If you told Arielle Ford 30 years ago she’d publish her first novel in her 70s, she’d have laughed. Back then, she was running a high-flying PR firm in Los Angeles, working with luxury hotels, art galleries, and clients on Rodeo Drive. Life was fast, glamorous, and busy — until she decided she only wanted to work with people and projects “good for the planet.”
That shift led her into the world of personal growth, where she became a publicist to some of the biggest names in the field — Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Marianne Williamson, and Louise Hay. She was the go-to person for helping authors and thought leaders share their ideas with the world.
And then came the first book she never planned to write.
While working on public relations for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, which she helped launch, she was invited to co-author a special edition. But when her favorite “woo-woo” mystical stories were cut, she walked away from the project — only to have a friend who was a literary agent stumble upon her draft, sell it to Penguin without her knowledge, and hand her a big advance check. Hot Chocolate for the Mystical Soul was born, and it evolved into a full series. She has since published 11 non-fiction books.
Then, in her early 40s, Arielle woke up one day to realize that she’d been incredibly successful professionally, but “Holy Shit! I forgot to get married! I had this really successful PR firm, I had a great circle of friends, I had a beautiful Beverly Hills condo, and a sports car. I had a great life. But I thought, ‘I don’t have a husband. How will I get a husband?’ And I thought, ‘Well, what did I do to grow my business?’ So I got out a piece of paper, and I made nine pages of notes on all the things I did to manifest my business. And then I just tweaked them and applied them to my love life. It worked.” She manifested the perfect partner and got married for the first time at 44.
Once other single 40+ women heard of her ‘system’ for finding love, they requested her help. She started sharing her process of how to ‘manifest a soul mate,’ and others also found similar romantic success. Her sister convinced her to make a ‘product’ of the process (a series of cassettes), which sold well. She showed the product to Deepak Chopra’s publishing team (she was producing a PBS show for him at the time) and then a few weeks later, “they called me up and said, ‘We want to turn your product into a book and we’re going to give you a six-figure advance.’ Like, stuff like this doesn’t happen! I didn’t even need an agent. That became the first love book, and it sold crazy well. Then, suddenly, I’m out there lecturing and teaching workshops, writing books about love, and writing a column for 50 newspapers on love. After that, I inadvertently became a love expert. I didn’t mean to be a love expert!”
But fiction? That was never on her vision board.
But one day, a story started playing in her head — scenes set in Rishikesh, India, a place she had visited and loved. She ignored it, until a Dan Brown writing MasterClass (and a perfectly manifested first-class plane ticket to India) nudged her into action. The trip to Rishikesh, India, brought the story to life, and five and a half years later, after learning the craft of fiction writing from scratch, her debut novel, The Love Thief, was ready.
This summer, The Love Thief hit shelves, when Arielle is in her 70s. It’s a terrific novel about a spurned woman, Holly, working to heal her heart, and potentially take some revenge, after a man has broken her heart and stolen from her. It’s set in India, Arielle’s ‘happy place’, as well as in San Diego, her current hometown. Arielle’s film producer refers to the book as ‘Eat Pray Love meets Dirty John’, which she agrees is the perfect description.
Almost every character in The Love Thief is inspired by someone Arielle has met along the way. “It’s inspired by actual events. Most of the names have been changed to protect both the guilty and the innocent. The main character, Holly, is a composite character. She’s a combination of several women, all of whom are household names. They’ve all had relationships with a sociopath who broke their hearts, stole their money, and crushed their dreams. So I had a lot of access to that after hearing their stories. The villain in the book is based on somebody very real, and most of what he does in the book he did in real life. He’s a dangerous person, a scary guy. He’ll never hurt anyone again and I am not allowed to say who he is.” The book’s American guru, based in India, is also a real woman who is a close friend of Arielle’s. The result is a love story wrapped in spiritual adventure, grounded in real-life people and places the author knows intimately.
These days, Arielle is enjoying the ride of a terrific new book on the market, and talks are underway to make it a limited streaming series. Her dream pick for the lead would be Kristen Bell. But she swears she’ll only write another novel if two things happen: the story arrives fully formed in her head, and the publisher offers a “nice, juicy” advance, as writing this book ‘was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life’, she laughed! If she manifests it, we know it will happen!
Arielle’s secret to a career that’s taken her from PR powerhouse to bestselling ‘love/relationship’ author to novelist? “Follow the breadcrumbs. If it feels fun and a little magical, say yes. The rest will figure itself out.”
Arielle’s Fab5 List
5 Juicy Tips to Manifest Big Love 💖
- Get a pro on your team.
Hire a legit love + dating coach. And please — stop taking romantic advice from your single, bitter friend or your cousin whose “happy marriage” is held together by duct tape. You wouldn’t get stock tips from someone broke, so why get love tips from someone who hasn’t nailed it? - Know your non-negotiables.
Get crystal clear on your core values. When you know what truly matters to your soul, you can call in someone who matches your vibe — not just your Netflix queue. - Date like you mean it.
Block out real time for love. That means swiping with intention on one or two dating apps and getting out into the wild — parties, meet-ups, cooking classes, the dog park… anywhere you can flash that smile. - Master your mindset.
There is zero shortage of love in the world — and absolutely no age limit on finding Big Love. Stay in possibility mode. - Steal my cheat sheet.
Watch this free one-hour video where I interview 3 of my favorite dating experts. It’s like a love masterclass, minus the boring parts.
