Hey beautiful readers!
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer! How did y’all manage with the heat? Canada Day was HOT… but I refuse to complain… summer is short lived… so we must enjoy it while it lasts.
Ok! Can I pull you for a chat (shout out to my Love Island peeps) to talk about the actual heart of Doppel Paladin? It’s something I think about a lot lately, especially since I’m almost done book 2… and that is, the battle between destiny and choice.
In a lot of supernatural fantasy stories, destiny is treated like… a blessing or easy pass. The chosen hero finds out they have magic powers, accepts their crown, and marches off to save the day… yada, yada, yada… the story is always the same. But in the universe I’m building, destiny isn’t a gift; it’s a heavy weight. When Mya discovers her truth and it’s not a moment of pure triumph. It’s a moment of disruption. She didn’t ask to be part of this chaos between Malachi and the others. She didn’t sign up to have the safety of her ordinary life ripped away.
I think that’s why this fantasy novel about destiny feels so real to me. How many times in our actual lives are we handed circumstances we didn’t ask for? A sudden shift, a heavy burden, or a path we never intended to walk. Destiny might deal the cards, but how we play them is up to us.
In Book 2, the stakes are higher, and the pressure on Mya and her allies is intense. But what I’m realizing as the chapters unfold is that true strength doesn’t come from the magic itself. It comes from the choices made in spite of the magic.
To survive a dark fantasy novel world, you can’t just rely on raw power. You need discipline. You need structure. Most importantly, you need to set boundaries…even with destiny itself. Mya has to learn where the world’s demands end and where her own identity begins. Choosing to stand up, choosing to protect the people you love, and choosing to hold onto who you are when everything around you is chaotic… that is where the real power lies. Destiny might set the stage, but choice writes the story.
Whether you’re fighting supernatural forces in an urban fantasy novel or just trying to navigate the unexpected twists of your own life, the lesson is the same. You might not have chosen the battle you’re in right now. You might be tired, overwhelmed, or wondering how you ended up on this specific path. But remember: you always hold the power of choice. You choose your boundaries. You choose your next step. You choose to be resilient.
If you want to dive back into the moments where Mya first had her world turned upside down, you can always head over to the home page of my website to grab your copy of Doppel Paladin.
How do you handle it when life throws you onto a path you didn’t plan for? Do you believe in destiny, or are you team choice all the way? Let’s chat in the comments!
Thanks for stopping by!
Lera Bishop