Mokena Woman Pens Thriller 'Dark Days Ahead' On Experience At Tech Startup

MOKENA, IL — A Mokena woman inspired by her experience at a tech startup in California has penned a book, available for purchase now.

Natalie Docherty, 37, worked at an L.A.-based company that "got the gears turning" on her speculative thriller "Dark Days Ahead", which she describes as having some fantasy, Dystopian 'what-if' vibes.

Sitting at local coffee shops Gost Coffee in New Lenox and Clancy Bros. in Mokena, the Sandburg alum churned out the nearly 400-page "Dark Days Ahead" in just 27 days, drawn from scenes in her head that she'd held onto since her time on the West coast.

"Technology, magic, and power converge in Silicon Valley’s dark underbelly as three friends battle to reclaim the future from those who seek to control it," the description reads.

You can read some reviews and more about Docherty on her website.

"The actual book was a bit of a fever dream," Docherty said, "very organically inspired."

Some who've read it call it "Severance" meets "Sex and the City," with "a touch of magic," Docherty said—first referencing a popular AppleTV science fiction psychological thriller, and then the pop culture phenomenon chronicling women's friendships and dating lives in New York City.

"It reads like an indictment of current events," Docherty said. "There are definitely certain people it really connects with."

Writing a book seemed to come naturally for Docherty, who said book have always been a huge part of her life. Docherty spoke with Patch while she was on a consulting job in California.

"I always think books are where I would turn at different points in my life," she said. "After I was out here, the premise of the book is a group of tech elites who are manipulating world events.

"I feel like I was inspired by different things I would see and experience out here—it’s a totally different world."

Docherty, who spent some of her youth in Oak Forest before graduating from Sandburg High School and later University of Chicago, returned from California a year and a half ago. She's now writing full-time. It's been exciting—albeit surreal—to hear and see people responding to her book. The book came out in November. Docherty thanked her parents Gloria and Gary Nickerson, and her siblings Emily and Mark for their support.

"When you write, you do it in a silo," she said. "I didn’t even know if a single person would ever read this, think it was good or interesting. To see people respond well to it, it’s just a cool feeling.

"It’s great to see the way certain people resonate and connect with it. ... It’s awesome. The coolest thing, I’ll randomly get DMs on Instagram, someone messaging me at 4 a.m. saying they’d stayed up all night reading it.”

Docherty's book will be the focus of an event at the newly opened Book Bar in Mokena, on April 25. The intro event is set for April 4, with two time slots: 6 to 7:30 p.m. and 7:30 to 9 p.m. The outro event is set for April 26, with the same time slots. Tickets for the intro event can be purchased on the Book Bar website; the outro event is listed as sold-out.

For anyone interested, the book is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.

It was her first book, but won't be her last.

"It ends somewhat of a cliffhanger," she said. "I'm working on the sequel now."