AFTER changing her career to look after her sick daughter, a south Essex supermum has found success as a bestselling author.

Lizzie Chantree, from Rayleigh, first began writing to keep herself awake so that she could watch over her child at night, after she fell seriously unwell and was rushed into hospital.

Echo:

The mystery of her daughter’s illness began from just age two when her hands and feet began to severely swell, but it was only last year after a horrific allergic reaction that the family discovered why.

The 47 year old explained: “We were on holiday in Spain when she started to cough violently and her body started to swell, so we took her to hospital straight away.

“I decided to change my career so that I could put my job of being a mum first. We didn’t know what was wrong and I felt helpless not knowing how to help her. Everything else had to wait.

“I tried coffee, sweets, everything to stay awake, so that I could keep an eye on her breathing and be there for her. As a mother you can’t help but worry, but writing was my distraction.

“It turns out that she is drastically allergic to shellfish – she can’t even touch anyone who has touched it. We had no idea.”

It was this change from running a wholesale and retail business for 15 years to becoming an author, which gave Lizzie her big break.

She has written seven books overall, specialising in romantic fiction, and five bestsellers, with one of them, If You Love Me I’m Yours, reaching number one on Amazon. She is returning to her roots for her next book.

Lizzie continued: “I never ever expected this to happen. I took courses and writing groups when I was younger, but I had no experience.

“My first book stayed hidden for five years, but I wanted to use my writing as a way to cheer people up who may be in stressful times like I was.

“My daughter was my inspiration, it’s nice I can say something amazing came out of something so awful. I’m on my eighth book, which is set around Southend.”