The Golden Coast
Chapter 4 of Nomad Life
What I’ve published
My California story is finally finished!
The Golden Coast is a new travel story in my Nomad Life collection, which follows us on our month-long, 1,000-mile journey from California’s southern border with Mexico to its northern border with Oregon. Note that this story is longer than normal, so make sure to pour yourself a fresh cup of coffee before diving in.
What I’ve been writing
I’ve spent most of my writing time hacking away at The Golden Coast. It took more self-reflection and editing to get the story to a place where I liked it than usual. I’m planning to knock out Oregon next, so keep an eye on your inbox. I’d love to get caught up to our current travels by the end of July (we left California mid-April).
I’ve also been working on my upcoming fiction novella, which is the story of a young WWII veteran’s war for inner peace in the Himalayas. I’ve historically written mostly in the fantasy genre, which is fun because I get to create every aspect of the world my stories take place in. This new project is forcing me to do research to accurately define the world rather than make it all up.
How would somebody have traveled from California to K2 in the Himalayas in 1951? What was the political, cultural, and economic situation in that area at the time? What was life like for young WWII veterans who struggled to jump back into “normal” life?
Where I’ve found inspiration
Most of my inspiration has been rather dull. Short documentaries on the first teams who climbed K2 and Everest; dozens of Wikipedia pages; and Googling anything from “most popular songs 1951,” to “slang terms from the 50s,” to “what was LA airport like in 1951?”
It might sound like a slog to collect all of these details, but it’s actually been inspirational. I’ve already found small tidbits of information that have inspired scenes in my novella outline.
What’s challenged me
Time.
We’ve been moving around a lot lately. Most of our weekends have been spent driving. I simply haven’t had enough time to write, and that’s been frustrating. We’re settled down now in NYC for the next 5 weeks, so I’m hoping to fit in some quality writing time.
What I’ve been up to
Our apartment in NYC is right on Central Park. We’ve made multiple trips to the park each day, which Skutull has been a big fan of. The coolest aspect of the park that we’ve discovered so far is that dogs can be off leash 6am-9am daily. Skutull has made literally hundreds of friends so far and seems to be inspired by the challenge of marking every tree or light post within the 1.3 square-mile park.
Enjoy the journey,
