Nathan Jorgenson
Otto's Portal
Award-winning author of Waiting for White Horses, The Mulligan, A Crooked Number, Contrapasso, and Otto’s Portal
Nevis, MN (Fargo, ND)
BOOK COVER
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: July 14, 2026
Genre: Fiction/Thriller/Suspense
Publisher: Flat Rock Publishing
Page Count: 492
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9798990127906
Price: $19.95
ABOUT THE BOOK
“The boundaries which separate life and death are at best shadowy and vague. Who can say where the one ends and the other begins?”
– Edgar Allan Poe
While considering his own death, 91-year-old Theoretical Physicist Otto Helfritz posits that if our soul leaves our body when we die, there must be a force that holds body and soul together while we’re alive on earth. Even Einstein never contemplated such a force. And not only does this force exist, it can be measured.
Real history begins to blur with conjecture and myth in Otto’s Portal by Nathan Jorgenson. From post war London in 1946 to LBJ’s ranch in 1964, and then to a small Catholic church in northern Minnesota, Otto’s Portal rests between the abyss of man’s fears and the apex of his science, while a disparate cast of characters seeks redemption.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nathan Jorgenson grew up in rural Minnesota where he cultivated a passion for athletics and the outdoors. He earned a DDS degree from the University of Minnesota, and began practicing dentistry in rural Minnesota. While running a business and raising a young family, he found time to write, having articles published in several outdoor magazines.
Jorgenson was a flagship client of PR by the Book in 2004 when he published his debut novel, Waiting for White Horses, which started as a story that he told his ailing father and was eventually completed after his death. After winning the 2004 Benjamin Franklin Award for the Best New Voice in Fiction, Jorgenson continued writing novels, producing two more – The Mulligan (2007) and A Crooked Number (2011) – while working full-time as a dentist. Since his retirement, Jorgenson published Contrapasso (2019) and Otto’s Portal (2026).
Jorgenson lives in the north woods of Minnesota with his wife, and they enjoy visits from their children and grandchildren.
TIMELY TIE-INS
August
- Book Lovers’ Day – 9
September
- Read a New Book Month
- Buy a Book Day – 7
October
- National Book Month
- National Storytelling Day – 5
SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
- How did a career in dentistry aid your transition to writing?
- Where do your characters come from, and what makes them so memorable?
- What is your writing process?
- Can you talk about your publishing process?
- Where did the story of Otto’s Portal come from, and how much research did it take to assemble it?
- Do you have any personal connection to the events in this story?
- How much research was involved in assembling this story?
- Early in the book, a character uncovers Nazi plans for wonder weapons at the end of WWII. How much of that story is true?
- A bit later, you reference a mysterious crash in Kecksburg, Pa? Is that based on actual events?
- While Otto’s Portal isn’t a book about fishing, fishing is an important theme throughout. In what way is fishing integral to the story?
PRAISE
“Otto’s Portal is a suspenseful mystery that blends science, history, and the human spirit. It is filled with unforgettable characters unique to Jorgenson’s stories.”
– Mike Craig, Historian, Philosopher and Trout Bum
Part thriller, part meditation on the division between body and soul, [Otto’s Portal] raises questions about whether science and faith can live together.
– St. Paul Pioneer Press
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: May 17, 2022
Genre: Memoir / Christian Inspirational
Publisher: She Writes Press
Page Count: 304
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1647429003
Price: $15.99