Friday 9 June 2017

Guest Post & Giveaway - Throwing Away the Calculator by Kellie Hailes - Chances Fortnight



I’ve always been one to take the odd chance on things, but they’ve always been chances of the calculated variety, rather than an out-and-out gamble. For example, once I moved to a city I’d never set foot in for a job. Some might consider that crazy, but I thought of it as an adventure. And it was! Spanning seven years, it left me with great memories and treasured friends. But as I said earlier, it was a calculated chance, and if anything went wrong I knew I could find another job elsewhere and leave. No biggie.

Just over a decade ago I threw away the calculator and took a chance that in hindsight was high-roller-throw-all-the-cash-at-it-and-hope insane. The cause of this brief moment of insanity? A man. 

Not just any man, mind. He was a man I’d met at a work conference when I was all of twenty-one or twenty-two. He sat next to me at the bar and looked at me with the biggest smile and the twinkliest brown eyes, and my heart just went flippy floppy as bazillions of butterflies danced true romance styles in my tummy. Tried as I might he didn’t succumb to my considerable (cough) charms that weekend, a good thing in retrospect as I was as flighty as those butterflies flitting about in my stomach, but I never forgot how when I was leaving in the shuttle I turned to look out the window and our eyes locked and didn’t leave each other until the shuttle turned out into the street. 

Years later our paths crossed again when my colleague saw him at a wedding, mentioned me (I may have swooned when he’d told me he knew the man I’d dubbed most creatively as ‘Hot Aaron’), then email addresses were exchanged and communications began, which led to a long distance romance. Five months in a conversation was had which pretty much boiled down to ‘how about I move up to your city and we move in together? Cool? Cool’.

Except, was it really that cool? It meant leaving my best friends, leaving the city I adored, leaving a job I loved and carting all my stuff up to a city I wasn’t all that fond of, with no job to go to, oh, and moving in with a man I was sure was ‘the one’ but really we’d spent the equivalent of one month together and how much of that were we on our best behaviour? But I took the chance, packed my things, said bye to my besties, hopped on a plane and prayed for the best… 

So how did the dice fall? Well I’m relieved to say I got my very own happily ever after. We’ve now been together for eleven years, including seven years of marriage, and fallen in love with one moany miaow, one delightful daughter, and a shack by the sea. I’m so glad I threw away that calculator.

Wow that is certainly a huge chance you took but it sounds like it all worked out well. Thank you so much Kellie for sharing with us and taking part in my Chances fortnight. 


Book details:

Curl up in The Cosy Coffee Shop of Promises with a latte and a scone, the perfect antidote to a grey day!

Mel’s dream of opening a coffee shop is finally a reality! A cosy little place turning out the best flat whites and most delicious pastries in Devon. In the picture-perfect town of Rabbits Leap no one can stand in her way – especially local pub owner, Tony. She doesn't care how gorgeous he is, she will not let him steal her customers with his fancy new coffee machine!

There is only room in their small town for one coffee shop…but when Hurricane Val – aka her mother – is due to blow into town, Mel is in desperate need of an instant boyfriend. She can’t face another hunt to 'find a man' and while Tony may be her business rival, Mel can’t help but notice he’d make the perfect fake fiancé…
If they can strike a deal all they need to do is stick to it, no falling in love, no real feelings and definitely no dreams of a happy-ever-after!

Links:

Giveaway to Win an e-copy of The Cosy Coffee Shop of Promises (Open Internationally)

Kellie Hailes is very kindly giving my followers a chance to win an e-copy of The Cosy Coffee Shop of Promises. 


Giveaway open internationally, all options are voluntary, but please do what they ask, as I will be verifying the winner. Giveaway closes 23:59 23/06/2017. Winner will be announced on twitter and emailed, and they will need to reply within 7 days, or forfeit the prize, and I will re-draw for a new winner.  Good luck everyone.

Win an e-copy of The Cosy Coffee Shop of Promises (Open Internationally)

Author Bio:  

At the age of five Kellie Hailes declared she was going to write books when she grew up. It took a while for her to get there, with a career as a radio copywriter, freelance copywriter and web writer filling the dream-hole, until now. Kellie lives on an island-that’s-not-really-an-island in New Zealand with her patient husband, funny little human and neurotic cat. When the characters in her head aren’t dictating their story to her, she can be found taking short walks, eating good cheese and jonesing for her next coffee fix.

Follow Kellie on Twitter

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