Ahead of the launch of her debut novel Never Saw You Coming, Hayley Doyle tells us in her own words how she made the transition from drama student to fully fledged writer gaining a 2 year book deal with Harper Collins. Moving between Liverpool and Dubai, finding love and juggling a blossoming writing career with two young children, Hayley documents the highs and lows of pursuing a dream and the personal experiences that led her to creating her ‘glorious’ read that ahead of its official launch has already gained rave reviews.

“ I’m Hayley. I’m a Scouser, a mum of two, a wife and ex-business owner (amongst many things!) and finally, FINALLY, a published author. I’ll start here in the same way I’m likely to finish, in that my journey has been somewhat unpredictable.

I always wanted to be a writer and specifically one that creates stories; fiction. I had a passion for characters, their motivation, their background, plus a love for singing and dancing… so it’s no wonder I went to drama school at 19 to study acting. There, I met my soul mates. My partners in crime. My best friends. Not everybody wanted FAME as I’d anticipated, mostly, we just wanted to create. I played a lot of characters over the years but fell into comedy roles, although it was always magical for me when a scene could make the audience laugh and cry.

The years rolled by. As did acting parts. Some, I was lucky to get. Many I missed out on. “All part of the game,” which is easier said than done. My soul took a right battering, and then in a heartbeat, is would soar again, the flame ignited. Somehow, I wanted this pattern to change. I needed it to change.

Instead of playing characters that others had created, waiting for somebody to pick me, I decided to put pen to paper - or fingers to keyboard - and create my own characters. Naturally, I thought about writing plays or sketches, but it wasn’t what came naturally at all. So I began to write a novel. I’d come home from the theatre (I was playing Ali in Mamma Mia! at the time) and write late into the night, still buzzing from being on stage. When my book was finished, I gave it to some cast members to read and give me feedback. The wait was agony. The result, electric. When they told me what they loved, it was like getting the best applause, or when they asked me about certain characters, said how it made them feel, I thought I was experiencing a standing ovation. I loved the thought of somebody immersing themselves into a world I’d created, then creating it all over again in their mind.

So I applied to do a Masters in Novel Writing. I quickly learnt that my ‘first’ and completed novel was a decent start with a long, long way to go. I lived and breathed the course. I won an award. I got an agent. Then, within a year, the agent decided she’d “had a change of heart”. And that was it.

Or was it?!

By this point… I’d moved to Dubai! I’d taken a job teaching musical theatre to expat kids in a lovely theatre in the middle of the desert. It was only supposed to be for 6 months, a way to make some money in the sunshine after being a mature student by day and radio producer by night (therefore getting no sleep and seeing no sun). I wrote in my spare time, my aim to get another agent for when I returned home, one who wouldn’t lose faith in me so easily.

I stayed in Dubai longer… I was writing plays with my students and producing them, so set up my own business, a theatre school called ‘Hayley’s Comet’ that specialised in just that; creating our own shows. I became a radio host, too. Dubai was that kind of place. If you saw an opportunity, you really could make it happen. All the while, I continued to write. And in the meantime and after a few knocks to the heart, I found my future husband (who became my husband when we eloped to Vegas… story for another time? Over wine, perhaps?). The email arrived. An agent - and a bloody good one - wanted to represent me.

I’d love to say, “And a few months later, I got a book deal!” Oh, no. I received a decent handful of praise followed by, “But…” So I wrote another book. Some parts worked a treat, the agency agreed, some did not. I re-wrote. I continued to write my plays with my students, put them on theatres around Dubai. I re-wrote my novel again. My husband and I relocated to the UK. Then, I fell pregnant with my brilliant little boy, Milo (who’s now 3). I met up with my agent when Milo was a baby and we decided to call it a day on the novel that had been rewritten so many times and start one from fresh. I had an idea about a character who worked in a toll booth in Liverpool. I was still adjusting to life back in the UK after being an expat for 7 years (I know… time flies, eh?!), so it made sense to create another character from that world, too. How could those worlds - Liverpool and Dubai - collide?

A new novel was born.

And this is the book that got me a 2-book deal with Harper Collins!

‘NEVER SAW YOU COMING’ is my debut and released 2 April 2020.

Never Saw You Coming, released April 2nd

Since I got the book deal and made some essential tweaks and changes, I had another baby, too; my daughter, Phoebe. She has been by my side (or on my boob) as I’ve put the finishing touches to this novel and brainstormed ideas for my second book which will be out next year. It’s been far from easy, but it’s a path I’ve chosen to take. I want to be at home with my children when they finish school and writing will allow this, so I’m putting in the groundwork now in the hope that this is a career I can build on with time.

A few weeks ago, I would have ended here with a few words about how excited I am about the launch party I’m having this week, which was to take place in my local coffee shop, the place where I write and have almost become part of the furniture! I would also be telling you about my official launch at Waterstones in Liverpool, a lifelong dream of mine. But a few weeks ago, the world was a different place and little did we know where we were all heading. So I’ll be celebrating inside, in my flat with my husband. We have a bottle of bubbly chilling in the fridge for when our babies are in bed. I’m going to leave my laptop open for my friends and family to pop online to Houseparty or Skype and we can virtually celebrate. I’m definitely going to wear the dress I bought from a vintage clothes shop in Brighton. I can twirl around in my kitchen to my favourite songs.

I’m so grateful for ebooks and audiobooks, both of which ‘Never Saw You Coming’ will be available in. I hope people are finding comfort, hope and happiness in them during this strange adjustment to life we’re all currently making. ‘Never Saw You Coming’ is one hell of a journey, very different from mine so far, but with splashes of similarities. I’m sure your journey is spectacular. Own it. Love it. And let’s all embrace the path ahead of us as best we can. Xx.”

Available in Audiobook, Kindle & Paperback

Never Saw You Coming

Zara Khoury believes in love – so much so that she flies from Dubai to Liverpool to be with a man she barely knows. It’s a risk, but she’s certain that uprooting her life for Nick is the new start she needs.

Jim Glover is stuck. Since his Dad died, he’s put his dreams aside and stayed at home in Liverpool to care for his mum. Trapped in a dead-end job, he’s going nowhere – that is, until he gets a phone call that just might change his life..

Zara and Jim aren’t supposed to meet. But then fate steps in, and when their worlds – and cars! – collide, the real journey begins…

“Set between Liverpool and Dubai, Never Saw You Coming is about two people whose lives collide unexpectedly - and the importance of taking risks when it comes to love”,

Available to order and download at Amazon from April 2nd. Kindle Edition, £0.99

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