When I left school I didn't have my career all marked out in the route planner, I didn't have a life compass - all I had was an abiding belief that things would work out as they were meant to. I studied law, then economics, then I took a serious left turn and became an astrologer, but nothing really clicked for me. I bumbled along with this belief as my comfort blanket until one day crisis hit - I turned 30! Suddenly I realised that I was nowhere, my belief that all would work out magically without any major planning on my behalf had lead me a merry dance;and while all my friends seemed to have it all sussed career wise and family wise, my life was a basket case. It really made me question my beliefs and wonder if there really IS a plan or a destiny for us all, or whether it's all down to free choice and our own strategic planning.
This question about whether fate or freewill govern our life became the guiding theme of my novel, A Sealed Fate.
At school writing was actually my weakest subject and it was not until I was seventeen that my English teacher, Mrs Worth noticed that I had talent and gave me some really good advice; advice I still follow today. A great teacher really can make a difference and Mrs Worth was one of those gifted teachers who made a difference to so many of our lives.. However, I never considered writing as a career choice until at 30, during my little crisis, I had a psychic reading where the psychic told me that I must write as it was what she saw for me. I have always been an avid emailer and pen-friend - as we used to call it in the 80's, you never hear that word anymore do you - so I certainly fancied giving it a go. As an only child I spent most of my time by myself and so developing characters in my imagination and creating a fantasy world was second nature.
Growing up in Johannesburg was truly an amazing experience which I will always treasure. It is a city of bright colors, vibrant people, stark contrasts and extremes: extreme wealth, extreme poverty, extreme emotions, extreme thunderstorms, often extreme violence and yet every minute I lived there I felt alive. As I sit here in safe and picturesque England I long to leave this sterility and head for the chaos of Africa where somehow every minute means so much more. Perhaps my image of my homeland is very much my metaphor for life: that at the extremes of existence one is truly living and experiencing this thing we call life to the full. I have tried in my novel to capture the vibrancy of life in all it's colour, the thrill of living.and the peak experience we have at life's ectremes.
I am incurably inquisitive and very observant and I use my attention to detail to create vivid images which will transport the reader to the very heart of my story - making the reader put down the book thinking, "I've been there! I know those people!"
The strange twists and turns of my own life and my own constant querying over whether I had a destiny or a fate inspired the theme of my novel. It's important to realise that life is a great mystery and that is part of the fun; you never know when things are going to change and when the best part of your life is going to begin. Writing a book was something I never expected to try and yet it is now my greatest love and my greatest achievement. I have written two more books which I hope to publish in the near future and as all authors know writing is a huge adventure which never ends.
A SEALED FATE
Paperback: 226 pages
Publisher: Janus Publishing Company (September 1, 2009)
Amazon Link
About the book:
Upbeat and contemporary in style, this riveting narrative features an eclectic mix of characters awash with local color. To escape the pain of failed relationships and careers, both Valda and Larissa take themselves to the exotic locale of Dubai, seeking not only success but a general purpose in life. Valda does indeed find fulfillment and, to her astonishment, love but all is threatened when she is introduced to a billionaire Sheikh. Her clandestine relationship with the Sheikh propels her into a murky web of deceit, and she turns to her friend for help. As an astrologer, Larissa predicts that Valda and the Sheikh's destinies were decided from the moment of their first meeting, but she keeps the dire outcome foretold in the charts a secret. Together, the two women soon find themselves gambling in a game of cosmic Russian roulette where the stakes are their lives and their adversary is fate itself. Bravely merging genres and sensitively embracing personal relationships, this spiritual and gritty thriller illustrates the complex theme of choice versus chance.
About the author:
Lisa Gordon is a certified astrologer who appears regularly on BBC Radio.
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