Story Tellers Corner: Gee’s new book takes historic twist

What would happen if a man, once unable to marry, suddenly becomes the most eligible bachelor in town?

That’s the premise of Nathaniel Gee’s newest romantic-comedy, “Of Pigs and Priests.”

The former Boulder City resident‘s second novel was recently released by Cedar Fort publishing.

Gee said the idea for the book came to him in a dream. He was in Las Cruces, New Mexico, taking a class on how to inspect bridges for his job and had a dream that he was a priest, who “obviously wouldn’t date, but fell in love.”

When he awoke, he realized that this did happen in history under the rule of Queen Elizabeth, who began the Church of England, which allowed priests to marry.

“I thought it would be a unique thing to go from being priests, who were next to royalty and had a lot of money, to being well-desired as soon as they came on the market,” Gee said. “Fathers would say, ‘Hey, I want my daughter to marry that guy.’”

While the story does follow the history of the late 1550s, he said the towns and characters are fictional.

Although “Of Pigs and Priests” is Gee’s second published novel, it was actually mostly written before his first book, “The Business Proposal,” was published.

He said he submitted the draft to his publisher, but they weren’t sure there was a market for a book set in the 1550s and asked for something else.

Between his work with the Tennessee Valley Authority and raising his young family — he and his wife, Jeanine just had their ninth child — he doesn’t have a lot of time to write. He said he tries to squeeze it in when he can because it’s a “good release.”

Gee said his favorite part of writing is watching the novel unfold.

“I love finding out what happens,” he said.

He said he is working on his next book, which is a complete departure from his romantic-comedies. It’s a murder mystery, with a twist.

The murder the detective is trying to solve is actually his own and he needs to figure out who killed him and then help the police get to that person.

Gee said it’s been fun to explore this different world, which developed from his belief that after death people continue to learn and progress.

“I wanted to focus on the afterlife where people continue to have jobs and work,” he said.

Gee said one of the bonuses of working with a publisher is getting to know other authors and learning about their work. They also inspire him to continue writing. He said one of the authors he met, Cindy Gunderson, wrote seven books in one year — all while home-schooling her four children.

If he can, Gee would like to host a book signing in Boulder City later this year. Until then, “Of Pigs and Priests” is available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble, among other sites.

Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.