Researching my new book Deadly Ties turned out to be a lot of fun—and a bit more exciting than I expected!

I knew I needed some extensive research in order to create the story I wanted to write.  That desire led me out into the woods and deep into caves on the trail of Ozark legends. Now, I admit I was skeptical when I heard some of these treasure stories. In fact, one of the characters in my book feels the same way! But after meeting Phillip Steele and reading his stories, I was hooked. That might explain how I ended up far underground in a place called the Old Spanish Treasure Cave in Benton County, Arkansas.

Well, one memorable day a guide had taken a couple of us through the cave. (A cool place to visit, by the way.) We happened to be the last through and had reached the bottom when the lights went off!  Imagine absolute blackness and complete silence, and you’ll have an idea of what that cave was like.  Now imagine tons of rock over your head, and nothing but a skinny passage way leading you to the surface, and you can probably appreciate that I was breathing just a tad faster than usual!

We made our way slowly upwards and emerged (relatively) unscathed. We later learned an employee had turned off the generator which powered the cave lights, not knowing anybody was still down below.  (Bet he didn’t do that again!)

But the story has a happy ending. We got out safely and I got some terrific material for a book!

You can read more about the background of the book at my website http://dogmysteries.com/

What about you? What sort of treasure do you seek? And how far are you willing to go in search of that treasure?