important piece of herself, hiding away all remaining evidence that it ever existed. What happens when she decides to go looking for it?
Does she really deserve to be whole again?
Inspired by a true story, this is an account of one woman’s secret guilt and her journey in search of forgiveness!
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The Road To Publication
Although I have always wanted to write a book, it was one of those dreams that I had thought would never come true. I have written many things over the years but usually life has always leapt in the way of any literary progress and eventually all those projects ground to a halt.
Not this time though!
In fact, while I had no intention of writing a book last year, this story had other ideas. It was as if the narrative took over completely one day and I simply had to give in and write it down.
‘Accidental Damage – Tales from the house that sat down’ is a story that needed to be told.
It is the tale of a family who are suddenly made homeless when their house falls down out of the blue one day. The family (Mum, Dad and four children) are forced to move into a tent in the garden and work out how to rebuild their home. It is an account of endurance and triumph over adversity. Packed with humorous anecdotes of what family life is really like if you live in your garden, it is a story of love and loyalty and shows the true meaning of family values.
The plotline lurked in the back of my mind for weeks before I started writing. It nagged at me on the school run, in the supermarket, even at work when I was supposed to be concentrating in really important meetings. All that time scenarios for my book were playing on a loop in my head. Eventually I gave in and started to write, mainly to get the constant distraction to go away.
Three weeks later I had the first draft but wasn’t really sure what to do with it. I showed it to a friend, H. T. King, who is an author and has published the Victoria Institute Series (‘Undercover Thief’ and ‘Thief Underground’). She told me that I should really consider publishing my book so I set in motion the whole editing, re-editing and editing again process before showing it to some beta readers for their opinions. There were some very constructive comments given which enabled me to improve the structure of the book as it moves between the present and past time periods. So there was another rewrite, a further edit and more beta readers approached. This time the response was overwhelmingly positive so I decided to move towards publishing. I had already chosen the self-publishing route as I just wanted to get the book out there and this option would mean I retained full artistic control.
Once that decision was made I needed a cover for my book. Accidental Damage is inspired by a true story. The main character is an artist. Having been an exhibiting artist for over a decade before I started writing I was fortunate enough to be able to use one of the key pieces of art from the story in my cover design, which has made publishing my first novel even more special. The painting is fundamental to a significant turning point in the story when the main character reaches an important decision and this is reflected in the picture she produces.
The publication of ‘Accidental Damage’ has been a fantastic journey. I have learned so very much about myself and also the publishing world. If I could do it all again I would probably join more writing forums on Facebook earlier and get to know reviewers and bloggers sooner, because I have found everyone to be so supportive. The writing world is a fantastic thing to be a part of. I have enjoyed every minute of it.
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If all of that has piqued your interest in the book, it is available to purchase from Amazon. For your chance to win one of two ebook copies of Accidental Damage you can enter the Rafflecopter competition here.
About the Author
At forty-five-years old, I am a multi-tasking mother with four not-so-small children and I am fortunate enough to be married to (probably) the most patient man on the planet. We live in, what used to be, a ramshackle old cottage in the country.
My conservatory is always festooned with wet washing and my kitchen full of cake.
Following several years exhibiting as a mixed media artist, I decided that 2016 was the year I would start writing. Inspired by true-life events and fuelled by some really frantic painting sessions ‘Accidental Damage’ wouldn’t leave me alone until it was written. I really hope you enjoy it.
You can follow Alice May on Twitter at @AliceMay_Author
Thanks Alice for sharing your thoughts with us, and thanks to Emma Mitchell at EDM Editorial & Publicity Services for inviting me to take part in the tour.
Why not check out one of the other brilliant blogs taking part in the tour:
Jen Med's Book Reviews 
I love the idea behind the book, this has made me very curious!
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