Angus Curran's Blog
May 13, 2023
Mesa Blanca 2nd edition nearly done
As I work to shape and complete my adventure mystery trilogy, I needed to do some minor tweaks. So that meant a 2nd edition to better integrate the story line. In the final steps of getting Amazon KDP sorted out and books linked. Once Amazon is correct I'll work with GoodReads to sort out my book listings.
I's just work work work.
Angus
I's just work work work.
Angus
April 11, 2023
Where the hell is Gold Mountain?
Perhaps you've played the game of Telephone as a kid, that's where one kid tells a story to someone, then that person repeats the story to someone else, and so on. By about the 6th or7th person the story is all jumbled up.
That's what happened in the news of the 1848 gold discovery in California. It took many months to travel out to the world, and about a year later the miners (and everyone really) were flocking to California. As the word of gold traveled across the Pacific to China the story simply became - Gold Mountain. The belief was there were mountains of gold in California.
So if you were a young man (or an old man) in Guangdong province (a coastal province) in China, you would simply tell people "I'm going to gold mountain." Which would be like saying, "I'm going to California to mine gold."
Of course when Chinese immigrants arrived they found a very different reality. And that is where the 'Gold Mountain' comes from in the title. So in reality any mountain in California could be ... Gold Mountain.
That's what happened in the news of the 1848 gold discovery in California. It took many months to travel out to the world, and about a year later the miners (and everyone really) were flocking to California. As the word of gold traveled across the Pacific to China the story simply became - Gold Mountain. The belief was there were mountains of gold in California.
So if you were a young man (or an old man) in Guangdong province (a coastal province) in China, you would simply tell people "I'm going to gold mountain." Which would be like saying, "I'm going to California to mine gold."
Of course when Chinese immigrants arrived they found a very different reality. And that is where the 'Gold Mountain' comes from in the title. So in reality any mountain in California could be ... Gold Mountain.
Initial Reviews coming in ... Weeeeee!
Have posted a review on my website. Now I need to figure out how to post images here on GoodReads.
Here is a link:
https://anguscurranauthor.online/demo...
Enjoy the ride and be safe.
Angus
Here is a link:
https://anguscurranauthor.online/demo...
Enjoy the ride and be safe.
Angus
April 1, 2023
Second book is launched
Well it is finally done! The second story in the Anh Santos trilogy of crimes that time has forgotten - has been published on Amazon Kindle and paperback. Both were officially launched on April 1st, 2023. Perfect day.
Demon Treasure on Gold Mountain spans 1860 to 2021 as Anh Santos rips the band-aid off a new case. In this tall tale I smash together history-mystery-adventure-thriller-soft sci-fi. It's quite a mix and it keeps AJ very busy, but she is up to the task as usual. In Mesa Blanca Anh was discovering her inner bad-ass. In Demon Treasure ... she is a bad-ass.
Take care and enjoy the ride.
-Angus
Demon Treasure on Gold Mountain spans 1860 to 2021 as Anh Santos rips the band-aid off a new case. In this tall tale I smash together history-mystery-adventure-thriller-soft sci-fi. It's quite a mix and it keeps AJ very busy, but she is up to the task as usual. In Mesa Blanca Anh was discovering her inner bad-ass. In Demon Treasure ... she is a bad-ass.
Take care and enjoy the ride.
-Angus
February 24, 2023
Long week for Angus
Long week - anxious week - relaxing week - nervous week - and a good week.
My second book is out for beta test readers. You send the file packs out and then wait. And wait. And wait. And wait some more. Then finally slowly you hear from one then another then another.
Small errors here and there as expected. And some more small errors. Then a comment now and again: enjoying the story, hate to put it down, really like a character, that chapter blew me away.
At this point today, several have finished and the comments are all very positive. What a relief, I have a lot of confidence in the story. I took some risks in the story and in this case they worked out. Onward to publishing.
My second book is out for beta test readers. You send the file packs out and then wait. And wait. And wait. And wait some more. Then finally slowly you hear from one then another then another.
Small errors here and there as expected. And some more small errors. Then a comment now and again: enjoying the story, hate to put it down, really like a character, that chapter blew me away.
At this point today, several have finished and the comments are all very positive. What a relief, I have a lot of confidence in the story. I took some risks in the story and in this case they worked out. Onward to publishing.
February 14, 2023
Telling Tall Tales
I don't really consider my stories to be stories, I consider them to be Tall Tales. Or perhaps as I say that I'm a 'yarn spinner' vs. a story teller.
Here's the difference:
A story is a sequence of events, real or fictional, that have direction and come to a conclusion of some sort.
A yarn is a rambling unnecessarily long fanciful tale, that may or may not come to a meaningful conclusion.
So there you have it. The last line in my Preface will always be: Sit back and relax while I spin a yarn that is as improbable as it is possible.
Here's the difference:
A story is a sequence of events, real or fictional, that have direction and come to a conclusion of some sort.
A yarn is a rambling unnecessarily long fanciful tale, that may or may not come to a meaningful conclusion.
So there you have it. The last line in my Preface will always be: Sit back and relax while I spin a yarn that is as improbable as it is possible.
February 13, 2023
Hello from the 'Burbs of Portland Oregon
Imagine that you, yes you, suddenly went from being an avid reader to writing a story and publishing a book. Yes it's pretty shocking. Well that's what happened to me. And it shocked family and friends alike. Including myself.
And then you learned that once you published your story, that took 9 months to write, you had to market the damn thing. That was shocking, depressing, and overwhelming.
That is where I was almost one year ago. To those who haven't gone down this path of being an indie author --- the publishing world is a strange place to say the least. I don't want to discourage new writers, but just be aware there is a whole 'nuther side to writing and publishing.
So what did I do? Naturally I buried my head in the sand and wrote a follow on story. More on that in the next post.
And then you learned that once you published your story, that took 9 months to write, you had to market the damn thing. That was shocking, depressing, and overwhelming.
That is where I was almost one year ago. To those who haven't gone down this path of being an indie author --- the publishing world is a strange place to say the least. I don't want to discourage new writers, but just be aware there is a whole 'nuther side to writing and publishing.
So what did I do? Naturally I buried my head in the sand and wrote a follow on story. More on that in the next post.
