Mysterious Ways
By Jason Kurtz
In the summer of 2025, something's about to crash into Sawyer County, Colorado. And it's not just the meteor. Ethan Hawks spends his days delivering packages and his nights trying to forget. At 32, he's fighting a bitter divorce (the only thing worth saving is Bronco, his Australian Shepherd), haunted by the amusement park accident that claimed his parents, and nursing a crush on his coworker, Kelsey Collins. But when a mysterious object tears through the solstice sky, Ethan's mundane life explodes into chaos. Now he's trapped in a place that forces him to face his darkest memories, while Kelsey's thrown together with her ex, Justin Thompson—and that's not even the worst part of their weekend.
Welcome to Sawyer County, where the locals are anything but ordinary. There's Karl Crawford, the cantankerous rancher whose massive mountain property hides more than just cattle—think terraced marijuana fields and a meth lab with a view. Then there's Jack Wilson, the charismatic leader of Goldpath (don't you dare call it a cult), emerging from his five-year COVID hibernation to launch the Solstice Splash. Picture Burning Man meets Tony Robbins, with a dash of impending doom.
Ethan Hawks and Kelsey Collins
Karl Crawford and Bryan Fletcher (Fletch)
Speaking of COVID—that "supercharged cold" that brought the world to its knees—its shadow looms large over this story. Maybe because I lived it, as a FedEx driver during the lockdown, driving the lonely stretch between Grand Junction and Moab on Route 128. My truck loaded with toilet paper and essentials, I navigated the empty roads. It felt like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie, and I kept waiting for raiders to appear over the horizon. That same eerie tension follows Kelsey Collins through these pages, though she might not be as lucky as I was. Buckle up for 400+ pages of pure adrenaline packed into 37 chapters and 173 meticulously crafted scenes. Watch as local politics collide with federal agents, as NASA and the FBI descend on this quiet mountain town, and as Karl Crawford teaches everyone within earshot some creative new combinations of four-letter words. All of this unfolds during the longest day of the year—a day that might just change everything.
And yes, I'm one of those people—a perfectionist straddling the Virgo-Libra cusp (September 22, if you're counting). The kind who can't leave a dish unwashed or a story untold. So when I decided to write, I didn't just write a story—I created an entire universe. To keep track of this sprawling tale, I built a story bible app that maps every character, location, and scene. Because if you're going to tell a story, why not make it epic?
Want to dive deeper into this world? Check out the Mysterious Ways website to explore the app, meet the characters, and discover more about what's coming to Sawyer County.
Ethan Hawks
Karl Crawford
Kelsey Collins
All artwork created with ai and Jason Kurtz.
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