Aaron Mullins - Mysteries and Misadventures: Tales from the Highlands

https://www.amazon.com/author/aaronmullins

Kicking off my three-month book blog tour is Aaron Mullins' engrossing and entertaining collection of short stories set in the north of Scotland. Highly original, yet drawing on myths and legends, there’s no doubt in my mind Mysteries and Misadventures: tales from the Highlands would make a five-star-rating popular TV drama series. It has occasional hints of Tales of the Unexpected and Inside Number 9, but this is all new, all Scottish, yet universal storytelling at its best. I loved the way it wove bang up to date characters with threads of evil and the supernatural. A kind of quirky Tam O’Shanter for the present day.

‘The Gala Queen’ starts with humour and convincing realism when a teenager drops his trousers and causes a car crash. It takes him months to get over his guilt, but then this story takes a very strange and fascinating turn.

There’s the reappearance of dead people on train seats, and terror in the mountains when a lone, lost hiker takes a break at the so-called Devil’s Bothy. Or is it all in the characters’ minds? Aaron Mullins majored in psychology, after all, and this teasing of the reader is evident throughout his collection.

Perhaps my favourite is ‘The Road Trip’. This atmospheric story set in an old house with vintage cars in its carpark, creaky floorboards and overhanging trees is brought ingeniously up to date with an internet search and a young couple’s desperate bid to escape. Excellent stuff!

As well as the dynamism of the storytelling throughout Mysteries and Misadventures is real character depth. For example, ‘Equal To and Greater Than’ features a boy who is bullied for being different. This expertly executed story should be widely read in schools. It’s really thought provoking.

The book ends with background information for each story, including a discussion of the benefits of collaborative help when editing and the difficulties of capturing local dialect (which features in dialogue in some of the stories). Aaron also recounts some of his own life experience and discusses how he has drawn on some of this in his writing.

Overall, Mysteries and Misadventures: Tales from the Highlands is a thoroughly enjoyable read with characters and scenarios that linger. 

Aaron Mullins

I asked Aaron about his entrepreneurial spirit. He’s written widely, on academic matters as well as producing a sizeable number of works of short fiction. And his own clothing brand! Does he never sit still? What made him go down the indie-publishing route?

AM: I analysed the pros and cons of indie vs traditional publishing and found that indie publishing was the correct route for me. Not only do I not have the hassle (or time and physical cost) of trying to find an agent and publisher, but I also don’t have to share the profits and retain complete control over my work. I can edit content, cover, price or anything else with the click of a button, instead of gaining permission and jumping through lots of legal hoops.

 

So from an entrepreneurial perspective, it just made more sense. Particularly with book marketing becoming more digital in the current climate. I feel the pandemic has further accelerated an already huge demand for ebooks and digital platforms. People are used to the convenience of it now, so there’s never been a better time to be an indie author on Amazon.

 

I find the time to do everything with lots and lots of planning! I think a lot of people write and design, then take a break from it to watch tv or a film etc… but writing and designing IS my relaxing time. I find it energising and motivating to be creative, so can justify the large amount of time I dedicate to it. The success of my previous clothing brand lead to a recent invitation to join Amazon Merch, so I am just finishing creating a range of t-shirts for authors, writers and readers, so look out for them in the next month or so!

 

 

What advice would you give someone setting out today?

 

AM: Treat writing as a job. You set the amount of time you will ‘work’ each week and stick to it. In a way, if you don’t ‘turn up’ then you don’t get paid, as with a real job. Because until the book is released, you won’t receive royalties. You will have productive days at work, and less good days, but keep going. Put the work in and reap the rewards. Or better yet, treat it as your relaxing time and you’ll never feel like it’s work at all. After all, it’s doing what we love.

 

Most importantly, as an entrepreneurial author, never incur any overheads. Writing is free. Uploading and selling on almost all writing platforms is free. Most marketing channels, such as social media, are free. There are a host of book cover design programs that are simple to learn and are free. There are even free editing tools. Never pay for anything that would only cost a few hours of time to master.

 

If you would like more information on the specific ones I use, then I’m always happy to help. Just drop me a message through my website or social media.

 What’s next for you, Aaron?

 

AM: Once the new clothing range is released, I have two projects that are close to being finished. The first is the re-release of an updated book distilling all the knowledge I have gathered over the years into a guidebook for authors called How to Write Fiction: A Creative Writing Guide for Authors. This will accompany the popular free writer’s resources available from my website.

 

I will also be completing my new Scottish detective novel, with a supernatural twist. It doesn’t have a title yet, as I normally create one at the end. A short synopsis is:

 

Detective Ellie Harper was investigating a grisly murder scene, when the victim’s body stood up. Charlie loves to kill and he’s itching to do it again. When his police escorts are murdered, he sees his chance to escape. Hannah’s parents are dead and there is a stranger in her house.

 

Summoned to an emergency meeting, Ellie learns that the world faces a new threat. A virus unleashed. With the world in lockdown, Ellie barely escapes with her life when her train home crashes. The passengers are attacked as they attempt to flee the wreckage.

 

Alone and afraid, Ellie seeks out other survivors. Together they must fight their way across a ruined city to rescue Ellie’s sister. But with the power out and danger lurking around every corner, this group of strangers are running out of time.

 

Forced to kill and on the run, can Ellie survive the horrors of this deadly new world? With a killer hidden in their group, will they even survive each other?

 

 

Sounds great! Where can we find more information and order your books?

 

AM: I love to hear from readers and fellow authors, and you can find me in a few different places, depending on your preference:

 

There’s my website, where you can find out a bit more about me and my books, contact me or have a browse through my writer’s blog:

Website: www.aaronmullins.com

 

Or you can go straight to Amazon to view my available books:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/aaronmullins

 

There’s the usual social media platforms. I’m always looking for new people to follow and support:

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/DrAaronMullins

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aaronmullinsauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/draaronmullins

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/aaronmullinsauthor

 

Goodreads  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8091962.Aaron_Mullins

Or if you are a fan of more visual forms, check out my Youtube channel, where you will find a couple of short promo videos for my books, including the Highlands one:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AaronMullins

Thanks for joining me on my book blog, Aaron!