About the Book

Book: The Well of the Soul

Author: Doug Powell

Genre: Action/Adventure/Suspense

Release date: October 15, 2021

A list of hiding places on a strip of papyrus found inside a mummy mask thrusts Graham Eliot, Ancient Near East scholar, into a hunt for the treasures of the second temple. The list has already cost the life of a colleague, and now he is being pursued as he races to recover what has been lost for almost 2,000 years.

As he literally digs into Jerusalem, he is haunted by the recent deaths of his wife and daughter, which have left him doubting the existence of God. His spiritual and archaeological struggles become more entwined as his life is repeatedly threatened the longer the work continues. When he reaches the final site—the cisterns below the Temple Mount, a network of caves and tunnel no one has entered in 150 years and that no one has ever explored—Graham discovers far greater treasure than he ever imagined.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Doug Powell is the best-selling author of more than a dozen books on Christian apologetics, a speaker, musician, songwriter, graphic designer, and a very amateur magician. He has performed on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and has been featured on CNN and NPR, and appears on two songs he co-wrote with Alan Parsons for the album The Secret. He lives outside Nashville, Tennessee.

More from Doug

In December 2013, I attended a private event where an Ancient Near East scholar demonstrated a method he had developed for deconstructing certain kinds of mummy masks. He explained that many mummy masks were made with an early form of papier-mâché called cartonnage. Instead of paper as we know it, the material that was molded and shaped was papyrus, an early form of paper made from the leaves of a papyrus plant. However, papyrus was too expensive to justify using it for mummy’s. So a funerary attendant would collect discarded books, letters, and documents—whatever he could find—and use them construct the mask.

The scholar then explained that if a mask could be found from the right location and the right time period, then it might contain fragments of biblical manuscripts. The problem was how to dissolve the adhesive to separate and extract the individual fragments. After much trial and error, he had hit on a solution—a liquid key, of sorts—to unlock the mask. He then went to the pantry where the event was taking place and turned on a camera mounted above the sink that fed video back to the auditorium where I watched the big screen along with more than a hundred other apologists and scholars.

He submerged the mask into what look like bubbles from dishwashing liquid, narrating what was happening as he worked the solution into the mask. After a few moments, he announced something had just come loose, then pulled a hand from the bubbles, an ancient fragment pinched between his fingers. He repositioned it in this palm and identified the text as Coptic. He set it aside to dry, then repeated the process, pulling fragments more quickly as the mask disintegrated.

The mask yielded several dozen fragments, many with writing on them. After letting them dry, the scholars who had watched the demonstration then tried to read and identify each of the texts on the fragments by entering the words they could make out into a database of ancient writings. Full disclosure: out of the entire batch, I could read only one word, which was and. So I didn’t exactly do any heavy-lifting to help move the body of scholarly knowledge forward. By the end of the next day, five fragments from the New Testament had been identified, and one from Jeremiah.

As fascinating as the experience was, I found myself wondering, What would be the craziest thing that could possibly be found inside the mask? At the time, I had no plans to write a novel. But somehow the question was a seed that grew in the dark, given that I didn’t actively pursue it. Years later—quite unexpectedly—I found an answer to the question. And I realized I was sitting on a premise to a novel. The presentation became the first scene in the book that became The Well of the Soul.

Interview with Doug

Welcome Doug! Happy to have you on the blog. What’s something that your readers don’t know about you?

When I performed on Late Night with Conan O’Brien my vocal chords were hemorrhaged. Five days before the show, I had to have a steroid shot to get the swelling down, then had to remain dead-silent the entire week until soundcheck. When it came time to sing, no one knew what was going to come out (if anything). Thank God for modern medicine and answered prayers.

Wow! What an answer to prayer! I’m glad everything worked out. If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?

Polymath, autodidact, nerd.

What book is currently on your bedside table?

The Sun Over Breda by Arturo Perez-Reverte

What has been your favorite part of the publishing journey? 

As much as I love the research and all the rabbit trails I discover, creating a story to string the history and artifacts together is the most difficult and rewarding part of the process.

Can you share with us something about the book that isn’t in the blurb?

99% of the history, places, and artifacts are true and accurately depicted. The first scene of the book—the deconstruction of a mummy mask—is based on a real event I attended, and ultimately inspired the book.

Wow! Your book sounds really exciting! Do one of the main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?

This being my first novel, all the characters hold a special place. Each came alive to me in unexpected ways, often defying the plans I had for them to lead the story in directions that surprised me.

What were the highlights or key challenges you faced when writing this book?

Most of the book takes place in and around Jerusalem—a city I had never been to when I wrote the first draft. All my research was done using my ever-expanding collection of archaeology books and atlases, as well as Google Maps. After completing the draft, I had an opportunity to visit Jerusalem, giving me the interesting experience of testing the quality of my research and comparing what can be observed online versus onsite. Fortunately, I got pretty close, and no major revisions were required. But lots of little details I couldn’t have collected any other way did help sharpen the descriptions in the book. Cats on the Temple Mount? That was news to me!

What is the key theme and/or message in the book?

God’s covenant faithfulness. Although the problem of evil can be philosophically answered, the existential problem of evil is much more difficult to deal with. The philosophical answer often comes across as cold and too abstract to comfort someone struggling with specific instances of evil in their own lives. Sometimes the struggle is so profound that we’re tempted to question God’s goodness or even his existence. But in that woundedness and the wilderness periods that it can create, God is there. He is faithful. There is a difference between not being able to see, and not seeing what is there.

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

http://Dougpowell.com

Any current or upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?

Among the Ashes, the second book in the Graham Eliot series, will be released by White Fire in April 2022. It focuses on the true location of Mount Sinai.

Congratulations on the debut novel! And thanks for being here.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, February 3

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 4

Texas Book-aholic, February 5

Pause for Tales, February 5

Inklings and notions, February 6

For the Love of Literature, February 6

For Him and My Family, February 7

deb’s Book Review, February 8

Locks, Hooks and Books, February 9

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, February 10

The Sacred Line, February 10

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, February 11

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, February 12 (Spotlight)

Blogging With Carol, February 12

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, February 13

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 14

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, February 15 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, February 15

Little Homeschool on the Prairie, February 16

Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, Doug is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a signed copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/19bc3/the-well-of-the-soul-celebration-tour-giveaway