Life Cycle of a Writer – Lucie’s big announcement

Oh my goodness, the last 24 hours have been crazy! I have woken up this morning with sore feet, tired eyes and a fuzzy head. Why? Well, for those who did not see my announcement on social media yesterday, here it is…

I have signed a TWO BOOK DEAL with publishing giants Harper Collins under their digital first imprint, Harper Impulse. 

I still can’t believe it. I cannot even begin to describe the feeling when I say those words because I have waited so long to. And I attended the Harper Imprint Christmas party last night which provided the perfect setting to celebrate my announcement, and was made that little bit more special as I had two other Romaniacs, Sue and Catherine, either side of me making sure I celebrated in true Romaniac fashion.

Pre-drinks with Sue and Catherine

I don’t have your average author story. I didn’t grow up wanting to write books or reading every single childrens book after hours with a torch under my pillow. I haven’t read all of the classics that I thought all people who wanted to be authors had. I haven’t got a degree in English or writing – I didn’t even take English for my a-levels. Yet something inside me changed that first time I attempted to write my first story.

I remember it like it was yesterday. I’d just had my daughter – who is known on social media as LO – and I was incredibly lucky to be able to stay at home with her whilst my husband worked very hard to look after us. But instead of doing what sane people do and ‘nap when baby naps’, I started writing down little stories and characters. By the time she was a few months old, I had some chapters down. It wasn’t in the genre I write in now but I really believed in the story. I remember sitting in the garden with one of my best friends and telling her that I had written it and how much I enjoyed it. I still have that story, although I don’t think it will ever see the light of day. But it is special because it was my first.

However, I wasn’t dreaming of being published, I just enjoyed the writing.

Fast forward four years and I was still dabbling in writing little stories here and there for fun. Then one evening I went along to an event where I saw a clairvoyant. It was the one and only time in my life where I indulged in anything of that kind but as a bit of fun, I decided to give it a try. That lady said one thing to me that stuck in my mind ever since and really changed my life.

‘That thing you are doing right now, you should keep doing it and take it seriously – you’ll be good at it.’

It was a throwaway comment which could be interpreted in whichever way the recipient wanted, I understand that. But to me, at that point in my life, my first thought was, she’s talking about my writing. So the very next day I signed up to do a novel writing course with the London School of Journalism. And this was when I stopped writing just for fun, and started writing with a view to getting published.

Fast forward another six years, and here I am! It has taken me ten years to get to the stage where I can say I’m going to be a published author. And it feels incredible.

              At the Harper Christmas party: L – R                   Sue Fortin, Charlotte Ledger (one of my editors), me, Jules Wake                  

So, back in June I had a very exciting meeting with a lovely editor, Charlotte, from Harper. It was amazing to talk to someone who loves my writing and genuinely enjoys reading my work. She offered me a book deal there and then and I spent the rest of the day in a haze, super excited to get home and tell my husband and daughter the amazing news. Only problem was, I hadn’t actually written the book yet! Whilst Charlotte and her team had read my previous work, the book deal was for a book that, at that time, was just a concept I had written down. Now I had to write the book and make it good!

The whole time writing it, I was terrified they would read the finished version and take my deal away. Was I going to live up to their expectation? Did I have the time to write the book as it was the summer holidays and I had a child to entertain? Did I have what it takes to turn that concept into a fully fledged novel?

I am so relieved to say that I wrote the book, I still have my book deal and they loved it! Cue lots of jumping around and whooping!

My agent, Kate Nash, and I at the RNA Conference this year.

My agent, Kate Nash, has been absolutely amazing every step along the way. They say you should have an agent who loves your work as much as you do and I think Kate is perfect for me and my writing. Her enthusiasm and determination for my work is incredible and she is always on the end of the phone when I need her, rooting for me and fighting my corner and I couldn’t be more grateful to her.

So, what’s in store for the next few months?

Edits, edits…and writing the next book! Alongside university, being a mum, volunteer work, being a housewife, preparing for book events, planning a launch party….

Sleep is overrated anyway!

Thank you SO much to everyone for their amazing support and encouragement throughout my writing journey.

A new door has opened for me and this is just the beginning…

Lucie xx

You can pre-order Lucie’s debut, THE FIRST TIME MUMS CLUB, on Amazon here:

E-book – May 2017

Paperback – July 2017

You can also follow Lucie’s journey via social media:

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