As some of you might know, I’ve been working on The Love Project for seven years.
Wow! Seven years is a very long time. I’m not going to lie. I’ve had my fair share of periods of despair, discouragement and wallowing, as I was trying to balance the demands of work, moving countries, renovating houses, setting up a new business, being married and wanting to bring my creative baby – The Love Project – into the world.
But seven years is also a very important cycle – some might say, essential – for things to properly take shape.
There is a theory that every single cell in the human body renews itself in a seven year cycle, so the people we are today are practically different, at cellular level at least, than the people we were seven years ago. If you’re more of a numerologist, then you’ll know that the number seven represents a spiritual quest (in my case, a quest that started with looking for love, ended with finding more than just the love of a man; I also found enough love for myself to become the creator I always wanted to be). Other numerologists are of opinion that seven years is also the start of the fruition cycle. And whether you believe in the above or not, I am pleased to announce that the particular seven year cycle I am bringing to your attention today is finally bearing fruit.
Last you’ve heard from me, I was hard at work, trying to get a literary agent. That agent came into my life last November: Sarah Hornsley from The Bent Agency, one of Bookseller’s 2019 Rising Stars. She is every bit as fantastic as you think. Within less than two months since we became author and agent, she helped me put together a kick-ass book proposal which she sent to a select number of editors two weeks ago. And we’ve already received some initial interest from two major publishers.
That doesn’t mean that they’ll necessarily come back with a concrete publishing offer, but what this means to me is equally important. I am a real writer. With an agent. And serious publishers are treating me seriously.
I’ve always dreamt that this would happen one day, (I have this image in my head that I’ll have a book launch at Waterstones in Piccadilly Circus and I know exactly what I’ll be wearing), but it’s taken me seven long years to actually believe that it will, just like it took me seven years to gather the courage to take control over my love life. And even though at times, I was overwhelmed with frustration, I think there was a necessity to this cycle. Perhaps seven years is what it takes to reach the end of a spiritual quest and, as I experience another rite of passage, I take a moment to enjoy the fruit of my labour.
