Tell us about A Sealed Fate

A Sealed Fate is a unique blend of chick-lit and thriller in an unusual setting and with an unusual theme at the centre – the concept of sacrificial and compensatory karma. The tension revs up with my main character, the singer and wannabe rock star, Valda, who speeds through life in a sequence of emotional car crashes until she washes up on Dubai’s shores at the feet of the mysterious Sheikh, who, whilst pretending to be her patron, has his own needs to satisfy. And boy does Valda satisfy them until she realises, when in very deep, that she has predecessors with the same experience. The only problem is she can’t consult them because they are all dead – in suspicious circumstances.

Her clandestine relationship with the Sheikh, propels her further into a murky web of deceit, and she turns to Larissa for help. As an astrologer, Larissa predicts that Valda and the Sheikh’s destinies were sealed from the moment of their first meeting; however she keeps the dire fate that she reads in the charts a secret.

Together, Valda and Larissa take a gamble in a game of cosmic Russian Roulette where the stakes are their lives and their adversary, Fate itself. Can they beat Fate? Can freewill triumph? Take a leisurely tours of the City State’s night spots and its haute cuisine; rub shoulders with the beautiful and rich, but never forget that nagging question of destiny and the price you have to pay to change it.

What genre did you say it was?
Thriller/Crime.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
I initially assumed that women would enjoy my book; but I have found that men have enjoyed it even more than women. It is very contemporary and the style makes my novel easy to get into and in that way I believe it will appeal to avid readers and more reluctant, occasional readers too. Due to the exotic location it makes a superb holiday read; but it’s not just light reading there is a philosophical twist at the heart of it which challenges us all to ask the question about fate and freewill and what these concepts mean for us in our lives.

How long did it take to write?
Eighteen months with some breaks in between. My Grandad died midway through me writing the book and I stopped for ages; I forced myself to start again as I knew that he had been so excited about me writing.

What was the most challenging part of your creative process?
The creative process was a total joy; I cannot say there were challenges, it was more like a big party. I can only guess that with your first book there are no expectations and no pressure; it’s just a big creative adventure, which of course is very exciting. Being creative always came naturally to me; as an only child I spent so much time alone that I used my imagination to create all the characters I wished were in my life. My imagination has always been a refuge and a way to test and experience the parts of me unseen and unheard of in my real life. While the creative side was a thrilling journey; the publishing side was a much more challenging mission! I am yet to utter the words Mission Accomplished!

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I was born in Johannesburg. 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 am incurably inquisitive and if there is something going on on this planet, I want to know about it.

At school I was a rebel – no not the sort of rebel who smokes in the loo and makes out behind the bike shed – I was more of an ideas rebel, I wanted to think for myself and never just accept what I was told. Although I studied Law at Uni, my secret ambition was always to act or work in the arts; but of course you have to keep the family happy by making some sensible decisions you know. I ended up with a degree in Economics, however the economics and financial world never beckoned and so at 23 I took a pretty sharp left turn and decided to study astrology. I have always loved helping people and I am fascinated by the meaning of life, destiny and karma and so I often think it was fate that prompted me to take this direction which in many ways has been a difficult route, but very revealing in terms of self-discovery. I was the resident astrologer on many local UK radio stations for many years.

Although my foray into astrology may have left my spiritual life richer, my bank balance was a basket case, so it was back to the drawing board career wise and I began studying to be a Chartered Accountant. Bored to tears with studying audit, I decided to start writing a book one night. 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.

How can we follow you on social media?
I do most of my interacting via Facebook and Twitter: I welcome new followers at: https://www.facebook.com/authorlisajgordon and @lisalazuli.

Where can we buy your book?
On Amazon ( US, UK). Barnes and Noble.

What’s next?
I have finished my second novel Next of Sin, which is a more conventional action packed thriller set in the UK and Japan. I am working on my third novel set in Italy, Men of a Dark Moon. I have written a play, Holly Leaves and a screenplay, Dying to Tell.