Destinies in Motion

The adventures of Tacker, a housecat who becomes the king of a nearby forest, gradually merges with the unfolding destinies of his mistress and her family. Tac’s efforts to aid the troubled finances of the family lead him to pose as an anonymous benefactor and Lana begins her own quest to understand the motives of her family’s mysterious guardian. The truth shakes Lana to her core as she enters a world where magic still rules and childhood fairy tales are not simply stories.

My fantasy novel, Destinies in Motion, shows the Vladners, a normal family who could easily live next door to any reader, at the time in their lives when the interference of mysterious events has turned their daily existence upside down. It happens that only their cat, Tacker, knows about the nature of these changes but he remains silent; which is why his mistress, the teenage girl Lana Vladner, is forced to commence a quest to unveil the mystery by herself. At the same time, she struggles to find her own place in life. It is difficult for Lana to confront magic since she does not believe in it and needs proof of its existence and that is why several strange events, none of which at first sight appear to be connected one with the other, start to unfold around her. She meets a stranger from whom she receives a very valuable gift, which motivates her to search for more signs of magic. Then she finds a guide to lead her to the land where her destiny lies, her own pet, Tac, who has suddenly discovered a new talent and becomes involved in activities unusual for a housecat. As a result of many funny and dangerous events, Tac becomes a treasure hunter and, through a further series of adventures, the wealthy owner of a fairground and an employer of humans. Despite great achievements that bring him the position of King of the nearby woods, the cat is only one of the many animal characters who now start to interact with people, sometimes on a very human level, which provides an answer to the question that has puzzled many pet owners at least once: “What is my cat or dog thinking whilst it's mysterious, or trusting, eyes are watching me?” Of course, there are no fantasy stories that can exist without dragons, wizards, romance or the clashing interests of magical helpers and powerful enemies. The intrigue finally unfolds into the kidnapping of Lana's baby brother, Troy, by an evil witch bent on exchanging his pure soul for the satisfaction of her own dark desires. This is a time in her life when Lana needs to make a choice; whether to be a passive fence-sitter by relying on someone else to take-over her affairs or to accept the challenge presented to her of protecting the old fashioned values of family, friendship and love. At the beginning of the novel, Lana's character is uncertain and she primarily depends upon the opinions of her friends but, towards the end of it, she consciously takes the responsibility upon herself of finding and saving her own brother and thus ensures her own transition into adulthood.

BIOGRAPHY - Liliya V Galitskaya. Liliya V Galitskaya was born in the Black Sea port of Odessa, Ukraine in 1957. Starting work early as a seamstress, she soon realized that she had the gift of being artistic and in 1975 joined 100 applicants for annual entry to the prestigious Ukrainian Art/Theatre Institute of Odessa and was one of ten selected. An interesting, but arduous, five years later she graduated with a Diploma as a Designer of Historical Costume. This, in turn, led to her being hired by a movie-making studio as Assistant to the Costumer and in this role she dressed Principal Actors. Skilled in all forms of needlework, crochet and fashion she also does exquisite tapestries by hand and likes to draw and paint, as can be seen by the 22 illustrations within this book. In 1998 she immigrated to Canada with her two children to marry her husband, Roderick, and is currently self-employed as an entrepreneur in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. Having been an avid reader since childhood, Liliya was always drawn to Russian fairy tales and the writing of Destinies in Motion has been inspired and motivated by her memories of these fascinating stories. Now a Canadian citizen, and fluent in English, the completion of her Fantasy novel has fulfilled her dream of creating a brilliant, wide-ranging story for all ages, complete with a host of different characters, surprises and emotions. These reflect her vision, artistic leanings, incredible imagination and sense of humor.