PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — An unresolved past clashes with an unstable future in Don Owen’s “Wilderness of Divine Precedent”, a paranormal thriller on sale at amazon.com.
The novel follows retired businessman Henry Yamaguchi, the patriarch of a Japanese American family in present-day California. Yamaguchi is obsessed by the tale of an 18th-century woodland woman described as “beyond understanding” in a journal written by a British army physician during Edward Braddock’s expedition to Fort Duquesne in 1755.
Claiming a “deity of the forest” intervened repeatedly during that British military campaign in North America, physician Shimazu Masahiro also reveals in his journal that a young aide-de-camp from Virginia named George Washington died when Braddock’s army encountered a force of French and Indians near the Monongahela River.
And what begins as a hobby to satisfy Yamaguchi’s curiosity instead turns into a life-changing crusade. Yamaguchi’s obsession ignites a complex search that ends with a stunning revelation that is terrifying yet strangely familiar.
“This story combines historical fiction from colonial America with present-day elements of the paranormal, and it produces a mystery with several twists,” said Owen, a native of Newport who worked at Northern Kentucky University for 21 years before retiring in 2014. “But this story isn’t a rewind to the past, and it has nothing to do with time travel. What actually happened in 1755 during Braddock’s expedition to Fort Duquesne only sets up this story.
“Those events from the past lead to a number of complex situations in the present, and Henry Yamaguchi eventually discovers the circumstances are much more than coincidence.”
Yamaguchi’s pursuit of the truth leads to the diary of a colonial scout (Luther Smith) who also encountered the woodland female during Braddock’s expedition. Smith’s diary includes an entry confirming George Washington’s death in the forest near the Monongahela River. In addition, Yamaguchi discovers a peculiar old book — Kikyōki — a document written entirely in Japanese by Shimazu Masahiro’s wife in the 18th century and later given to the scout as a gift.
The translation of Kikyōki produces an equally disturbing revelation, setting in motion a stirring sequence of events for both Yamaguchi and Dr. Russell Smith — a descendant of the scout and a history professor who is haunted by bizarre nightmares of Indian torture. These discoveries confound Dr. Lisa Okamoto, a professor of Japanese language and history who helps translate Kikyōki and later finds her life — and beliefs — forever changed by a series of astonishing events linked to the book.
Owen noted this is the second edition of the novel, which was originally published in 2016. “The plot needed major adjustments that I rushed in the first edition,” Owen said. “It’s still the same story, but the second edition clarifies several points from a biblical perspective that I omitted in the original plot.”
Owen is a 1980 graduate of Newport High School. He now resides in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
