....Louise considers herself the queen of There’s Always A Second Chance.  An actress since she was fifteen, she found herself unemployed when she was in her mid-forties. The reason was…well, she was in her mid-forties. Not a good thing if you’re an actress – aging and eating are taboo. Louise has done both. Also, she was pretty clear about the fact that she was never going to have “knee surgery.” That’s what happens when an actress of a certain age drops out of sight for six weeks and her publicist announces that she’s having an old knee injury repaired. Then the actress emerges with her eyebrows hiked up kind of high on her forehead and all those nasty little lines around her mouth seem to have vanished…  oh yeah, and her knee is working fine too.
            The un-surgically enhanced Louise spent two years auditioning for commercials touting high fiber cereals and denture glue, she figured there had to be something better, and she decided to try writing scripts for soap operas. Writing had actually been her first love when she was a kid. She worked as a soap writer off and on—mostly off – for the next few years. The trouble was, she got fired a lot. Because what she wanted to do was tell her own stories. Finally she fought off the devil voices – those voices inside your head that tell you you’re an idiot for dumping a paying job to follow a dream—and wrote  The Three Miss Margarets. It found a home at Random House and was published. It was followed by The Ladies of Garrison Gardens, and next August 28, Louise’s third book, Family Acts, will be on the shelves.
            And in case that isn’t enough good luck and great news, she’s just signed a new two book deal with Ballantine books. Take that devil voices!
            Today a very happy Louise lives in the lower Hudson Valley with her husband of twenty eight years, her eight cats and two rescue dogs ; the regal Joshua, and Charlie. Who is not regal. Just ask the neighbors.

Louise Shaffer, is a graduate of Yale Drama School, has written for television, and has appeared on Broadway, in TV movies, and in daytime dramas, earning an Emmy for her performance on Ryan's Hope.

Listen to Louise's commentary for National Public Radio's All Things Considered, click "Second Acts".