Interview With Author Angus Curran
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Well first off, Angus Curran is my pen name as my real last name is twelve letters and most of those are consonants. So I wanted to spare readers that trauma. I’ve just completed my second book of a trilogy, and let me assure everyone that no plans existed to write any stories. That changed rather late in life for me and I now enjoy the writing process. I’m very lucky to have support for my writing by family and friends.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is, “Demon Treasure on Gold Mountain”. This is the second book in a trilogy called – The Forgotten Crimes Trilogy. These stories are based on my heroine and investigator Anh Santos finding artifacts from a past crime. What inspires me is writing stories happening in our COVID-19 impacted world and rolling in some history. In this story I focus on the early Chinese immigrants in the Old West and their treatment. Most all of these Chinese immigrants were searching for their own gold mountain, only a few ever found it.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to write in spurts sometimes going days or weeks of little writing if something is hard or ideas are still forming. I tend to try and write very visually but also being compact in my descriptions and action scenes. I also believe in getting the story out of my head and into the machine. That’s what important, not spending time quibbling mentally over grammar.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve been an avid reader all my life, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, many of the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Catch-22, Breakfast of Champions, Slaughterhouse Five, Issac Asimov, I Robot, Station Breaker, John Connolly’s Harry Bosch series, The Nature of the Beast and many sci-fi books. Janet Evanovich is someone who I enjoy for her funny characters.
What are you working on now?
As an indie author I’m working on the last formatting steps for the paperback version of my new story. It’s very tedious work but must happen. And having vague ideas about the final story in the trilogy.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Currently this is not really clear as to what or where is best. Getting likes on a Facebook Ad doesn’t always generate book traffic nor does an ad on Amazon.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Think about your idea or story from many angles, try story boarding or blocking it out on paper. As mentioned earlier – get the story out of your head then start working on it. Finally, take a Zen approach to your writing / story – you should care and not care. Care because it is important, not care because it’s just words and ideas.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The most important thing is to get the story / ideas rough drafted. Be open to new ideas or directions in your story. Listen to your editor and test readers, but also know when not to listen to your editor or test readers.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading my current story for at least the 20th time as I complete the paperback. Going to read some Kurt Vonnegut novels and look for some historical fiction stories.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Going to take a break from writing for 3 months and work on trying to take one of my books and create an audio version. Start the final book of the trilogy in July. Consider a short story.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
How to Survive on a Deserted Island, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Station Breaker, A Bridge of Birds.
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