Samantha Giles says getting a book deal was "one of the hardest things" she’s done.
The former ‘Emmerdale’ star – whose debut novel ‘Rosemary and the Witches of Pendle Hill’ was released earlier this month – admitted landing an agent for her book was a tough task, but getting published has been a dream come true.
Speaking to her former co-star Natalie Anderson on The Capsule’s ‘In Conversation’ podcast, she said: "It is, because I didn’t know if it would ever get published to be honest.
"When I’d written it first, I sent it round to agents and getting a literary agent, oh my God! It’s one of the hardest things – getting an acting agent is pretty hard!"
The former soap actress – who played Bernice Blackstock on the ITV show on and off from 1998 to 2019 – also opened up on the decision to take on a literary career.
She added: "I like taking risks sometimes. I think, ‘Come on, life’s short, let’s do something dangerous. Let’s take a risk’.
"Why not? What’s the worst that could happen? Oh, I won’t get any work? OK, well I’ll just have to find something else."
Meanwhile, the 49-year-old actress has already started work on a follow-up to her debut novel as acting roles have dried up due to the coronavirus pandemic.
She said: "I started writing it in the autumn of 2017, and it took me about nine months. I was writing it while I was doing ‘Emmerdale’.
"I felt it was the right time to leave ‘Emmerdale’. I still want to act, but unfortunately there’s not a lot of work right now acting-wise.
"So I’m really, really lucky that this is finally being published. I’m writing a sequel at the moment.
"So at least I can do something creative while waiting for acting work to pick up again."