Local writers Jenny Copeland and Vhairi Slaven celebrated the launch of their first book, Drive-Thru Success, at Waterstones in Ayr recently.
Jenny is a performance improvement coach who delivers leadership development programmes for the NHS, and for public and private businesses. She began writing the book ten years ago and had tucked it away in a drawer until she met Vhairi in 2015. Vhairi is a communications assistant with the NHS, a writer and a yoga teacher in Kilmarnock. She had been writing blogs, movie reviews and working on her first novel, Miss Jane, when she had a conversation with Jenny that led to her working on the book, testing out the exercises and writing about her experiences. Vhairi said: “I met Jenny for a coffee and (as I now know she tends to do) she very quickly turned the conversation to asking what it was I really wanted over the next few months. I answered that I wanted to get paid to write, do something creative, and work on a good project with an end goal. She more or less brought out the book and said here you go.” Jenny added: “It has always been a dream of mine to publish Drive-Thru Success, and I am absolutely delighted to have met Vhairi who has helped me to publish the book. “It has ended up being a collaboration of local talent, with local designer Abbie Bunton from Kilmarnock creating an eye-catching book cover and web designer Debbie Sutherland of Kano Design creating a professional website. We are all very proud of it.” The co-authors are keen supporters of local women in business and network using Facebook sites such as Glasgow Girls Club. Through this they met Kirsty Walker, founder of Love Enigma Training Academy, which offers vegan and cruelty free training for makeup artists. She was at the launch and gave the ladies a makeover. Jenny added: “It’s an exciting time for women, I think we are only just beginning to get out there and show the world what we can do. There are a lot of local opportunities and women are networking together to support each other and create businesses that they are passionate about.” Drive-Thru Success is available in Waterstones in Ayr, and on Amazon as an eBook and paperback.