Author and leadership coach Gabriella Goddard is the founder of Goddard International Ltd. In her book, Gulp!, Goddard teaches how to understand and overcome fear, step out of the 'comfort zone' enchainment, and fulfill our goals. She's currently touring the blogosphere to promote Gulp!

Hi, Gabrielle. It's nice to have you here. When did you decide you wanted to become an author?

My writer’s journey has been an interesting one. As a child I loved writing and I used to write poems and short stories for the school newsletter. At the tender age of seven, I even wrote the school play. But all of that disappeared as I got older and veered towards doing the sensible thing of studying math and science so I’d “never be out of a job.”

As it was I ended up in Marketing, and worked around the world in senior international marketing roles for about 15 years. Then, when the dot com bubble burst and I was left without a job, I decided to branch out on my own and set up Goddard International Ltd., a leadership and personal development coaching business. These days I combine Executive Coaching and Leadership Development with my passion for writing books, ebooks, audio books and articles.

Were you an avid reader as a child? What type of books did you enjoy reading?

As a child I loved reading. My favorite books were “Nancy Drew” and it wasn’t uncommon to find me finishing off the last chapter by torchlight, hidden under the duvet covers way past lights out. I also loved books by “Enid Blyton” and for some reason I got onto “Mills & Boons” at quite an early age (back in the days when they were still relatively tame.)

Tell us a bit about your latest book, and what inspired you to write such a story.

Life unravels itself in mysterious ways. A few years ago I had the traumatic experience of going through a breast cancer scare. It was a massive wake up call and a crucial turning point in my life. Faced with the possibility of dying, something flipped inside me and that’s when I reconnected to my childhood dream of being a writer. I asked myself “If not now… then when?” And that’s when I began to write again.

Gulp!: The 7 Day Crash Course to Master Fear and Break Through Any Challenge is the result of this catalytic moment. And underpinning Gulp! is my own personal journey of coping with a breast cancer scare and finding the confidence and courage to follow my dream to be a published author. In fact, the 7 day roadmap is based on the process I went through to cope with these challenges.

If there's one thing my experience has taught me, it’s that often in life the important stuff gets buried under the daily hum drum. Then sh*t happens and all of a sudden we're taking action - fast! But why do we need a wake up call to do the things that really matter?