Wednesday, 23 October 2013
Brook Cottage Books is so thrilled to have Haley Hill on the blog. Thanks so much Haley for agreeing to be interrogated! Let's find out a little bit about the lovely Haley.
JB:
I am fascinated by the fact that you ran a dating agency. How on earth did you
end up in that line of work?
HALEY:
When I was 26, I thought my life was sorted. I had a good career as a
pharmacist, a lovely flat and I was engaged to a lawyer. Everything was working
out just the way I’d hoped. That was until my fiancé called the wedding off at
the final hour. Then my world turned upside down. I began to question all the
assumptions I had made about dating and relationships. After a year of
disastrous internet dates, I decided to quit my job and set up the kind of
dating service I would have liked. Looking back, I realise I was searching for
answers.
JB:
Why did you decide to sell the dating agency?
HALEY:
I decided to sell six years after I’d founded the agency. The contracts were
exchanged only 2 weeks before my twin girls were born. Initially, when I’d
discovered I was pregnant, I planned to keep the business. I envisaged,
matching clients while my twin babies gurgled contentedly in the background.
However, as the pregnancy drew on, my priorities changed. I knew I wanted to
spend time with my babies and that my career would have to be put on hold. It
was a sad time. I’d grown the business from nothing. It was my firstborn, and I
found it hard to let go.
JB:
Are your single friends cautious of your match-making?
HALEY:
Hah! Yes, some are, though I think most are hopeful. I’ve always found it
difficult to match close friends. I think it’s because I know them too well and
struggle to be objective.
JB:
Your experiences as a matchmaker have obviously given you some writing fuel.
Was it always your intention to one day put those experiences down on paper?
HALEY:
No, not at all. The idea only occurred to me the day after I sold the agency.
It was almost as though I was compelled to do it. It might have been the
hormones, but I remember telling myself over and over again. “I have to write a
book, I have to share what I’ve learned. I owe it to my people!” I’m not sure
my message is going to deliver world peace, as I’d initially hoped. However, I
think the premise is important. I wish I could have given a copy to my
twenty-seven year-old self.
JB:
With twins in the house, how do you find time to write?
HALEY:
Yes, you raise a very good point. One I didn’t fully consider before telling
anyone who would listen that I was going to write a book. Once I’ve said I’m
going to do something, I won’t stop until it’s done. While that’s an admirable
personally trait in some respects, it’s one I could have done without when
faced with a double dose of norovirus, a husband on work jolly and a dog with
diarrhoea.
JB:
How long did it take you to write the book?
HALEY:
Three years. It took me four months to write the first draft. Then I scrapped
that. Then I re-wrote it from scratch again. Then again. And then again. It was
only after a further ten major edits and twenty or so proof reads, that I felt
I had done the topic justice. Then, for legal reasons, at the last minute, I
decided to re-write the first two chapters.
JB:
Do you have any writing rituals, such as certain music playing while you write?
HALEY:
I wish I did. I’ve heard some authors light scented candles, or retreat to a
secluded office overlooking the sea. “One day!” I sigh. With twin toddlers and
a needy dog in the house, I write when I can. When I’m presented with a poo in
a potty, then I just take a deep breath, smile and snap back into mummy mode.
That
being said, I did have Climie Fisher’s ‘Love Changes Everything’ blasting out
of my iMac the other day when I was sorting the playlist for my launch party. I
must admit, I quite enjoyed that. I didn’t get much work done though. Instead,
I ended up dancing around the office with my dog, Rufus.
JB:
Do you have any plans for another book?
HALEY: I found the writing process extremely
draining. Afterwards, it felt as though I had wrung my heart out like a
dishcloth. I would love to write another book but not just for the sake of
writing. It would have to be for a story that I am just as desperate to tell.
JB:
Do you have any advice for budding authors?
HALEY:
Never give up. Writing isn’t a gift, it’s a craft, and one which you need to
learn. Write, write and then write some more. Then ask for feedback, preferably
from someone who isn’t your mum.
JB:
And, I have to ask..............most disastrous date?
HALEY:
There have been plenty of those. The one that sticks in my mind though,
probably because I’m still paying for it, was with a man I met online. He said
he was the director of an investment bank and I was excited when he suggested
we dine at a Michelin star restaurant. He ordered vintage champagne, lobster,
the whole works. Then ‘forgot’ his wallet. He suggested we do a runner, but I
was too embarrassed to consider not paying. He promised he’d pay me back, but
strangely I never heard from him again. That taught me to be less impressed by
the superficial...
Thanks once again to the lovely Haley Hill. A very interesting lady I think you will agree. Let's find out a little more about her book, It's Got to Be Perfect.
BOOK BLURB
When
Ellie Rigby hurls her three-carat engagement ring into the gutter, she is
certain of only one thing, that she has yet to know true love.
Following
months of disastrous internet dates and conflicting advice from her
dysfunctional friends, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Although
now, instead of just looking for a man for herself, she's certain her life's
purpose is to find deep and meaningful love for all the singles in the world.
Five
years on, running the UK's biggest matchmaking agency, and with thousands of
engagements to her name, she has all the answers she needs. She knows why
eighty-five percent of relationships fail. She knows why twenty-eight is the
most eligible age for a woman. She knows that by thirty-five she'll have only a
thirty-percent chance of marriage.
Most of
all, she knows that no matter what, it has to be perfect. Or does it?
Watch
the book trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFzSc4xuE7I
Reviews
Finalist
- readers' Favorite (US) Book Awards
Finalist
- Best Dating Book 2013
‘As
deliciously gossipy as it gets’--Sadie Nicholas, journalist
‘High
drama and lots of laughs’--Susan Quilliam, Fabulous Magazine
‘Hilarious
and so very, very true’ -- James Preece, The Dating Guru
Excerpt
PART TWO
Chapter Fourteen
‘Blonde
hair, blue eyes and big tits,’ he said to Mia.
Fortunately
for him, in the four years we’d worked together, she had
learned
to temper her eye rolls and her expression was fixed at
something
that could have even been described as earnest.
‘Would
you consider green eyes?’ Mia asked.
‘No,’
he said, pushing up his sleeves to reveal a diamond encrusted
Rolex.
‘I dated someone with green eyes once. It didn’t work
out.’
I
continued typing on my keyboard on the table next to them,
brushing
the hair away from my face to sneak a sideways glance at
him.
He
wore a shiny grey suit, the garish end of Gucci. His watch
was
obnoxiously bling like a bank balance on his wrist, his hair: blond,
highlighted.
Tan: deep, natural. Eyes: blue, sparkling. Smile: cheeky,
lopsided.
Teeth: even, white. Age: I’d guess, thirty-seven. Height:
around
5ft 7in, unfortunate considering his other physical attributes.
Body
language: overtly male, legs splayed, hand near crotch, shoulders
wide.
Eye contact: good. Champagne choice: predictably expensive.
Overall
assessment: inflated ego, directly proportional to, and fully
dependent
on, his net assets.
I
looked over at Mia, watching how her dark hair hid her face
as she
leant over a notepad and began writing. He sat opposite her, his
hands
miming two large beach balls.
‘Like
this,’ he said, a self-satisfied smile sweeping across his
face.
‘Are you looking?’
Mia
raised her head and the curtain lifted. I could tell she was
fighting
to suppress an emotion. I supposed it was either amusement
or
rage, but I couldn’t quite tell.
‘Yes,
got it,’ she replied. ‘Please continue.’
‘And
I like nipples that point upwards.’
‘Upwards-pointing
nipples,’ she said, scribbling away.
‘And
I prefer pink to brown.’
‘Preferably
pink.’ She paused and looked up, eyes narrowed.
‘Is
that a deal breaker? The pink nipples?’
He
weighed his head from side to side and I pictured a tiny
cluster
of brain cells rolling around inside his skull.
‘Yes.
Definitely pink. I’m not fussed which shade.’
‘There
are shades?’
‘Of
course, from light pink, like the colour of your nail
varnish,
to a dark pink, a bit like your lipstick.’
‘Wow,
you learn something every day.’
‘I’m
surprised you didn’t know that.’
‘Surprised?’
‘Yes,
you being a –’
‘Matchmaker?’
‘No,
being a woman. You must have seen hundreds of your
friends’
nipples.’
‘My
friends don’t have hundreds of nipples.’
‘You
know what I mean.’
‘Oh,
you mean all those topless pillow fights we have?’
He
nodded and winked.
She
locked him with Medusa eyes. ‘Right, now your turn.’
‘What
else do you need to know?’
She
ripped out a sheet of paper from her notepad and slid it
across
the table along with a pen. ‘Draw an outline of your penis for
me,
please.’
‘An
outline?’ he asked.
I
giggled inwardly and wondered if he had selected the wrong
word
for clarification.
‘Yes,
sketch the outline and then add in any unusual features.’
Her expression
remained fixed at a plausible serious.
He
picked up the pen. ‘Does it have to be to scale?’
‘Preferably.
Or else you can indicate the measurements.’
With
an expression of intense concentration and with a tight grip on
the
pencil, he soon completed the sketch. Then after a further five
minutes
of shading and corrections, he held the sheet of paper aloft
for Mia
to see.
‘Obviously
we’ll have to verify this with a photo,’ she said,
taking
it from him and studying it.
He
leaned back in his seat. ‘Will you want that signed by my
bank
manager?’
‘Ex-girlfriend
will do. But if your bank manager is happy to do
it …’
Moments
later, after he’d left and the buzz of his phone was fading
into
the distance, Mia turned to me with a tight smile.
‘Another
Prince Charming,’ she said, handing me the sketch.
‘Good
sport though.’
I
looked at the drawing, winced and then quickly folded it
away.
It appeared, his ego wasn’t the only thing that was inflated.
‘So,
what were you scribbling down?’ I asked. ‘A full
psychological
profile?’
She
shook her head. ‘Shopping list.’
I
sighed. ‘Mia.’
‘What?’
‘He’s
a client. You’re supposed to be focused on helping him.’
‘I
am.’
‘Go
on then.’
She
laughed. ‘Well, under all the bravado, there’s probably a
lost little
boy who just wants to be loved.’
‘Mia.
Stop it.’
‘Know
any stupid girls with big tits who want a rich guy?’
My
mind flicked through its archives. ‘Yes,’ I said, nodding
slowly,
‘but she’s not stupid. She’s quite intelligent actually. Her name’s
Kerri.’
‘We
don’t care about her name. What’s her cup size?’
‘FF.’
‘Nipples?’
‘Hang
on.’ I picked up my phone and typed her name into
Google
images, then handed the phone to Mia. ‘There you go, pink
nipples.’
…
what’s the word?’ She drummed her fingers on the table.
‘Yes,
that’s it. Intelligent.’
I
rolled my eyes, something I appeared to have acquired
from
Mia. ‘You okay to arrange the introduction?’
‘Sure,’
she said, stuffing her notebook back into her bag.
‘Living
the dream.’
About
the Author
Haley
was born in London in 1977, with a big heart, big feet and big ideals. In 2005,
she set up what turned out to be the UK's biggest matchmaking agency. She has
since sold it and drunk the proceeds. She lives in Battersea with her husband
James, a wine merchant and consequent enabler of her habit, their twin girls
and a scruffy hound called Rufus. She spends her days chasing her toddlers
around the house, trying to write but mostly just messing about on Twitter.
Links
Great interview ladies! Love the questions and replies.
JB, thank you for taking part in Haley's tour today.
Shaz