I admit that I was totally unprepared.

The only things I knew about New Zealand's history before I visited were from a borrowed, decade-old travel guide and a quick look at its Wikipedia page.

But perhaps because of my severe lack of knowledge, or perhaps because New Zealand looks so much like Montana, the more time I spent there, the more I found myself longing for the stories of America’s Old West.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the Old West is mostly a myth—and a problematic one to boot—but the idea of lone heroes riding into lawless lands, justice won at gunpoint, and wide open spaces is just so gosh darn alluring to me.

new zealand - not montana!

My work-in-progress is set in an approximation of America’s Old West—except I’ve added ghosts and gave it a whole mythos of its own.

It tells the story of a boy so hell bent on revenge that he’s willing to cross a literally haunted land, risking his life and sanity, to track down the outlaw who murdered his parents.

It’s got all the things I love about the western myth: revenge, gun fights, dusty plains, and a land on the brink of industry (for better or for worse).

I wrote a short story set in this world. It's free. You can grab it here 👇 and find out if this world is for you.

grab the story

PS: The history of New Zealand is actually quite fascinating! Like, did you know that humans—ALL humans—only found New Zealand in the 1300s? Think about that. Europe was rockin’ and rollin’ with the Middle Ages, Australia and the Americas were thriving with rich societies and cultures of their own, and China was establishing its Ming dynasty. But New Zealand? These islands were just minding their own business, evolving flightless birds and glow worms and getting along just fine without us thankyouverymuch)