A university research team and a television crew discover the forest has more dangers than wild animals when they find themselves caught in a battle between outlaw marijuana growers and a group searching for Hernando De Soto’s fabled lost treasure in an unexplored section of the Ouachita National Forest.
Targeted Age Group:: 18+
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Love of the outdoors and sharing embellished actual adventures with readers and outdoor lovers inspired me to write this novel. Also perhaps inspire some people to venture outside and explore what Mother Nature does when we aren't watching.
How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
I work at a university and have worked in television news for many years and the characters are amalgams of people I've known and stories I've covered.
Book Sample
The greying black bear sat inside the mouth of the cave watching the thunderstorm tear the forest apart. The old bear had seen many storms during his life, but the storm currently raging through Arkansas’ Ouachita National Forest was one of the fiercest the bear had ever experienced. The bear felt this storm in his bones and battle scars. Trees toppled as saturated soil failed to hold their roots under the onslaught of roaring winds. Some of the trees strong enough to remain rooted had their tops snapped off and hurled to the ground. The bear flinched.
Debris filled torrents of rainwater flooded the glade in front of the cave. In the angry sky above the forest, bolts of lightning blasted through the dense clouds turning night to day and explosive thunderclaps caused the bear to wince in pain. Across the clearing from the cave, a downburst of wind flattened trees splintering thick trunks and limbs. The exploding timber frightened the bear.
The cacophony of snapping trees, pounding rain, rolling thunder, and roaring floodwater pushed the bear deeper into the cave. The bear had visited the cave as long as he had been alive, often using it for shelter from fierce forest storms humans rarely saw. Overhead, a crack of thunder shook the earth as another band of heavy rain assaulted the hill hiding the cave. A waterfall of rainwater flowed over the cave’s entrance obscuring its jagged, rocky mouth. With one last look at the storm’s fury, the bear ambled deeper into the cave and found a comfortable place to sleep against a manmade wall of rocks and wait out the storm.
Links to Purchase Print Books
Link to Buy The Treasure of Conquistador Haven: A 21st Century Treasure Adventure Print Edition at Amazon
Links to Purchase eBooks
Link To Buy The Treasure of Conquistador Haven: A 21st Century Treasure Adventure On Amazon
Author Bio:
Mr. Miles has enjoyed a varied career in broadcast television, industry training, and education. He is an avid outdoorsman and shares his love and adventures of the outdoors in his stories. He is currently working with film and journalism students at the university level.
