Author's 30-year journey to debut novel

It took 30 years for Angela Tomaski to finally see a debut novel on the bookshelves.

With most of her adult life spent attempting to fulfil a dream of becoming a published author, The Infamous Gilberts has been shortlisted for the prestigious Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize.

The 49 year-old Oxford-born author has told the BBC about her life, the challenges she faced and the Gothic mansion which inspired her plot.

"Writing has given me a great deal even without being published," she said.

Tomaski, who now lives near Dorchester, Dorset, recalled how she had torn up her first novel, which she wrote in her late teens.

"Many things have been recycled and I think the earliest one that survives I wrote when I was about 24, because I'm quite fond of it."

She said she faced "many, many rejections" when she used to print out 30 pages of various efforts at novels to send to agents.

"A lot of the agents that I sent them to are retired or dead - it's been such a long time and it's funny to think back on that, really."

In 2021 she wrote The Infamous Gilberts "very quickly, after having had this idea in my head for about 20 years".

The plot follows "five damaged, troubled siblings" growing up in a crumbling Gothic mansion and their struggles with childhood issues.

It was inspired by a tour Tomaski had of a Victorian country house - Tyntesfield, outside Bristol - in 2002.

The upper rooms revealed the story of a "deathbed scene" and she remembered how she felt the "fading smell of coal tar soap and some objects around the room".

"I wanted to look at the effects of that lack of a father figure, the lack of guidance, love, protection, support," she said, adding that Tyntesfield was "a way of elevating this story".

"Everybody really should have a Gothic mansion as a frame."

The Infamous Gilberts was published earlier this year - dedicated to her "beautiful" late cat Kittgenstein.

Among the reviews, writer Barbara Trapido called it "the most rewarding and beautiful novel I've read in ages", while Kirkus Reviews said: "If Shirley Jackson moved The Addams Family to the English countryside, something like this dark, tongue-in-cheek epic might result".

Tomaski said becoming a published author was "still sinking in".

Along the way, she has had many jobs, some of which she said she "never would have chosen", such as working in a care home.

"You had to lead singing sessions and things like that, which was so far outside my comfort zone," she recalled.

"I really struggled with it at the time, but looking back on it now, I think it's one of the best things I've ever done."

Tomaski shared that the most difficult thing about being a budding writer for so long was friends and family "questioning how I was spending my spare time".

"And if they don't see that there's any sort of practical payoff, that's quite difficult for other people.

"There was so much value in the writing process, in how I was able to process and deal with life.

"Writing has given me a great deal even without being published."

Tomaski said her family was "very, very pleased" and she felt "very grateful" for the reviews she has received since the book hit the shelves.

The winner of the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize is due to be announced on 16 July.