Jared Nathan Garrett's "The Seer"...A Book Review

 Do you believe in magic, and by magic, I mean...Biblical?

If you do or even if you don't, you will find plenty of magic in Jared Nathan Garrett's The Seer. 

We first meet Nathan Eckhoff on an archeological dig in Egypt where, after weather and construction destroys the site where the crew are working, Nathan comes into possession of an ancient artifact--a cloak belonging to Joseph of Egypt, the same Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers, the same Joesph who saved the kingdom after interpreting Pharaoh's dreams. 

Nathan leaves Africa and returns to his home in San Francisco. Only then does he not only realize he has the cloak, but also its former owner. Before he decides what should be done with the artifact, he finds out this is no ordinary garment. It possesses special powers, powers that not only keep Nathan from harm, but also puts him into dangerous situations including several assassination attempts.

The story is fast-paced, exciting, and full of unexpected twists with a conclusion that mingles intrigue, danger, and a dash of romance. The fun is trying to figure out--as does Nathan--just what powers the cloak has. Will Nathan figure it out as well? Will the baddies get to it before Nathan can escape? 

If you like stories with a touch of the supernatural (especially relating to a Biblical story...), check out Jared Nathan Garett's The Seer. You can access the Amazon page by clicking: HERE. A fun read.

Writing Without An Outline...And Hitting A Lull

There are as many theories of how to write a novel as there are writers. Maybe even more, since many people who have never written a novel have opinions on how novels should be written. From a macro view of suggested ways to write a novel, there are two main camps and they go by the names of Plotter, or Pantser.

There's even books written on the pros and cons of each style. They have their strengths and their weaknesses. If I had to choose a side to describe my style, I'd have to go with Pantser, or "writing by the seat of your pants" over Plotter, or one who outlines the story before they write the actual story.

Personally, I like just running with a story and seeing where it takes me. The problem is, I run out of steam, sometimes at 5000 works, sometimes at 20,000. The story I'm currently writing has over 33,000 words. That may sound like a lot of words (and, to be honest, it is a lot of words...), but depending on the genre, that could be halfway, or just a scratch. For my story, it's about a third of what it needs to be.

I've had this story in my mind for years. I'm excited because I've gotten farther in the story than ever before (I've re-written the beginning several times...). I'm pleased with the progress and I do like the characters. I can see several novels coming from this universe. Of course, I've got to finish this one first.

One reason I don't do a lot of plotting is because my mind thinks it's unproductive, even though that's not true. I could spend weeks writing several hundred words of outline. If I were writing the story, I could write tens of thousands of words in that same time. But, then I hit walls where I'm not sure where I want it to go. And thus, I hit a lull.

I think I'm going to have to do some serious outlining on this story so I can finish it. If I can pull it off, I could write the remaining 60,000 words relatively quickly. So, maybe plotting isn't for me, nor is pantsing, but a combination of both. I wonder if anyone's written books about that...