Mt. Laurel author lets her creativity flow with debut novel ‘Discovery’
Born and raised in Mt. Laurel, Char Webster always had a passion for reading and getting immersed in a story.
The Holy Cross Academy graduate got into public relations after her schooling days were over but never lost that passion to read and write.
“I just love it. I love coming up with ideas for different characters and getting into the heads of those characters. I think it’s a lot of fun,” Webster said.
While working at several public relations positions for Evesham schools, Burlington County College and at her current position as the Burlington County director of strategic planning and marketing, she put together numerous writing pieces in her career.
She got involved with press releases, annual reports, speeches and articles for others, but no creative pieces of her own.
For years, her mother, Arlene Webster, encouraged her to do some writing of her own, but Webster never took action until last summer.
“I just didn’t think I was good enough,” Webster said. “Eventually, my mom told me to write her something by the following day.”
So Webster put together the prologue for her future story in just 24 hours, and her mom was blown away. She wanted more. Webster put together a few pages for her mom to review, and this eventually turned into a daily routine.
“In the back of my mind, I knew that moms were always encouraging, so I wasn’t sure how to feel about it, but she assured me that she would never tell me I was great at something if she didn’t firmly believe it,” Webster said.
The creation of her first book “Discovery” from “The Gifted Series” had begun.
The story deals with an average 23-year-old woman’s summer taking a major change after she is asked to help three troubled kids in foster care. The character soon discovers her foster kids are not quite who she had thought and neither is she.
She is then thrust into a world where people have special gifts, and she and the kids are being hunted.
After working in the school system and having one sister work as a guidance counselor and the other as a college professor, Webster found herself around foster children quite often.
She said she saw the effect it has on kids firsthand and wanted to have that play a major role in her story.
While Webster was just happy to have finished the book and have it published, she has really seen her novel take off.
“I consider finishing the book and having it published a success, but I have had very positive reviews and reactions so far, and I couldn’t be happier,” she said.
She was recently invited to host a book signing at the Burlington County Library after donating two of her novels for people who were not fortunate enough to purchase a copy of their own.
“They asked me to do a signing, and I’ll admit I was a little nervous at first!” she said.
However, it ended up being a great success, as Webster was able to sell every copy she came with and was able to catch up with a few familiar faces from the area whom she had not seen in awhile.
Webster is just getting started in her writing career. She already has ideas planned for companion books or spinoffs of the original story. She plans to make “Discovery” the first of a three-book series with a potential fourth book hanging in the balance if things go according to plan.
Webster could not say enough about the effect her mother’s positivity had on her, so much so she ended up dedicating the book to her.
The dedication reads: “To my mom, Arlene Webster, who has always had much more faith in me than I have ever had in myself. I never would have done this without her constant encouragement, support and daily demands for more pages. Love you, Mom!”
To purchase a copy, visit www.amazon.com/Discovery-The -Gifted-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B0 17GGWHPG.
