The Mid-life Trials of Annabeth Hope
By Alice May

Written by Louise Cannon

Today, as part of the Rachel Random Resources Blog Tour, I am pleased to welcome Alice May to answer some questions about The Trials of Annabeth Hope. Firstly, let’s find out what the book is about and briefly, what I thought of it. In the interview, we covered many interesting topics about writing, her daughter, other professions she’s worked in, cancel culture, ending in something positive and hopeful.

Two very different worlds are about to collide.

Feisty country girl Annabeth Hope has sworn off men since her ex abandoned her. Juggling three resentful step-teens, a hyperactive toddler, a smallholding, and a herd of rescued llamas, she has her hands full.

With the roof about to collapse on her crumbling New Forest home, she is desperate to find a way to hold her patchwork family together. The last thing she needs is an attractive distraction moving in next door.

Burnt-out inner-city doctor Rick Mahon has left London and his medical career behind in a moment of professional crisis. A malpractice lawsuit is on the horizon, and the cancel culture mob are snapping at his heels. His plan to stay under the radar is thrown off course when he meets his new neighbour and sparks start to fly.

Annabeth and Rick couldn’t be more different, but maybe they hold the key to each other’s happiness…

“What more could we want from life? Family, friends, llamas, and hope…

I read The Trials of Annabeth Hope and recommend it. It’s an engrossing read of trouble and strife, swearing off men after one abandoned her, trying to keep a family together, with troubling teens and a hyperactive toddler as well as quite literally trying to keep a roof over everyone’s head, even a leaky one.
There’s a nice distraction in the form of burn out doctor Rick Mahon, who moves next door, even if he is trying to have a quieter life as professional disaster looms.
The book has many thought-provoking points, but is also a good escape.

Without further ado, let’s move onto the questions and answers.

1. What or who inspired you to write a novel?

My daughter has been the biggest inspiration to start writing. I always wanted to, even as a child, but I didn’t know where to start and I didn’t think that I would be good enough. In contrast, my daughter wanted to write and just jolly well got on with it. She writes as Hannah Kingsley, and Soul Hate, the first book in her new fantasy/romantasy trilogy is coming out next year. Her determination to succeed made me realise that if I didn’t start writing, then there was no chance of my stories ever making it into print. She has encouraged me every-step of the way and I can’t thank her enough. It means so much tome to hold a copy of The Mid-life Trials of Annabeth Hope in my hands and know that I did it. I write a book.  🙂

2. You’ve had many professions, A former GP surgery manager, school librarian and art teacher, has any of this helped you in your writing career and if so, in what way(s)?

They have all helped in my writing career in different ways. My years as a GP surgery manager played a huge part in the inspiration for Rick’s storyline in The Mid-life Trials of Annabeth Hope(see next question for more on that)and informed the chapters set beyond the waiting room of his GP surgery.
My experience as a school librarian was extremely educational in terms of understanding the different genres of books out there and different readers reactions to them. I also learned a lot about how the book world works in terms of the sourcing of books for libraries. Things like: who choses them and what libraries are looking for in terms of supplying the needs of their clients?
It was also lovely to work surrounded by books and a delight to share stories with pupils of all ages, the teaching staff and the wider school community.
My work as an art teacher in combination with my NHS  experience has been instrumental in developing the creativity for wellbeing and general self-care aspects of the overall theme of the book.

3. You have a trigger warning about an NHS worker’s mental health, has any of this come from experience of working in a GP surgery?

Yes. Unfortunately, during my twenty years of working in the NHS I was very aware of a huge increase in the levels of burnout in many health professionals. While The Mid-life Trials of Annabeth Hope isn’t based on any one true story, it is an amalgamation of the many different pressures that modern life puts on our medics and support staff.

4. You set your book in the New Forest, where you live. Are any of the places recognisable in your book or have you gone down the line of using artistic licence and either way, what influenced your decision?

I have used artistic license. Descriptions of the wider area of the forest, and some specific locations are real and recognisable. However, the village of Ambleford, where much of the action takes place, is a fiction of my imagination, as are the characters. I don’t want my friends and neighbours thinking I have written about them, because that wouldn’t be fair and could get awkward. Having said that, Ambleford is an amalgamation of two gorgeous villages near my home. Ihave taken the parade of shops from one and set it next to the village green of the other. In my mind, it is the perfect village. After all, if you’re going to make something up, then you might as well do it properly.

5. You talk about the cancel culture snapping at the heels’ of your main character. What are your views of cancel culture?

I find the whole cancel culture ‘thing’ incredibly scary. The threat that this phenomenon poses to freedom of speech is huge. The fact that people can be found virtually ‘guilty’ of something without ever having any point of redress, or without the grace of being innocent until proven guilty through the proper presentation of evidence, is deeply alarming . Social media enhances these issues, allowing people to ‘pile on’ anonymously from behind their keyboards when they haven’t really researched what it is they are getting involved in. I’d like to say that I have an answer to it, but I don’t.

6. You have strife and hope as you weave readers through the mid-life stage of adulthood. How did you arrive at creating some positivity and how much do you feel reading books that address it are important for people approaching or living through this part of life?

I believe that there is incredible power in stories. As human beings we connect with each other through our experiences. Reading about others in our situation and how they deal with things can be a huge comfort, especially during difficult times. So, while I was at pains to be realistic in the difficulties that my two main characters Annabeth and Rick are facing(and I have really ramped some of those issues up to add to the drama, because I’m a writer and that’s my job),I also wanted there to be a light at the end of the tunnel. I genuinely believe that, in most cases, even though something bad might be happening, it is rare that things are all bad. Usually, there will be something good happening too, but you might need to search to find it.

7. What’s next for you on the horizon?

Next on the horizon is more writing. I am already knee-deep in the next book set in Ambleford as part of The Forest Families Series, which is fun. It’s a completely standalone story that allows me to connect back in with some of my favourite supporting characters from The Mid-life Trials of Annabeth Hope, like Barbara Trenchard. I have also written the first in a World War Two series. This is set in the New Forest too and explores some of the exciting, true stories of bravery from people in my local area. Now I have started writing, I don’t think I am going to be able to stop. 🙂