December 3, 2012
One of the first authors to get in touch with me after India Drummond’s blog post went viral (thanks, PG!) was Galen Watson, whose book The Psalter ought to put Dan Brown to shame. Of course, I’ve yet to read, let alone edit, Dan Brown, so I’m biased.
The Psalter is a smart, sharp, intriguing tale that goes back into history while it tells a present-day story. Yeah, one of those structures. My bud Galen pulls it off.
As I do with all my editing clients, I invited him to stop in for a Featured New Book Spotlight. And like many — but not all — do, he took me up on it.
Galen, what song makes you think of The Psalter?
Bob Seeger’s Against the Wind haunted me as I wrote The Psalter, and while I was editing. When I hear the words or see them written, I realize Against the Wind could truly be the novel’s theme song. I wish I could attach a nano mp3 player to every ebook and paperback copy to play softly as the reader turns the pages. Perhaps readers could play Seeger’s tune as a sort of dénouement background music in Chapter 45, Johannes’ Testament. That’s the point that Seeger’s words were the most poignant to my writer’s self.
It seems like yesterday
But it was long ago
Janey was lovely she was the queen of my nights
There in the darkness with the radio playing low
And the secrets that we shared
The mountains that we moved
Caught like a wildfire out of control
‘Til there was nothing left to burn and nothing left to prove
And I remember what she said to me
How she swore that it never would end
I remember how she held me oh so tight
Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then
Book Blurb
A medieval prayer book, a religious prophecy, and a forgery that changed the church—forever.
Father Romano has run afoul of the modern inquisitors before. This time, it leads to a medieval manuscript and murder. Was it an ordinary theft gone wrong or something more? The police would like to know.
Romano uncovers a historical narrative of medieval forgeries, Saracen invasions and a legendary fight for the richest kingdom on earth. Yet he has unwittingly become a target for those who will stop at nothing to possess the secret of the Psalter.
Twitter: @galencwatson
