Accident

by Joanne Simon Tailele

Revised edition

Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

I was born a midwest girl in Youngstown Ohio and wrote my first short story at the age of ten in blue colored pencil. It was a mystery called "The Mystery of the Missing Marble." For most of my life, my writing was private, for my own enjoyment and therapy. In 2010, I discovered NANOWRIMO and I challenged myself to write a 50K novel in 30 days. I finished it, but it was awful. After joining an online writer's group through Writer's Village University, I picked away at my story for a full year with the help of the other girls in my group from all over the globe. It took me another year of edits and rewrites when I joined a local writer's group before I felt it was ready for the public eye. ACCIDENT is my first novel and is the reincarnated version of the original Accident through NANOWRIMO. It is now available as both a print copy or ebook through Amazon.

My second publication, a novella, Town Without Mercy is a mother's struggle to find out why her daughter opened fire on a crowd of people during a 4th of July celebration. Written through the eyes of the parent, it is all of our worst nightmares. Was it nature or nurture that turned her daughter into a killer?

To coin a phrase from Jodi Picoult, my writing idol, my stories are "moral fiction, not because I plan to change anyone's mind on a subject but because I hope to cause you to think about modern day issues that most people would prefer to shove under the rug."

I currently reside on Marco Island on the SW Gulf coast of Florida with my husband. Proudly the parents of 8 his and hers kids and 9 grandkids, we spend out time boating and enjoying the white sandy beach of Marco when I am not writing or selling real estate.

Reviews

[Wall-to-wall books - wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may have to go down as one of the saddest books I have ever read. At one point I put the book down, put my face in my hands and just sobbed, my body shaking! Seriously, what book does this to you? I thought "How am I ever going to be able to finish this book?" But eventually I did pick it back up again (taking turns reading a Princess book helped I think). And it was so worth it, this is an amazing story!

So many books having you feeling for the victims - and this book does that too, but it also has you feeling for the one at fault. What would it be like to be the one who caused that terrible fatal accident that destroyed your family's lives and the lives of others? This book, for me, almost read like a memoir. It truly felt like the author knew what she was writing about.

I loved the way this story took turns between the mother's stay in prison and the daughters recovery and rehabilitation. It was nice to see the two different sides to the story.
There was very good character development. Like - wow! I think if I didn't feel so close to the characters I wouldn't have cried so much. I definitely felt like I was on an emotional roller-coaster. And I really felt for both mother and daughter.

The prison parts were good, not as strong or graphic as "Orange is the New Black", but still very good and sometimes very heartwarming (again a few tears there!).

I LOVED the ending and thought it was very well thought out and spaced just right, it didn't feel rushed. Without giving it away - there is a scandal (what book wouldn't be complete without one?) and sweet revenge!

I do have to warn you - this is a VERY emotional story. I happen to love those kinds of books, but I know some people don't. This is definitely a story that will stay with me for a long time. I want my daughter to read it, and she said "Oh mom, I don't know if I can!" It is very sad but worth it - especially for the mother/daughter relationship alone.

[Holly Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Joanne Tailele style of writing in this book. I felt she covered several aspects. The characters were well described and we get an indepth look into their lives up close and personal. For me this makes or breaks a book.
I want to know about characters, I want to be able to visualize them in my head. This book does that without a problem.
The intro into this book was amazingly written out.

The entire story with it's twist and turns links together smoothly to achieve a great storyline. While the characters in the book struggle with prison and addiction you felt like you were right there along them for this crazy emotional ride.

This book was written from double POV. From the mothers side and the daughters. This book was a good easy read.

[James Masciarelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great storytelling in this debut novel. I look forward to reading more books from this author. Accident will pull your heartstrings. It is categorized as women's fiction but a great story for men and millenials too. From the inciting incident of a terrible auto accident that devastated a family with a young mother driving under the influence to understanding the events that destroyed her self respect. The female protagonist makes a way and finds a way to forgive and redeem herself as she finds criminal justice and faces the true antagonist of the story.