My book jacket says: K.A. Merson is a vaguely reclusive writer who lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, along with a patient spouse, a malevolent boxer dog, and an Airstream trailer.
While that’s all true, here’s a little more about me and some of the inspiration behind the book:
I grew up and went to college in New England, but the place where I’ve made my home is steeped in the history of the California Gold Rush. I wanted to incorporate some of that rich history—mines, boomtowns, and ghost towns—into the book. Many of the locations have a personal connection (places I’ve lived or traveled with my family, including dogs, of course).
But there were at least two other things that I also wanted to incorporate into the book. The first of those is the nexus of art and science. I used to be an engineer and I'm married to an artist, and I love the intersection of art and science. That nexus is integrated into the story in a couple of ways, although I won’t elaborate here to avoid spoilers.
I also have a fascination for how people can create conspiracy theories out of a few unrelated facts (or in some cases, no facts at all). So, one of the goals in writing the book was to try to tie together a bunch of disparate facts, but in a way that created a new conspiracy from scratch. Ultimately, I wanted to leave the reader wondering where the truth ends and fictions begins. Whether I succeeded is up to you to decide.
Thanks for reading!
—K.A. Merson
My book jacket says: K.A. Merson is a vaguely reclusive writer who lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, along with a patient spouse, a malevolent boxer dog, and an Airstream trailer.
While that’s all true, here’s a little more about me and some of the inspiration behind the book:
I grew up and went to college in New England, but the place where I’ve made my home is steeped in the history of the California Gold Rush. I wanted to incorporate some of that rich history—mines, boomtowns, and ghost towns—into the book. Many of the locations have a personal connection (places I’ve lived or traveled with my family, including dogs, of course).
But there were at least two other things that I also wanted to incorporate into the book. The first of those is the nexus of art and science. I used to be an engineer and I'm married to an artist, and I love the intersection of art and science. That nexus is integrated into the story in a couple of ways, although I won’t elaborate here to avoid spoilers.
I also have a fascination for how people can create conspiracy theories out of a few unrelated facts (or in some cases, no facts at all). So, one of the goals in writing the book was to try to tie together a bunch of disparate facts, but in a way that created a new conspiracy from scratch. Ultimately, I wanted to leave the reader wondering where the truth ends and fictions begins. Whether I succeeded is up to you to decide.
Thanks for reading!
—K.A. Merson