Being Guided to the Right Place

Hi Everyone! Well, here we are almost at the end of October which means Autumn for us here in the North and the onset of Spring for the Southern Hemisphere. I hope you're all doing really well and finding at least a few reasons to smile every single day- even though so many of us are facing difficult times. Things here are chez Turner are thankfully still swimming rather than drowning, which is always a positive although, like everyone else, we face weekly challenges. But to be honest, I would rather not focus too much on the struggles of life. As I've often said before, just as good times don't last forever, neither do bad and so there are reasons to keep our heads up!

In my own life, the release of my new novel 'Turn Into Stars' has been as exciting as ever, it's a mix of nerves and pleasure every time I see another title added to my author page. This story came at a time when I really needed inspiration, I was feeling very low, and the onset of unexpected health issues didn't help, and I had started to question whether I even wanted to write anything again. But then, the simple choice to watch a travel documentary somehow sparked an idea and now, a new book has been born and released into the wild. But supposing on that day, I hadn't seen that particular show, would the intense negativity I had been feeling take an even greater hold? It's those kinds of moments which we all have in our lives which take us in one direction rather than another.

I think we all know what it's like to look back and say, "if I hadn't been there that night, I wouldn't have met them/seen it or had that experience." But have you ever wondered why or even how we end up in exactly the right place? I'm not a religious person, but there have been many times when I have wondered if some divine being or beings are moving me like a chess piece, to ensure the right things happen to me. There have just been too many instances when if I had not got on that particular train or attended a certain event, I would have either missed out on meeting someone who was going to be important to me or conversely been hurt in some way.

Some years ago, there was a terror attack in London, where a number of devices exploded across the transport network including a bus. As it happened, I was in the area and could have easily been there when a bomb exploded and yet, at the last minute, I was distracted and ended up going down another street. I heard the huge blast but was obviously unhurt. Now before anyone gets the wrong idea, I don't think I was 'saved' for any great purpose, but I was far from alone in being guided away from trouble. After the horrors of that day, so many people told their stories about how they 'should' have been there, but some unforeseen event had changed their plans.

It was a similar case with the shocking attack on the Twin Towers, NY, when some people who worked in the buildings described how they were due at their desks at the time the planes hit but had been delayed or were sick that day and so had opted to stay home.

I think the same can be said of when certain people cross your path and, in some cases, completely change the direction of your life. Some ten years ago, I was on social media and had been fortunate enough to gain new friends who were writers. I obviously supported them as they released books, I also learned a great deal about just how hard it is to sustain a story for 75,00+ words. As I was talking to one particular author, she casually asked if I had ever thought about writing myself, naturally, I laughed and said there was no way I could do it. But being wiser than I, she was well aware, her remark had struck home and before long, I found myself facing a blank screen and wondering if I could even think of a single word let alone a whole book! Now, if we had not met, I think it's true to say, I might never have tried which, in turn, would have meant being a professional author would have remained a far-fetched idea rather than the ongoing reality.

Finally, I think we can all agree, most of us have experienced extremely difficult times in our lives and we are left wondering if things will ever get better. But if we can embrace the idea, that walking around the next corner, making that phone call or some other apparently mundane event, there's the distinct chance our lives will go in a new and better direction - perhaps that alone will be enough to keep going. I'm not suggesting we are not in charge of our own lives, but can all those unexpected circumstances really be nothing more than coincidences? All of them? Maybe not, that's all I'm saying. 

Anyway, that's more than enough from me, I hope wherever you might be 'moved' you all stay safe and well. Oh, and before I go, thank you so much for hitting that pre-order link for 'Turn Into Stars', I hope you enjoy meeting the group of women within the story and travelling with them - it's quite the ride!

Take very good care out there xxxx