Happy Valentines Day! Being the day of love, I thought I'd get an expert in for today's blog. Someone who really knows a thing or two about the subject. So, if you're single, in a relationship, or married, you need to read this. And to celebrate Valentine's Day, Haley's novel, 'It's Got To Be Perfect: the memoirs of a modern day matchmaker', is free just for today! So, after you've read this, I suggest you pop to Amazon and grab yourself a copy. So let's get cracking shall we.
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| The lovely Haley Hill |
A big welcome to Haley Hill, author of It’s Got To Be Perfect: the memoirs of a modern-day matchmaker. Hello, how are you?
I’m good thanks Jon. I survived ‘Dry January’ although I can’t say I’m feeling particularly refreshed after a month of steaming fish and beets.
So you set-up and then sold the UK’s largest matchmaking agency, tell us a bit about that?
Ah yes, my random career change from Pharmacist to matchmaker. I was 27 at the time, single and wondering where on earth my ‘Happy Ever After’ was. Following a series of disastrous relationships and a wedding called-off the day before, I got fed up waiting and decided to take action. It seemed a noble cause and quite sensible to do the same for everyone else too.
And then you decided to become an author?
The day I sold my matchmaking business, I vowed to document all that I had learned. I wasn’t sure what format that would take but I began writing. I wrote three drafts and then discarded them all. The fourth draft was beginning to take the shape of a half-decent novel so I edited it (about twenty times) and then finally I was happy with it. Or, at least as happy as any author could be.
Tell us about the book. Obviously there’s elements of your own life and experiences in there, but how much of it is based on reality and how much is fiction?
The main character, Ellie, is a matchmaker and in many ways similar to me. Through her eyes we experience her (and her clients’) hopes, dreams, joy and pain. All those emotions are drawn from my experiences and observations but the characters and scenarios are entirely fictionalised.
After being involved in matchmaking, which I imagine is quite social, how did writing a novel, which can be quite lonely, compare?
Great question. After I’d had my twin girls, like many new mums, I felt quite isolated from the rest of the world. However, writing actually helped with that. I could escape into the world I had created and be with my characters. As with my clients, I had a real affection for my characters and loved spending time with them. Does that make me sound like a total nutjob?
Why should people read your book?
Many people who’ve read it say it was the honesty that made it so funny. I wanted to cover all the issues that make us uncomfortable and the things we don’t like to talk about or even admit. The stark contrast between the idealised happy-ever-after we’re conditioned to aspire to and the reality we all experience provides many hilarious scenarios.
What sort of books do you like to read and who are your favourite authors?
I’d love to come across all literary right now but I’d be a big fat liar. When I’m not reading celebrity magazines (shame on me), I’m devouring a cheesy self-help book or a gossipy autobiography.
Being the ‘Queen of matchmaking’, what’s the best piece of advice you can give all the singletons out there?
Never give up. Statistically most of us won’t experience a conventional married-for-life relationship so we need to accept that our hearts might be broken, and get on with it. Love is an intrinsic drive in all of us and we cannot fight it.
Tell us a bit about what you’re working on next?
I’m just starting my next novel which, I hope, will be a more grown-up version of It’s Got to Be Perfect, looking deeper into the characters and exploring the next stage of romantic love. I’m sure there will be some more sex-gone-wrong scenarios, injured male appendages and lap-dancer-centred anarchy too.
And lastly the most important question for any writer. What biscuits do you prefer with your tea?
Hah! Tea is for amateurs. Since my twins were born, I’ve progressed to more hardcore caffeinated beverages. Every time I sit down to write, I treat myself to a double-shot Latte and jam on toast. My keyboard is a sticky mess
Thanks so much to Haley for popping in today. Click on the covers below to grab your free copy of her book. And have a fabulous Valentine's Day!
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| THE UK VERSION |
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| THE US VERSION |
Until next time.
Hugs,
Jon X
