BURIED TREASURE SEES THE LIGHT

At last...

BURIED TREASURE goes into paperback and I can now reveal its new cover.  It has seemed like years not a months since I began the process, but that impression has probably been exacerbated by the paralysing effect of Coronavirus.  

I am very much indebted to Cathy Helms of Avalon Graphics.  I commend her skill and her patience.  

In some ways, the delay since it's publication a year ago has benefited its second entrance onto the stage, as I now have many wonderful reviews. Here is a quote from just one: 

BURIED TREASURE was.... “A compelling read. It was so many things: a love story, a hunt for clues to lost secrets, a fascinating look at how our past experiences shape us, and how we can heal even after damage.” Clare Chase.

Hyper-sensitive about her lack of education and damaged by a disastrous love-affair begun when she was a teenager, Jane Smith is constantly driven to prove herself and to shore up her fragile self-esteem. More importantly, she has to get everything “right”. In the early stages of carving out a career as an Events Organizer, Jane arrives at Lancaster College (part of an ancient university) to scope it out as a possible venue for a conference she is organizing. 

Theo Tyler is a ‘desk’ archaeologist working as a part-time teacher at Lancaster College. His background makes him a curiosity to some – had his mother not been a rebel, overthrowing family expectation and privilege - his own passage through life would have been gilded. The reality was chaotic, further marred by a destructive relationship.  He hates people’s fascination with his parents notoriety rather than in his present achievements.

There is no necessity for Jane and Theo ever to connect. He is part of the faculty, but she is there to meet and be shown around by the hospitality manager, so their first encounter is unplanned and unpromising, but….

Jane has a family connection to a significant historic archaeological discovery and Theo wants to organize a conference.

The story follows the gradual interweaving of their interests and the breaking-down of their preconceptions.  The unlikely friendship that grows up between them leads to a place neither expected, proving that treasure is not always what it seems.