Bath volunteer’s book on life with OCD published
Added: (Thu Dec 07 2023)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
A mental health charity volunteer from Bath is taking the trials and tribulations of Obsessional Compulsive Disorder to a wider audience with the publication of her thought-provoking debut novel.
Kate Draper was recognised by Royalty as a WVS Platinum Champion for her 25-years of work with Triumph Over Phobia.
And she has now put all of her experience, as well as philosophical reading, into a stunning study of life with obsessions and unwanted urges.
While it has taken a few decades, Kate believes she was always destined to write a novel.
She explained: “From an early age I would write stories for my dolls creating a parallel world for myself as I was the only child until I was nearly seven years old.
“Nearly 60 years on, I am still a person who fabricates and exaggerates the real world constantly adding a dose of humour as a means of managing all that life chooses to hurl at us.
“Chance, a Fine Thing was essentially borne on the back of me wanting to share the subject of Obsessional Compulsive Disorder.
“I wanted the reader to observe the disorder through the eyes of the sufferer rather than to take up the calmer role of being the onlooker.”
Although Chance, a Fine Thing is fictional, Kate does weave parts of her own personal story into the complex, yet compelling, narrative.
Following the antagonist from Israel, where they are surrounded by political unrest, to England, the novel maintains a sense of mystery and uncertainty.
While the pace is mostly slow and unravelling, Chance, a Fine Thing draws readers in before unleashing explosive twists and turns.
The revealing study of OCD is a book that will provide an authoritative insight into living with the condition.
Kate, whose favourite authors include Charles Dickens, Sebastian Faulks and David Baddiel, reveals that it was horror writer Steven King who provided the push to start writing again.
She said: “I wrote Chance, a Fine Thing 20 years ago after moving to the West Country, using the window of time each day between doing the housework and charging off to pick the children up from school.
“I was persuaded after reading Steven King’s book On Writing.
“I put my pen on the page, quite literally, and let the pen write, as King’s book had encouraged me to do, and my book is the result of that exercise.”
For more details, visit Amazon and search for Kate Draper, where the paperback and Kindle formats of Chance, a Fine Thing are both available.
Notes to the editor
PublishNation was formed in London in 2011 to provide high quality services to writers at affordable prices.
Since its launch, the company has assisted in the publication of around 2,000 books in a variety of genres for clients throughout the world.
For more details on PublishNation, visit their website at www.publishnation.co.uk