In Coffee and Cake at Wildflower Lock we see the return of Daisy May and her canal boat, the September Rose. Daisy is now living full-time next to Theo, who helped her get the boat up and running, although their adventure has only just begun.
As exciting as this new chapter in her life is, it doesn’t come without risks, which stretch well beyond whether Daisy should finally take the plunge and admit to Theo how she feels about her.
She quickly learns that launching her coffee shop on the canal while simultaneously trying to ignite an art career, with no other salary, and bills coming in, isn’t something she can do by herself. But as many of us know, asking for help isn’t easy.
As Daisy faces more than one setback, it quickly becomes clear that she can’t do it all alone. Thankfully, as well as Theo and her team of friends on hand to support her, there’s also Christian, a charming entrepreneur who goes out of his way to show Daisy how much he thinks of her and her artwork.
While at first glance, my life is a far cry from Daisy’s, (she doesn’t have a hoard of cats to start with!) it’s easy to resonate with what she goes through. At some time or another, I think we’ve all had to take risks. To put ourselves out there, and ask for help, no matter how terrifying it is to do at the time.
For me, the biggest risk I took was two years ago, when I decided to make the leap from being a teacher, to working full-time as an author. I won’t lie. It was terrifying. Particularly as I really enjoyed teaching. But I needed to try, because if I didn’t, I would always be left with the question of, what if?
Leaving a familiar and comfortable career, which was all I had ever known, to embark on something entirely new was risky. We uprooted, moved back to England, and my husband quit teaching too, so he could support me as much as possible. On paper, it sounds crazy, but had I not taken that step, I wouldn’t have the fortune of sharing this story with you today.
I hope you enjoy ‘Coffee and Cake at Wildflower Lock’ and the return of Daisy, Theo, and their friends. May this story also inspire you to take the risks you’ve been considering too.