recruiter, proudly displays his novel, The Void Codex, a survival horror
novel, which initially began as posts on his blog. Creel wrote this novel to
fulfill his passion for w... VIEW ORIGINAL
SEATTLE -- When U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Isaiah Creel, Seattle Army Recruiting Company digital recruiter, began writing his first independently published novel, he never knew just how much his recruiting experience would help the development of his characters and his story-telling ability.
The Soldier of 10 years, whose primary military occupational specialty is a cryptologic linguist (identifying foreign communications using signals equipment), said a person's character development can help recruiters understand why a person joins the Army. That same development was essential to Creel's novel.
"[It's] a survival horror book, set in modern day PNW [Pacific Northwest] and New Mexico," said Creel about The Void Codex. "It's about Layla Bashir - a Muslim refugee - who saves the world from evil forces," he continued. "There's another character who's trying to get back home to the PNW to protect his family from these same forces. Their paths cross and they realize they need each other to survive." Creel said he chose a female Arabic refugee as his heroine because she wasn't your typical heroine, but she symbolized the Arabic culture in America.
Captain Ryan Putnam, Seattle Army Recruiting Company commander, complimented Creel on his insight on how digital recruiting benefits the company and his accomplishments as a writer. "He's very intelligent and can find ways to incorporate digital recruiting into our program," said Putnam. "He has great leadership attributes," he said. "He's a self-starter, proactive, understands the mission and helps me understand the recruiting center's mission, whether digital recruiting or recruiting in general."
Putnam has begun reading Creel's novel and said what he's read so far has been pretty interesting. "Not many people write their own books," Putnam said. "You put yourself out there when you write. You take a risk. We all have talents. As we get older, we don't take those opportunities or risks. It's cool to see someone actually do it, and succeed," he added.
First Sgt. Mario Peete, Seattle Company's first sergeant, praised Creel for finishing what he'd started. "People journal and write, but it takes a special person to start, take it all the way to the end, and publish it," he said. He also commended Creel for allowing readers to dig deeper into who he is as a person.
Creel said he's always enjoyed writing but didn't have anything to write about. Studying for his B.A. in Social Sciences and raising three children (boys 7 and 5, girl 2 years), also didn't leave him time to write. In lieu of that, he said he started a blog and that struck a nerve in the online community.
According to Creel, many of his readers commented he should develop his blogs into a novel they'd happily pay to read. He said that encouragement and writing experience under his belt gave him confidence to begin writing his novel in three 'Acts,' taking a month to complete each act.
"I wrote the book for Americans who don't know about other cultures or are ignorant of the Arabic experience here," Creel said. "If they can see a positive example of what Arabic Americans experience, maybe they can have more empathy and understanding," he continued.
The Void Codex is available in paperback and on Kindle, and can be purchased online via Amazon.com. An Amazon customer who read Creel's novel, posted: "Best dollar ever spent. This is amazing. I cannot wait to read the next installment. These characters and creatures are so well developed it's like watching a movie you can feel viscerally. I love it! IT Creel is a genius. His writing skill will weave your imagination into a fervor of unquenchable thirst for more! A MUST READ!"
Another Amazon reviewer wrote, "The story is imaginative, well-written, and unpredictable. It's packed with action and captivating moments of suspense, and the characters are realistic and easy to relate to."
Creel is currently penning his next novel - title unknown - on a space-faring Samurai who travels back in time and ultimately causes the 'Out-Of-Africa' exodus. Stay tuned.
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