As with many people who suddenly found themselves with plenty of time on their hands over the past few months, Andrea Warrilow used hers to write her first novel.

Andrea released ’Cleaning the Slate’ earlier this month after a whirlwind few months where she wrote and published the book.

Having long held the desire to write creatively, but never quite having the time or the confidence to take the plunge into becoming an author, Andrea said that she decided to write a book when she found herself stuck at home during the lockdown.

Once she began to write, she said the words started to flow and, before she knew it, her first book was written and finished.

’It’s been in my head for a while, but it all just sort of came out when I started writing,’ said Andrea.

’It was fun to write and people who have already read it, including friends and family, have been very nice with their comments. Most people have found it readable.’

She said that the plot revolves around grief and moving on from suddenly losing a loved one.

’It is really about human emotion and healing, finding new partners and moving on,’ she said.

’I suppose I might have been inspired by the rather gloomy times we’ve just been living in, where death has been almost hanging round.

’It starts off with the main character finding out her husband had just died, and maybe that’s where the idea for that as a starting point came from, but I don’t really know.

’I suppose I am an emotional person myself and, although I haven’t had to experience grief in the way my character does in the book, I have experienced loss in other ways, like many other people have.

’But nothing particularly inspired me to write this particular story.

’When I sat down to write this, I didn’t really know what I was going to write about. I’ve never written before and this feels like an outlet of creativity that I needed.

’It was definitely a cathartic experience.’

One aspect of the story that Andrea did take inspiration from was to base parts of her story in a livery yard.

Andrea herself is a self-described ’horsey’ person who owns two horses.

She decided that she would include horses somewhere in the story.

’The horses come into it after my main character, Kerry, takes a job in a livery yard,’ she said.

’But it’s more about how she starts her life again and interacting and caring with animals helps her along that path to getting her life back.’

’Cleaning the Slate’ is available from Amazon as a paperback or e-book.

More information is also available from her ’Warrilow Writes’ Facebook page.

by Mike Wade

Twitter:@iomnewspapers