A writer from Mansfield Woodhouse is celebrating after having her debut novel published.

The local woman — who writes under the pen name K.L. Loveley — has been a nurse with the NHS for more than 40 years, the last 20 as a practice nurse in primary care.

She said she has been able to transfer her medical and social issues knowledge from the workplace into her writing.

Her debut novel, Alice, is a gritty, but realistic story of a woman who finds herself in desperate straits.

K.L. Loveley’s story tackles alcoholism head-on, and presents the reader with an empathetic account of a spiralling addiction and the resulting pattern of hopelessness that many fall into.

Alice addresses the seriousness of addiction and shows the reader the importance of love and support for an addict with astounding accuracy.

The author said: “I wrote Alice because I felt it reflected the struggles of many women who find themselves in circumstances that are beyond their control — women who in their 20s saw themselves with a long and happy future ahead of them.

“The reality for some women is that these aspirations and dreams are shattered when the family unit breaks up.

“These women have to follow a different path. I noticed the statistics that point to the changing drinking behaviours of females in the 30-plus age group and how this was becoming acceptable as the norm.

“I began to think how easy it would be to let your drinking habits spiral out of control.”

The author is holding a book launch celebration event on Saturday, 25th February, from 2pm-4pm, at The Faff Room, Burnaby House, Church Street, Mansfield Woodhouse, Notts NG19 8AH.

She will be signing copies of her book, Alice, which will be available to purchase at the event.

Copies of Alice, which was published by Austin Mcauley, are also available from Amazon and all leading book stores in hardback, paperback and as an E book.

For further details about the book and the author go to www.klloveley.com