From short stories to audio drama - guest post by Glenda Young

Hello, my name is Glenda Young and I’ve been writing short stories for women’s magazines since 2015. My weekly soap opera Riverside has appeared in The People’s Friend since 2016. Riverside is a joy to write because it’s fun, frothy and I’ve built up a wonderful community of endearing characters. 

It’s a feel-good story of family, friends and community featuring romance, heartbreak and secrets, as well as gentle wit and humour. Writing Riverside is the writing highlight of my week. I absolutely love it.

And I’m now honoured to announce that Riverside has been adapted into an audio drama. Not just that, but each cast member is either a current or an ex-soap star from TV and radio soaps including Neighbours and The Archers. 

The audio scripts are adapted and written by Ian Skillicorn of Wyndham Books from my original characters and stories. Hearing the voices of the characters I've created has been amazing. In fact, I had a few tears listening to the first episode. I’ve lived with these characters in my head for over 6 years and to hear them speak in the audio drama is beyond wonderful.

If you’re thinking of doing something similar, or anything else, with your short stories that have already been published in women’s magazines, always check the rights in your contract you’ll have signed with the magazine publisher. If you’re unsure about the rights, you can ask here on Womag where the friendly community will always advise. 

With Riverside, although I knew I held the rights to my work, I double-checked with The People’s Friend magazine before I embarked on the audio drama. 

Riverside the soap opera now has its own website at http://riversidethesoap.com where you can check out the synopsis, cast and characters. Riverside will be available from Audible, Amazon and iTunes from Wednesday 27 July. 

Glenda Young

Website: http://glendayoungbooks.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/flaming_nora
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GlendaYoungAuthor