Sometimes we find that we're not living our lives, but merely going along for the ride...

Most of us have felt out of control in our lives from time to time -- as if we've become a passenger on the road of life. In truth, there are many things in our lives that we can't change...other people, for example. We may be able to influence them, but we can’t force people to act a certain way. We have to learn to live in a world not entirely of our choosing, so it’s only natural that we often feel helpless. Some of us have even fallen into patterns where we let other people and events shape our lives. After all, what can we do?

We can change ourselves. We can choose our own actions. If you want to live your life then you must accept what you can’t change and strive to make the most of what you can.

My paranormal novel, "Touch of Fate," is a work of fiction, but its main theme is true to life. The characters struggle with the same problems we all do — intensified a notch. (Or perhaps not, intuition and psychic phenomenon are still not well understood.)

I tested my characters by giving them a unique gift, one that some call a curse. They make prophecies of the future that they cannot change. Talk about feeling out of control...but if they can find an answer in their lives then perhaps we all can.

They make some of the same bad choices we do in an attempt to make sense of the world and to take control. Several of the women suffer from eating disorders. A young girl turns to sex. Some try to throw themselves into their work. The main character struggles with hopelessness and depression. Yet for all of this, there is hope. We can make a difference in our own lives when we accept what we can’t change and make the best choices available to us.