Fictional love story turns my actual life upside down. Destiny?

Last year, when I was launching my Destiny Interview Series, significant changes were unfolding in my life.

I’d been asked to teach Novel-Writing at CAE in September 2016, and so I figured I’d do the right thing by my students: I’d do what I was asking them to do and write a novel. One of the ideas in my filing cabinet had been calling me for some time – it was a concept I’d jotted down some eight years ago, and I’d been scribbling notes and bits of dialogue for it ever since. As I was calling my students to work on novel structure and character development, I figured I’d apply the lessons to my own project at the same time.

I found myself drawn so deeply into this story that it pretty much wrote itself. By the end of November I’d completed my novel and was aware that quite a few personal thoughts and feelings had woven themselves into it. But still, it was just a story – right?

In early December I headed out ballroom/latin dancing on a Tuesday night – not my usual night – and connected eyes with a newcomer sitting on the side just watching. When I saw him again on Friday night I asked him to dance and was immediately struck by his ability and training. You can tell if a man is a good dancer by his ‘frame’, the way he holds you, the way he moves. I learnt that this man hadn’t danced in some thirty years but back then he’d competed nationally and internationally. I loved dancing with him…

We began to talk and discovered that we shared an interest in relationships, and also shared the ability to speak very openly and honestly. Dance studio conversations are usually pure small talk, partly because you’re having conversations in snatches between dances, so this man stood out to me. Before long we were dancing together almost exclusively… and within six weeks I was facing the exact same dilemma that faces the main character in my novel at the end of the book.

What was the dilemma? You’ll have to read it to find out! :p

My new book is being laid out for publication right now, and I’ll be sharing more of what it’s about and how it links with my personal journey over the next few weeks. Talk about life imitating art! There are some synchronicities that have been pretty arresting… but also some significant differences. At any rate, it doesn’t seem as if this new book is ‘just a story’, and it does seem as if this man and I were destined to meet. More soon!

[Picture courtesy Pexels.]