Flying The Coop: A Free Range Tree Change or Has She Made the Worst Mistake of Her Life

Overview: Ilsa Evans lives in a partially renovated house in the Dandenongs, east of Melbourne. She has completed a PhD at Monash University on the long-term effects of domestic violence and writes fiction on the weekends. 'Sticks and Stones' is her seventh novel. Once Upon A Time Chris Beggs And Her Husband Had A Dream - To One Day Own A Farm, With Cows And Poultry And A Crisp White Fence Surrounding A Quaint Cottage. So What Could Possibly Be Wrong With Fulfilling That Dream 15 Years Later As A 38-year-old Divorced Mother Of Two? It Was Love At First Sight. While On A Family Outing With Her Two Children Grace And Michael, Ex-husband Garth And His New Girlfriend Cynthia, Chris Happens Upon A Picture Of The Perfect Country Cottage In The Healesville Real Estate Agency Window. And After A Heated Discussion And A Rash Decision, She Is The Proud Owner Of A Chicken Farm. Chris Says Goodbye To Her Safe City Life, Legal Firm Work, Ex-wives Luncheons And The House She Has Known For The Past 18 Years... And Welcomes 6am Egg Collections, Strange Noises In The Night, A Bitter Bookkeeper And A Feisty Llama. Her Teenage Daughter Is Bent On World Domination, The Tractor Has A Mind Of Its Own, And The Hens Are Named After Political Figures. And Soon Chris Realises That The Least Of Her Worries Is Dressing In A Chicken Suit And Learning How To Waddle. With The Enthusiastic Help Of Her Family, Old Friends, A New Neighbour, And A Stranger On The End Of Daily Emails, Can Chris Succeed In Making This Spur Of The Moment Decision Revitalise Her Life, Or Has She Put All Her Eggs In One Basket? "Once upon a time Chris Beggs and her husband had a dream - to own a farm, with chickens and a white fence surrounding the quaint cottage. So what could possibly be wrong with fulfilling that dream 15 years later ass a 38-year--old divorced mother of two? Chris says goodbye to her city life and hello to dawn egg collection, strange noises in the night, a feisty alpaca and poultry named after political figures. meanwhile, her teenage daughter is bent on world domination, the bookkeeper is out for revenge and the tractor has a mind of its own. And soon Chris realises that the least of her worries is dressing in a chicken suit and learning how to waddle. With the enthusiastic help of her family, old friends, new neighbours, and a stranger on the end of daily emails, can Chris succeed in making this spur of the moment decision revitalise her life, or has she put all her eggs in the wrong basket?"--Book cover. All Chris wanted to do was teach her ex-husband a lesson, but somehow she ends up with a free range chook farm - when her only poultry experience is a childhood rooster that was repeatedly violated by the resident rabbit. So soon Chris finds herself in the country. Where the neighbours have deep secrets, her teenage daughter is bent on world domination, the bookkeeper is bent on revenge, and the alpaca is psychotic. By flying the coop she may have put all her eggs in one basket. And theyre each about to hatch.