CURLY AND CANDID

I love to read and especially enjoy discovering new authors. When this attractively presented book which promised to be a great read came through my letter box I looked forward to get started. I did try with this book, two or three times in fact however I just couldn’t get into it. There is no fatal flaw as such, it just didn’t “grab” me. As “I couldn’t get through it” isn’t a very descriptive review I passed the baton to my friend and colleague Martina Mercer who has not only had books published herself, she also spent some years editing and publishing books. This is what she found…

100 Names by Cecilia Ahern

I’m not usually a fan of chick lit, however I always have a few I read when spirits are low and I need a bit of boost, as quite simply my usual fodder of crime thrillers and Sci-Fi simply doesn’t cut it! That’s why when I need to empty my mind I choose Jane Green, Freya North or Cecilia Ahern as I feel as though I cut my teeth on their narratives and they make the perfect accompaniment to the tub of Hagan Daas and the roaring fire.

Cecilia enticed me, as she did for many when I read P.S. I love you, a book I cried the whole way through- even the film didn’t disappoint. However since, I’ve become quite fond of the little magical twists that allow us to become wrapped up in a story as they don’t over suspend our beliefs.

So when I do fancy true escapism, I turn to Cecilia Ahern. I’ve been there with the imaginary friend, in the Land of Lost things and I’ve even met someone’s life, so this time I hoped 100 names would make me feel silly, giddy, carefree and blessed just as the others did.

SPOILER: In fact there is no magic throughout the entire book, unless you use the cliché that “we are capable of magical things” and it’s this that quite frankly peed me off.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s readable, funny at times and clever in the way it all comes together, but it just didn’t cut it for me. Without the magic I’m afraid to say I found it quite lacking, the undercurrent of a love story just didn’t convince me, the characters didn’t come to life in my head and I didn’t really care what happened in the end.

One shining light was a character named Sam, maybe because I imagined a young Gerard Butler in the role. It was fun, it was light, it was frothy and “nice” but it didn’t touch my soul!

In the words of Simon and Garfunkel, Cecilia, you’re breaking my heart; I’m begging you please come home!

I hate finances. I hate accounts, ledgers, spreadsheets and invoicing. I have an enormous respect for anyone in the accountancy business as I simply don’t have the mathematical flair which means that I can enjoy such tasks. When it comes to my to self assessment I have mine done in May each year, purely to get it out of the way! Needless to say, spending time on my business finances is time I would rather be doing something (anything) else.

That said, keeping on top of records, invoicing and payments is a necessary evil if I wish to be paid (and I do). Unfortunately over the past few years I have spent far too much time chasing late or missing payments for work I’ve done. I have a fairly simple invoice system and all clients know what they need to pay me, and when. Sadly it doesn’t always run so smoothly.

In the past I have spent ridiculous amounts of time chasing payments. You get either complete silence (so frustrating!), excuses (I know business is tough for everyone however I need to feed my children and pay my bills too!) or my personal favourite, told off. Yes, I have been known to be told off by clients when I chase them money as if by asking for what is already very overdue I am committing some heinous crime. To be honest, it is all rather tiresome.

As a self employed / freelance writer I don’t have one boss who pays money into my account on the last day of the month therefore I rely on clients to pay as agreed to ensure that my cask flow keeps flowing. What is the answer? I have toyed with sending my six year old and two year old round to act as my “heavies”. After ten minutes of “Why? Why? Why? What’s that? Why?” I’m fairly sure most people would cough up quick to stop the torture.

There are ways and means of reducing the risk of non-payment or payment worries nowadays as there is a way in which you are able to look up business details of UK companies in advance. What this information contains are things like their information with Companies House, whether they have any CCJs etc against them and so on. There are times when I have wished that I had been able to know more about a prospective client before I agreed to work for them and while some of this information is a matter of public record, having the time to search it all out is an issue. Whilst a couple of red flags in the information doesn’t necessarily mean that a particular client is untrustworthy, far from it, it would enable myself and of course many other businesses to approach a working relationship better informed.

Duedil is the tool in question and while I haven’t used it properly myself, other than a quick tinker to find out more, I am able to see the merits of it! What is more, the service is free to use therefore is worth having a nosy at.

Working for yourself has many benefits and personally I can’t imagine myself ever working for someone else now. There are however downsides and chasing payments in the main one for me. My question for all of you good folks is, what do you do regarding overdue accounts? Do you send in a persistent toddler? Do you do some sort of due diligence in advance? I’m curious!

Don’t be fooled by their cuteness, these two would make excellent debt collectors!

Written in collaboration with the mentioned business yet true to my thoughts, feelings and experiences

One Hundred Names by Cecilia Ahern – A Review

Due Diligence