Stoughton minister, healer-and now novelist-Elizabeth Goodson drew on a mix of the spiritual and the spooky for her first book, 'The Tarot's Warning.'
"It's about a real experience with an unfriendly ghost," she says. "There is a lesson to it. It's the story of three women, their relationship, and their spiritual journey together, but it's also got an element of mystery and a little humour."
"I see it as a story of three women who are exploring their spirituality and a haunting, so [the novel] has a double theme," adds Goodson. "It's published as a novel, but it's about 90 percent a true story. I am the only 'real' character in the book, Beth."
"I wrote it as a gateway for people. It might mostly be attractive to people seeking spirituality, but it's also just a story. It's about 90 percent my own experience, but it's based on events from three different communities. It took place before I came to Stoughton, so none of the places or people are from Stoughton. The Stoughton content is limited to the cover photo, which is a picture I took from my kitchen window here."
"Beth is pretty much me, and there are also parts of me in the other two main characters. I didn't want it to be an autobiography. Instead, I wanted the book to be a window into spirituality for readers. Many people are starving when it comes to spirituality and I wanted to reach people with this book. People yearn for spirituality. They might not be really into church or religion, and many tend to describe themselves as 'spiritual, but not religious.'"
Goodson says her position as minister of Stoughton's Grace United Church and her partnership in her business, Arbon & Goodson, Energy Practitioners, allows her to explore and appreciate many avenues of spirituality and healing, which her novel explores.
"Because the United Church is very accepting and very curious about all types of spirituality, I have been able to train as a reiki master and I am also qualified in healing touch, crystal healing, and tarot exploration. My interest in these areas has been growing for years. My grandmother was interested in all this stuff. People are eager to learn more, and I want to help them get spiritual nourishment."
"We are all a combination of the sacred and the secular, the logical and the spiritual, and matter and energy. The body, mind, and spirit are not separate and distinct from one another; they are all working together to enhance our human experience. I hope that's something that comes across in this story."
Goodson says writing her novel took a matter of months. "It took me from about March until June. I would sit down each evening after work and I would just kind of flow out of me. Because it's a lot of my own experience, I suspect if I did another one, it might be harder, because I would have to use my imagination entirely, so for now, I'm going to step back and take a break and talk to people about the book and about what it triggers in them."
Goodson will be selling and signing copies of 'A Tarot's Warning' at Stoughton Library on Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. The novel is available in hardcover ($31.99), sof tcover ($17.99) and e-book formats ($2.99) via Amazon.ca and www.friesenpress.com/bookstore.
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