Did the FBI abscond with nine tons of stolen gold?

Fiction starts where real life ends.

If you have read my novel, Treasure of the Diary, you know that I wrote about Dents Run, Pennsylvania’s legendary buried Civil War Gold. Is it real, or did I make it up out of whole cloth?

Kris Maher in the Wall Street Journal writes about the allegation that the Federal Bureau of Investigation dug up nine tons of the gold, worth more than $500 million, and made off with it in the middle of the night.

According to the article, Warren Getler, co-author of Rebel Gold and a former Wall Street Journal reporter said he believed Confederate sympathizers allied with a secretive society known as the Knights of the Golden Circle, likely stole and hid the gold.

Treasure hunters were sure that they had found the spot where the gold was hidden, and believed they had a finder’s fee deal. There is no question about the dig by the FBI. They brought more than 50 agents to the location and dug down 12 feet, but “Nothing was found,” the FBI says. The treasure hunters who led the FBI to the spot have gone to court. They aim to prove the loot was in the ground, and the government took it!

To readers of Treasure of the Diary, it sounds familiar. You can read Maher’s full article titled, Three Men Battle the FBI Over Buried Civil War Gold. Stuff Just Doesn’t Add Up. in the August 5, 2023, issue of the Wall Street Journal.

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Collins’s books are available from neighborhood bookstores and online sources. E-book editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks,  Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes,and directly from Audible.com.

Silver Falchion Award

I returned home from another visit to the hospital to discover that my latest book, Treasure of the Diary, is a finalist for the coveted Silver Falchion Award in Literary Fiction. The novel, #7 in the Mark Rollins Adventure Series, was also honored as the Independent Press Award’s 2023 pick for Distinguished Favorite in Literary Fiction.

The Silver Falchion Award honors the best books of the year that incorporate elements of mystery, thriller, and suspense across numerous genres. It is administered by Killer Nashville, which is considered the premier forum for mystery writers. The awards are presented at the annual Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference. The event marks the 18th year of the forum's international writers’ conference. The four-day event is scheduled to begin on August 17th in Nashville, Tennessee.

As for the rest of the story — my four-day hospital experience — I developed an MRSA Staph infection in my left arm, requiring intravenous treatment. MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium resistant to many antibiotics, including penicillin. Although I am now home, I am still undergoing treatment. Doctors say that eliminating the bacteria takes an unusually long time. And, of course, where did I contract MRSA to begin with? You guessed it — during one of my previous visits to the hospital.

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Collins’s books are available from neighborhood bookstores and online sources. E-book editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks,  Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes,and directly from Audible.com.

Free Audio Books

To encourage listener reviews, Audible provides me with a limited number of coupons for free copies of the audio editions of my books including the newest, Treasure of the Diary. If you would like one of the FREE copies go to COUPONSor click on the picture of my books.

The audio editions of my books are produced by Audible and are distributed by Audible, Amazon and iTunes.

If you are not already a fan of audio, you are in for a real treat. You will discover that narrators breathe life into the characters and amplify their emotions. And activities like driving or exercising become reading (listening) time. So, the number of books you can check off your wish list every year will explode. You will be able to enjoy all those books you just didn’t have time to get to before switching to audio versions.

If you do take one of the free copies, please consider posting a review on Audible or Amazon.

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All my books are available from your favorite neighborhood bookstore or online source. Ebook and print editions are also available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks,  Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. For signed copies go to my website, tomcollinsauthor.com. Exploring Asheville was the 2022 winner of the Independent Press Award and the NYC Big Book Award for its literary category. My novel, Beyond Visual Range, was NYC Big Book 2022 Award’s Distinguished Favorite in Military Fiction.

A lazy New York Weekend

One of my readers sent me this photo. She lives in New York City. It was an overcast and dreary weekend day, but it was also a free weekend, one with no more holiday parties or events to attend, no visitors to the big city to entertain, and no more incomplete work projects to be dealt with.

It was a perfect day to just relax and read a book. And that is exactly what this reader did. She sat in front of her apartment window looking down on a New York City street, propped her feet up and read Treasure of the Diary. Later in the day, she texted me:

Just finished —it was great!! Loved reading about Applewood Manor and Asheville. I also did not realize Asheville was involved much in the Civil War. Are there actually tunnels?

If you are wondering, I did reply to her question about the tunnels noting that a little truth is the nexus of good fiction. There are rumors of tunnels—from beer halls and hotels to brothels and also to transport and store moonshine and illegal liquor, so why wouldn’t there “actually be tunnels” during the war?

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All my books are available from your favorite neighborhood bookstore or online source. Ebook and print editions are also available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks,  Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. For signed copies go to my website, tomcollinsauthor.com. Exploring Asheville was the 2022 winner of the Independent Press Award and the NYC Big Book Award for its literary category. My novel, Beyond Visual Range, was NYC Big Book 2022 Award’s Distinguished Favorite in Military Fiction.

A Book for Christmas

My new book, Treasure of the Diary, seventh in the Mark Rollins Adventure series, has arrived just in time for Christmas

In the tradition of a rags-to-riches story, three Belmont college students find a one hundred and fifty year old diary written during the Civil War. Using their wit and modern technology, they discover the diary’s secret and their find sends them to Asheville and the western North Carolina mountains in search of buried treasure.

I think you will find Treasure of the Diary an enjoyable family friendly mystery. It is both educational and entertaining, weaving historical fiction and familiar places into a seemingly realistic adventure mystery.

And it would be a good choice for this year’s Christmas gifts!

And I ask a favor. After reading Treasure of the Diary , please post a review on the website where you made your purchase or on https://www.goodreads.com/.

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All my books are available from your favorite neighborhood bookstore or online source. Ebook and print editions are also available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks,  Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. For signed copies go to my website, tomcollinsauthor.com. Exploring Asheville was the 2022 winner of the Independent Press Award and the NYC Big Book Award for its literary category. My novel, Beyond Visual Range, was NYC Big Book 2022 Award’s Distinguished Favorite in Military Fiction.