When it comes to the subject of destiny for writers and philosophers and romantics, three schools of thought exist:

• Destiny is an unswayable force. Virgil said, ‘Let us follow our destiny, ebb and flow. Whatever may happen, we master fortune by accepting it.’
• Destiny is under our control. Emerson believed, ‘The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.’ Shakespeare wrote, ‘It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.’
• Destiny does not exist. ‘Destiny is but a phrase of the weak human heart – the dark apology for every error. The strong and virtuous admit no destiny…’ So wrote the 1st Baron Lytton.

The third holds no truth for me. All of my romance novels have some sense of destiny about them, because it’s mysterious, romantic and, to me, realistic. But to what degree a love story is pre-determined is an interesting question.

In my new book, The Echoes of Love, the hero Paolo quotes the following verse by Persian poet Omar Khayyám (1048–1131):

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,

Moves on: not all the Piety nor Wit

Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,

Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.

Paolo’s clarifies his point as follows: ‘Man is not free. Our lives are written for us.’ This is emblematic of the powerlessness Paolo feels in his own life. He is lost, a shadow of his former self, and before meeting Venetia he had no hope, not even the idea, that the future could be any different.

But along comes Venetia, who does not agree with Paolo’s limited and somewhat sad outlook on life, on love. She sees herself as having a measure of control over her destiny. ‘Fate is for those too weak to determine their own destiny,’ she tells Paolo. As a modern, independent woman who’s already had her heart broken through the loss of a man, how can she live her life in any other way than being in charge of her future, and thus able to protect her aching heart?

And yet, by the ending of the book readers can be in no doubt that destiny has played a big part in the love story – without wishing to give away a spoiler, the lovers have been brought together, despite the odds stacked against them.

The crux of the matter is best expressed through the wisdom of William Jennings Bryan: ‘Destiny is not a matter of chance; but a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.’

I would add: If one has the courage to make the right choice. 

Ultimately, Paolo and Venetia must make the right choice in the face of their destinies. Paolo must concede that he has some say in his destiny, and has the power and right to redefine his path. And Venetia must come to see that a certain amount of what’s wonderful in life is delivered serendipitously – she must choose to relinquish some control and to let love guide her. Only then, through empowered and informed choices, can love prevail.