HINDHEAD author Kendra Smith’s latest novel was a near miracle in the making.

One life-changing adventure features in her book A Year of Second Chances, which was published on June 20, about finding friends in unexpected places, but the author overcame a life-changing injury to write it.

On February 3, 2018, Kendra was driving back home at about 4pm when she was involved in a head-on collision as she came up the A287 Hindhead Road just before the double mini-roundabouts.

She spent ten days in Royal Surrey County Hospital – to whom the book is dedicated – and her care involved re-inflating her lung, foot surgery to place metal plates and screws in, and then to remove them.

She was in the middle of writing her book when the collision happened. Unable to walk, she used her Zimmer frame to get her to her computer to finish her manuscript.

Kendra, also a mum of three, said: “I managed about two hours a day at times, and it did really give me a focus for my days.

“My ‘work day’ was distilled into two hours, but that was enough. On some days when I had overdone it, I would be in tears at night and my husband would look at me and frown: ‘You’ve done too much work on your book today, haven’t you?’.

“I’m keen to thank those who looked after me and let them know I did finish my book.

“I am so grateful to the retired paramedic who lived nearby, who came to help me on that day. He was literally at the scene first and got me out of the car. He lives right by that road.

“My middle son – aged 15 then – was also injured. He was in A&E till about 4am that day, but released that night, thankfully. ”

A dream came true when, after submitting to various publishers, she was offered a four-book deal with Aria Fiction/Head of Zeus.

Not only did Kendra stage a remarkably quick comeback to finish writing her novel, but she is also determined not to let her injuries stop her from resuming her former sporting activities.

A recreational runner beforehand, she is entering the Petersfield sprint-triathlon in September after being told last year that running may be tricky. She has achieved her ‘couch to 5k’ goal and is starting to cycle and swim.

*A Year of Second Chances is now available in paperback and on Kindle.