Saturday, September 18, 2021

About the Book

Book: The Watcher

Author: Sara Davison

Genre: Speculative Romantic Suspense

Release date: March 2021

Someone or something is watching Kathryn Ellison.

Kathryn thought she had buried memories of That Night for good—until Nick Lawson returns, reigniting her long-suppressed feelings for him. Seeing Nick has always reminded her too much of the horrible night that changed her life. As much as she wants to be with him, she wants even more to forget. When Nick unexpectedly shows up at her family ranch, Kathryn knows it is finally time to let go of the traumatic past that has held her captive for so long.

David Henley is a captive too—of the dark secret involving Kathryn, a secret he’s kept even from his wife. Now the truth is about to be revealed. And when it is, he could be stripped of everything in his life that matters to him.

A storm is brewing in the spiritual realm, and its effects reverberate through the natural world, summoning otherworldly Beings to the ranch. While Kathryn confronts the memories of That Night and struggles to let them go, she is not as alone in her home as she thinks.

As spiritual and temporal forces collide, Kathryn—and everyone she loves—is about to be caught in the crossfire.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Sara Davison is the author of three romantic suspense series—The Seven Trilogy, The Night Guardians, and The Rose Tattoo Trilogy, as well as the standalone, The Watcher. She has been a finalist for more than a dozen national writing awards, including Best New Canadian Christian author, a Carol, two Selahs, a Holt Medallion, and three Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. She is a Word and Cascade Award winner. She currently resides in Ontario, Canada with her husband Michael and their three children. The words on the mug she uses every morning pretty much sum up her life—I just want to sleep, drink coffee, and make stuff up. Get to know Sara better at www.saradavison.org and @sarajdavison.

More from Sara

The Watcher has taken me on an incredible journey over the last decade. After obtaining my degree in English literature, I longed to write a book. However, I found the idea of sitting down and actually writing one extremely daunting. So, I took every creative writing course, read every book on the subject, and attended every writing conference and seminar I could fine—basically doing everything except writing. Then one Easter Sunday morning, in church, the idea for an entire book—beginning, middle, ending, characters—came to me. Over the next five years, I wrote, rewrote, edited, polished, and got feedback on the book, until I felt it was nearly ready to submit to a publishing contest.

I say nearly because, while the feedback I had received was largely positive, it was still clear that something was missing. A month before the deadline to submit to the publishing contest, it occurred to me what that something was—the timeline. The novel read a bit like a sweeping epic novel that took place over twenty years. While that might work in some genres, it doesn’t play well in romantic suspense.

I had always been intrigued by the idea of a non-human narrator, and it occurred to me that could work with this book. That led me to the idea of using The Watcher, an unseen being in the spiritual realm, as my narrator. When I added in that being and numerous other beings, I was able to shorten the timeline of the book from twenty years to six days.

Of course, this required a major overhaul of the book. I closeted myself in my office for a month, only completing the story the day before the deadline for the contest. That meant I didn’t have an opportunity to show it to anyone or get feedback, so I had no idea whether the idea worked or if the story even made sense anymore.

The Watcher ended up winning the contest and was published in 2011. A decade and eight other published novels later, I got back the rights to my debut novel, polished it up, added several more chapters, and re-released it through Mountain Brook Ink in 2021.

As my first novel, my only (so-far) standalone, and the sole novel I have released that is speculative romantic suspense as opposed to contemporary romantic suspense, The Watcherholds a special place in my heart. As with all my books, my hope and prayer is that it will touch readers’ hearts and draw them closer to the God who has promised to never leave them or forsake them.

MY REVIEW

This book is not going to be an easy one to read for some, so let me warn readers now. It deals with a very sensitive subject that may be a trigger for some. Anyone that has been sexually assaulted will find this story unnerving at times. I wasn't sure if I could finish the book, but I had to see if the main character would find closure from her ordeal.

Many of us have heard the expression “Wrong place, wrong time,” and this story is definitely being at the wrong place at the wrong time for Kathryn. In a second her life changes forever when she decides she doesn’t need to be walked to her car that fateful night. Kathryn endures a horrific encounter with two men that not only takes away her feeling of safety but has also shaken her faith. At times she has asked why did He allow this to happen to me? It is a very hard story to read but one that perhaps can help someone who has gone through the same thing that Kathryn did.

I think of this story as an onion that is peeled away slowly and starts to reveal what is hidden inside. I shudder as I write these words now to describe what emotions are exposed in the depth of this book. Along comes fear,faith, hope, anger, revenge and forgiveness. There is a war brewing in the Spiritual realm as Kathryn continues to battle with the past.

I’m trying very hard not to cry as I finish my review. “What the enemy uses for evil, God turns it to good.” I’m sure you have heard that many times but maybe never experienced it first hand. It was interesting to see how the author illustrated grace in a way that made me look at things differently. Although some people do horrible things, God loves them and wants them to follow Him. He gives grace when we don’t think it should be given. The story also gives a powerful message of forgiveness. I felt the struggle that Kathryn had as she was faced with forgiving those who harmed her. There are a few things in the story that I didn’t quite understand but I won’t say what they are so I don’t give anything away.

Overall the book is good and the message of faith is evident throughout the story. The author gives us a few twists in the story which I was intrigued by. When I read the ending I felt a calm come over me. After the tension I experienced reading the story, the author reminds us that, “Once you’re His you know that, no matter what happens, you can’t leave Him.”

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.