One of my proofreaders, Crissi,
from Baton Rouge, commented, "Did this (Philty'sGold Mine) really happen to you? Was this real?" This was one of the
best compliments that I have ever received for one of my stories. I interpreted
the comment to mean that I had written the short story well enough that it
seemed more an excerpt from real live than a bit of fiction.
It's
true that some elements of the story are true. I did have an uncle that I
remember as one who walked on the wilder side of life. But, I didn't follow him
on any of his adventures. I took the trip into the mountains of California was
with some college friends. We found two small groups of old buildings but no
artifacts.
Because
of the response to Philty's Gold Mine, the short story, I’ve decided to
write a full-length novel based on the short story. Philty’s Legacy opens
with the same basic story as Philty's Gold Mine. The bulk of the story
will take place fifty years later. I decide to go back into the Feather River
Valley and try to find the gold mine. I will tell two interlaced stories, what
really happened to Philty, and what happens to me as a result of the search.
Of
course, Philty’s Legacy is number nine on my list of future projects. It
may be four or five years before I start the spreadsheet and writing. I’ll just
have to wait and see how the rest of my writing career develops.
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