I have always loved a great adventure!
As a kid, my parents couldn’t keep me indoors. The siren song of what might be just beyond my front door was too strong for me to ignore, so I spent countless days roaming the streets and back alleys of Petersburg, Virginia looking for excitement and adventure.
The banks of the Appomattox River were my playground where I could be a pirate, a patriot, or a Civil War hero. This wild and wonderful childhood only fueled my passion for thrills, and I continued my adventure-seeking long into adulthood.
No thrill was too dangerous – I earned my pilot’s license, scuba license, and skydiving certificate, and spent many days fueling my natural buzz with boating, flying, snow skiing, motorcycle riding, building hot rods, and camping.
When I slowed down a bit and decided to try capturing some adventure on the page instead, I wanted to create a character that shared my tireless pursuit of fun and excitement. From my own experiences, Joe Bryant was born.
As the hero of Lost Treasure of Petersburg, Joe is a man of great skill and integrity, and never one to turn down an adventure!
I drew upon my own teenage experiences as a crew member of a painting and remodeling company to shape Joe’s discovery in the Center Hill Museum. Admittedly, my time in the basement of a beautiful old mansion wasn’t quite as exciting as Joe’s, but it was incredibly interesting, and fulfilled my need to uncover the house’s hidden secrets.
It was fun to create a fictionalized version of myself. Joe shares all my best attributes, and I can keep the ones I’m not so proud of hidden! Much of the story is a complete work of fiction, but there’s just enough reality tucked in there to keep my friends and family guessing…
Check out Lost Treasure of Petersburg and try your hand at guessing what’s real and what’s pure imagination!
