Legend of the Altai Steppes
Fifteen years have passed since Juan and Sophia Valdez discovered, with their Great Grandfather, the vast Inca treasure hidden for centuries in a Peruvian cave. They are now archaeologists on assignments in Egypt and China.
Sophia receives a letter written by Great Grandfather, two years before his death, which causes her to interrupt her work and travel to the Altai Republic in what was previously eastern Russia, to look into strange circumstances that surrounded the recovery of a mummy many years earlier. Her investigation triggers events that force Juan into a race against time to save her life.
The O’Shea Family Chronicles
Sold Into Shackles
Torn from home in a savage attack by Barbary Coast Pirates on an Irish fishing village, three surviving family members are sold into the horrors of North African slavery. At a time when human lives were expendable, death appears to be their only release.
The Sultan’s Snare
Returning to North Africa, the O’Shea family is swept up in a vicious plot to annihilate their closest friends. Forced into a desperate race against time, they are opposed by the mighty power of the brutal Ottoman Empire.
The Heirs of the Medallion Series
Adzul
THE HEIRS OF THE MEDALLION BOOK 1
One summer in the small town of Center, CO, 12-year-old twins Juan and Sophia Valdez are given an ancient silver medallion by their 100-year-old great grandfather. He tells them to look at the rising sun through the square hole in the medallion. When they do, they witness the death of a noble warrior in a battle between conquistadors and sling-wielding adversaries!
When the astounding scene abruptly disappears, they race to the old man for an explanation. He reveals that the battle they witnessed took place more than 500 years ago. He further discloses that Juan and Sophia are the latest in a series of heirs of the medallion, given by the dying warrior to his son Adzul.
Great Grandfather begins to tell them the story of Adzul’s perilous flight to protect the medallion from falling into the hands of the invaders. It is a story that will eventually lead all the way to Juan and Sophia, who must keep the medallion safe and discover its extraordinary secret dating back to the time of the Incan Empire.
Cuto
THE HEIRS OF THE MEDALLION BOOK 2
At dawn on Winter Solstice, Juan and Sophia again see into the past through the square hole in the mysterious silver medallion. This time they witness a small band of travelers coming upon the body of a child in the desert.
The twin’s 100-year-old great grandfather explains that Adzul’s grandson Cuto, the next heir of the medallion, was leading a group of Aztec adventurers north to seek a new life in Santa Fe.
After establishing friendly relations with the local Pueblo Indians, Cuto’s life is turned upside down when he encounters the sadistic Lt. Marquez. Forced to turn away from peaceful endeavors, the Aztecs must now engage in a desperate struggle to survive.
Lita
THE HEIRS OF THE MEDALLION BOOK 3
Dawn on the Summer Solstice once more reveals the past to Juan and Sophia through the square hole in the mysterious silver medallion. The twins see mounted Indians at the edge of a menacing forest in a snowstorm.
Great Grandfather begins the story of Cuto’s granddaughter Lita, heir of the medallion, who sets out to find a great sea in the northwest described by Incan traders.
Lita and her brother Rutu journey through new territory filled with unexpected encounters. Forced to winter in harsh and unforgiving circumstances, their survival skills will be tested to the limit.
Tukor
THE HEIRS OF THE MEDALLION BOOK 4
On a frigid Winter Solstice, the medallion reveals the disastrous sinking of an ancient wooden canoe in the open ocean. Juan and Sophia hurry to Great Grandfather for an explanation.
Thus begins the story of Tukor, heir to the mysterious piece of silver, and his companion Shadow, the great black wolf. A chance encounter in a Comanche village leads them on a quest to find the Great Water sought by Lita and Rutu more than 100 years earlier.
Far from the desert, they are forced to adapt to a new and perilous environment.
Ricardo
THE HEIRS OF THE MEDALLION BOOK 5
For the first time ever, Great Grandfather has no explanation for Juan and Sophia when the medallion reveals an ancient stonemason at work. He is as mystified as they are about what it means.
Prompted by the twins, he finally begins to reveal his own history with the strange piece of silver, an odyssey that involves adventure and peril in places as far-away as Africa. Brother and sister are awestruck to discover a courageous and heroic side of their unassuming relative.
Then, a news flash from South America sets in motion a series of events that will change their lives forever.