When I was growing up I always wanted to be a presenter on Play School. True story. I used to make my siblings act out stories with me and all our stuffed toys, while my parents taped us on the old Sony camcorder. Then I’d watch them over and over, thinking of ways I could improve my ‘performance’. From there my dream moved onto acting, before my dad in no uncertain terms told me that I’d starve if I chose that as a profession because I would never make any money. Not sure if he was being practical or doubting my talent…. Anyway, one person who did follow her dream of becoming an actor is author and mum-of-two Anna Downes. I tore through her debut novel The Safe Place last weekend, and it’s been a while since I read a book that I just couldn’t put down. So I asked if she would share more about her story with us, how she quit her dream job to write, and how it ultimately ended up saving her life.