Originally it was called Stage Fright but has been renamed to Second Chances.
The idea of the story came when I was watching my sister-in-law perform in a PTA school production of the Wizard of Oz. She had never acted before so to watch her was a bit of a revelation - I've never had the guts to go on stage myself, and was very proud of her.
It made me think about what would happen if someone had acted professionally before but had to put that career on hold. What would happen if all of a sudden she was back in the limelight again - albeit on a small scale.
And so the idea was born. It's taken quite a few re-writes to get the story to a stage where is it publishable but it was worth the effort.
I usually hate reading my stories once they are published, I'm hyper-critical about what I could have done better but I actually enjoyed reading this one. Perhaps its because it has always been one of my favourites.
So, this is story number 5 that I've had published but the thrill of seeing my writing in print isn't wearing off yet.
To celebrate I sent another story to the People's Friend this week, I have a couple out with Woman's Weekly and a few more with Take A Break.
The aim: keep on sending stuff out so I've got more chance of seeing my writing in print again.
By the way - my sister in law does not look anything like the picture above!
