I asked fellow Curses anthology contributors to share some things about themselves prior to publication and those generous enough to do so will be appearing here for the next week or so.
Each entry gives a taste of their contribution, a little about them, how to contact them, how their story came about, and definitely a link to Curses (which you should purchase because it would make each and every one of us happy.
you do want to make us happy, don’t you?
i mean, considering what we wrote, you want us to know you’re a good person, right?).
And now, Kaye Lynne Booth’s Cavern Del Oro (Cave of Gold):
Beth was starving by the time the waitress set her Roost Burger down in front of her, medium rare, just like she liked it. She dug in with abandon, and they both ate in silence for the next few minutes. Finally, she washed it down with a drink of soda, wiping her mouth with her napkin.
“Okay, Cody. Spill it,” she said. “Why did you drag me all the way to Westcliffe with my climbing gear? It must be important. I earned a meal at my favorite restaurant just for showing up. The Rancher’s Roost isn’t cheap. What gives?”
“Have you ever gone caving?” he asked, popping the last of his fries into his mouth.
“No,” Beth said, shaking her head. “Why would I?”
“With all your climbing experience, I thought you might have,” he said, wiping his mouth. He was grinning from ear to ear, like a little kid on Christmas morning. “Have you ever been on a treasure hunt?”
“No, Cody, why?” she asked warily. “What kind of scheme have you cooked up this time?”
“We’re going on a treasure hunt,” he said, leaning in toward her, speaking just above a whisper. “I know where there’s a cave of gold.”
“A cave of gold?” she eyed him skeptically, but he shushed her with a finger to his lips as the waitress approached to clear their dishes. Cody had always been one for over-dramatizing things.
“You all save room for pie?” the waitress asked. “We’ve got chocolate cream, or apple crumble today.”
“I’ll take a piece of chocolate cream pie,” Beth replied. She hitched a thumb toward Cody, “He’s buying.”
“Yeah, and a piece of apple for me,” Cody said, slurping down his soda. Then he held his glass up to the waitress. “And a refill, if you would?”
“You bet,” the waitress said, taking his glass. “Be right back.”
“Okay, so you’re serious about buttering me up. Going all out for pie, too,” she said when the waitress had gone. “You got me up here, so what’s the catch? No more nonsense about a treasure hunt and a cave of gold. What are we really doing today?”
“We really are going to explore a cave,” he said. “Maybe not a real cave of gold, but there really is treasure there, or so I was told. I must go to find out for myself, Beth. You’re a good climber, so I want you to come with me.”
How the story came about:
My story, “Caverna Del Oro (Cave of Gold)”, is based on an ancient Indian curse in my area. According to local legend, the top of Marble Mountain was a burial ground for the ancestors, cursed by the gods and the Ute tribes in the area refused to go there. But in the sixteenth century, three Spanish Monks came with a band of soldiers and, upon finding gold there, forced the natives to mine and process the gold into gold bars or coins to be taken back to Spain.
The cavern entrance is marked by a red Maltese cross painted on a rock just below it. The top of Marble Mountain has an altitude of 12,000 feet and so, the time when the cavern could be accessed lasted only a few short months. During that time, the Indians rose up against the Spaniards in revolt, killing two of the monks and many of the soldiers. The remaining Monk and the soldiers which were left packed up the gold they had processed, heading out for Spain with plans to return the following year with reinforcements to retrieve the rest. But, the remaining Monk died of a mysterious illness on the trip back to Spain, and being the only one who knew the location, the remains gold is still there.
There has been several Spanish artifacts found on Marble Mountain over the years as well as a couple of skeletons, reportedly chained there, which would seem to back up this story. Many have explored the cavern, which consists of a series of drops to multiple levels and no evidence of any mining, which would be quite difficult because of the difficulty of access, so I doubt the truth to this story, but it’s also fun to wonder, what if it is true?
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About Kaye Lynne Booth: For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world. You can find and follow Kaye on Writing to be Read, WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services, Facebook: Kaye Lynne Booth Author & Screenwriter, WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services, and Women of the West Adventure Series. |
See all Curses stories here.
And for our finale, a teaser to the anthology on YouTube.
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