Real-life experiences provided much of the inspiration for Nic Richards' debut novel, Gold of the Generals: Part 1 Pacific Loot.

Since 1982 author Nic Richards has lived and worked in numerous countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific region. During his spare time he has walked, swam and crawled through hundreds of tunnels, old Spanish forts and watchtowers, shipwrecks and explored intriguing collections of weapons, swords and other relics. He has investigated numerous temples, pagodas and ruins in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia. Along the way he has met some fascinating people and also many agents of the devil which all have provided inspiration for his debut novel Gold of the Generals: Part 1 Pacific Loot.

A cast of five characters join forces to seek out buried treasure in the town of Rabaul located on the exotic island of Papua New Guinea. As a part of the history of the Philippines, Rabaul is known for its stories of treasure buried by the Japanese in mysterious tunnels following the military invasion and is the basis for this story. Throughout their journey this team is met with a number of obstacles that threaten their chances of discovering the hidden treasure.

From treachery to murder this story takes readers on an action filled adventure packed with historical facts. "Is a rip roaring adventure tale… a page turner… not short on action and complication… …convincing with historical and technical research and data", says Dr. McLeod, Writer and editor, Wordworks. Sterling Seagrave, author of Gold Warriors and The Yamato Dynasty says, "Happily, this is not just another secret agent rip-off. The characters are highly original loose cannons, their dialogue rich with regional accents that Richards captures nicely. And the climax is suitably suspenseful and explosive."

This is the author's first novel to be published. The second novel in the series, Book 2: Indochine Gold, will be available in 2008. Gold of the Generals: Part 1 Pacific Loot can be purchased via amazon.com and lulu.com.

For more information about Gold of the Generals: Part 1 Pacific Loot, or to schedule an interview, contact Nicolas Richards by phone at 6332 2331473, or email at nrichards @ acdivoca.org.ph.