The Watchtower

The Watchtower is written by Darke Conteur and is published through Smashwords and Amazon. This is a six chapter, 27,732 word paranormal novella.

Darke Conteur is a stay at home mum who is at the mercy of her muse writing anything from the paranormal to science fiction. Darke lives with her husband, son, two cats, one kitten and a ghost dog. She runs her own blog where she aids other writers to be heard posting interviews and news from the writing world, as well as updates on her own work and hobbies. Darke’s passion for writing began in her mid-teens. At 16 she completed her first novel but the manuscript was lost, she hopes to one day re-write the story with a “more scifi feel”.

Martin Cunningham is at a loss, with no job he fears for starvation and the loss of his home. Sending out job applications is a regular thing next to receiving no replies. Deciding to follow up on an application several weeks old, Martin finds himself asked to attend the creepy office of a mysterious lady by the name of Jezryall. However what is more creepy, the gothic surroundings reminiscent of Dracula’s castle or the mysterious package he was asked to deliver by a scaredy cat courier? And why is everyone so frightened by a harmless object?
Sometimes things happen for a reason and events have a tendency to occur when they are supposed to. Danger can lurk around any corner and even the most innocent of looking packages can be deceiving and in this case they really are. When Martin’s would be employer receives a mysterious package the race is on to find out exactly what it is and where it came from but was Martin supposed to be there? A job application he has not heard from, he decides instinctively to contact and is asked for an interview. Was it fate?
With Jezryall not used to receiving packages of any kind, Martin’s interview is about to get very hands on and unbelievable. Will Martin survive the interview? Who are the Gemini? Who or what is Jezryall? Who is trying to kill her? and why?
With their lives in danger and Martin completely out of his comfort zone, does Martin get the job? And if so after everything, will he still want it?

The Watchtower is a novella at less than thirty thousand words therefore the story moves quite quickly. For me I feel this story should have been a little longer to fully appreciate all the story has to offer as it comes together in a whole. There are a number of interesting aspects, magical spells and abilities present within the story, so many in fact I do not feel that each quite get enough reader time to understand them, as well as characters.
I enjoyed this story very much but it did read very quickly which can be frustrating for people who like to flesh out their characters and stories. At times I feel there were moments when the pace should have changed to aid in visualisation. I would recommend The Watchtower to anyone with an interest in the supernatural. If this story is anything to go by then Darke Conteur is someone to watch out for, I would definitely like to see something longer by this author. I give The Watchtower by Darke Conteur 4 out of 5 stars.

By R.N. Hadley