Lady Astor of Hever has used her personal experiences of living with a parent with Parkinson’s to form the backdrop to her first book. Nick Lillitos reports.

Lady Elizabeth Astor of Hever had the idea for her first novel while sitting on a beach 11,000 miles from home.

Now those initial thoughts have been turned into a 348-page on-line ebook that’s also available in paperback.

Since You Went Away is a poignant story of family relationships – what makes people the way they are, the tensions they create and the actions ensuing.

The central characters are Maisie and her estranged sister Ruth, who left her husband and two children for her Argentinian lover 10 years ago and has not been in touch since. The sisters strike up a correspondence after Maisie informs impulsive Ruth their mother Margaret has died following a deteriorating illness.

Lady Astor, who lives in Westerham, was able to draw on that illness from first hand experience. She said: “My mother Bronda was diagnosed with Parkinson’s two years before her death in her late 70s.

“A lot of what she experienced is in my story. There are moments of black comedy in it. I’m giving 10p per book to Parkinsons’ UK, a wonderful charity. The story line about a dysfunctional family came to me while I was relaxing on a beach in Australia. Those early thoughts were the seeds of my novel.”

It took her just over a year to finish, writing it “in blocks of time” that fitted in with her family commitments.

“I don’t have a best time to sit down and write’” said Lady Astor, 62, the younger daughter of the late Viscount Mackintosh of Halifax of Quality Street sweets fame.

“But when I do, I like to sit in silence, uninterrupted. The characters really take over you. Sometimes I’d wake up in the middle of the night and write notes.”

Lady Astor did not seek the opinions of others – apart from her agent Diane Banks – as the book was taking shape.

“Diane was very supportive and constructive with her input. I saw no point in constantly asking other people what they thought, they’d only be polite and say it’s good.”

She did not even ask the opinion of her husband Lord Astor, who is a defence minister in the House of Lords.

“He’s not really a novel reader, more into newspapers and magazines. But he did proof-read all the pages for me – he’s got an eagle eye for spelling.”

Since You Went Away by Liz Astor is published online by Argo Navis Author Services, priced £4.99 – ISBN 10: 1909 407 011; also: ISBN 13: 978-1909 407 015. The paperback version costs £7.99.