Silver and Gold
By- David Sakmyster
Genre- historical thriller, historical fantasy, heroic, adventure
Published By- Dragon Moon Press
The Yukon Territory, 1895
A reclusive prospector comes to the aid of a Smithsonian explorer after she dares the frozen wilderness to capture a legendary beast known as the Sesquat. In his cabin, waiting out the storm, he regales her with the stunning and tragic tale of his life.
Historical Adventure
It's a life that takes him from the great gold rushes of California to the silver strikes of Nevada, and then on to the inescapable frozen lure of the Klondike. But it's also the story of a father and son striving to keep morally afloat as the surging tide of humanity sweeps upon their land to plunder its wealth. As this age fashioned the destiny of a nation, so too would it forge a hero...
The Gift that came with a Curse
A reluctant hero with the Midas Touch -- the boy, now a man,who must return to the world he's tried to avoid. To avenge his parents' murders, fight for the rights of his native people, and ultimately to embark upon his path into history.
The Legend
Teeming with fascinating characters and events from the times: from Samuel Colt to Herbert Hoover; from the Civil War to China's Boxer Rebellion; from icy maritime disasters to epic dogsled races, Silver and Gold is an ambitious historical adventure novel set against the backdrop of the Gold Rush era: an age defined by larger-than-life characters--arctic monsters, vile industrialists and noble heroes--all vying against the implacable wrath of nature.
Author
Interview-
What inspired you to write
SILVER AND GOLD?
Actually I came up with the idea right after Gregory Maguire’s
‘Wicked’ was published, and halfway through reading it I was watching the
annual Rudolph special when I thought, man it would be cool to write a backstory
based on that Yukon Cornelius character the same way Wicked created a whole
amazing take on the life and legend of the Witch. Unfortunately for me, Yukon
was still copyrighted and I couldn’t directly take the character directly as I
wanted, but I had such a great concept developing in my head that I had no
choice but to create a whole new vision--all set around a prospector caught up
in the epic history of the gold rush era. It would have true-to-history events,
actions and story lines, with a ‘Forest Gump’ kind of feel of a man caught up
in these incredible experiences and meetings actual historical figures and
helping to shape the nation itself. Of course, I made it have a very adult
feel, very intense, graphic and emotional. It’s a love story, a revenge story,
a story about a bond between a father and a son, about exploration and
discovery and adventure, and yes...it even has monsters.
When or at what age did
you know you wanted to be a writer?
I remember around age 9 I was scribbling out stories influenced
by comic books I had been reading at the time, creepy werewolf story. I was off
to the races after that, but it wasn’t until I won a short story away in high
school that I really started turning out stories and thinking this is what I wanted
to do.
What is the earliest age
you remember reading your first book?
Seven maybe? And it was Edgar Allan Poe… that should tell you
something of my influences.
What genre of books do you
enjoy reading?
Horror, sci-fi, thrillers. Anything with supernatural elements
but also strong psychological aspects.
What is your favorite
book?
Very few books I find awesome enough to re-read. Shadowland by
Peter Straub is one I’ve read several times, and consider one of the best, but
there are many close seconds.
You know I think we all
have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?
Here too, there are so many. Robert McCammon I think is
underrated, and every one of his books is excellent and compelling and so well
written. He has the talent to create amazing stories, but the added benefit of
really reaching you emotionally.
If you could travel back
in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go
and why?
The Great Pyramid’s construction. So many mysteries about it that
I’m dying to learn the truth. (The tricky part would be in setting the temporal
coordinates for the travel, since I’m not positive we know the right date about
this…)
When writing a book do you
find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?
That all depends. When I’m writing well and I know where it’s
going and other distractions are out of my way, it’s not only easy, it’s fun.
Time passes fast and the chapters fly by and the words are way better than I
would have expected. That’s a glorious thing. When it’s slow or I’m not in the
right mood or I’m doing a difficult stretch of the writing, then yes it’s
difficult, slow and sometimes painful. It requires either a break to clear my
head, or just enough focus to get through it and press on to get back to the
fun!
Do you have any little
fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?
I have a cat. Whether he’s my friend I guess in his mind depends
on how recently I’ve given him his fancy feast.
What is your "to die
for", favorite food/foods to eat?
Lately I’ve been dying for cajun/new orleans dry rub chicken
wings.
Do you have any advice for
anyone that would like to be an author?
About the Author-
David Sakmyster is the award-winning author of more than a dozen novels, including Jurassic Dead and The Morpheus Initiative, a series featuring psychic archaeologists (described as “Indiana Jones meets the X-Files”). He also has an epic historical adventure, Silver and Gold, the horror novel Crescent Lake and a story collection, Escape Plans. His latest is Final Solstice, and his screenplays, Nightwatchers and Roadside Assistance, have been optioned for production.
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