The Race for the Lost Coin follows a history teacher racing to rescue his kidnapped grandfather and protect an ancient teleportation coin from an industrialist intent on harnessing its power for his Nazi ambitions. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story? 

I’m a bit of a fan of the Indiana Jones movies, a bit of a Trekkie, and an avid reader of sci-fi books and stories involving time travel. I wanted to write a story that combined my first love, ancient history and mythology, with contemporary fiction, particularly thrillers and action-adventure, incorporating the concept of teleportation.

It’s a unique mix, and I wanted to inject a bit of fun into the writing process. My first book, The Guardian’s Legacy, places the main character, Nikolaos, in the role of a reluctant hero and guardian of the coin. The Race for the Lost Coin introduces elements of the high-stakes chases we see in the Indiana Jones movies, the hunt for artefacts, and a recognisable foe: the Nazis.

Hitler and Himmler sought esoteric artefacts and spent thousands, if not millions, of dollars searching for sources of power and knowledge that they believed could help them win the war. It’s this combination of modern and ancient history that I wanted to explore and weave into my stories. At the same time, I hope to encourage readers to discover more about our ancient past.

How does Nik’s work as a history teacher shape his response to inherited guardianship, especially when protecting his grandfather disrupts his ordinary responsibilities?

It is Nik’s love of ancient history that not only piques his interest in becoming a guardian, but also helps him understand the importance of protecting the legacy of our ancient past for future generations. In many ways, this is what education is all about. Well, that’s why I studied teaching!

Nik’s role as a high school teacher places him in a position of responsibility, where he helps nurture the growth and intellectual development of young people. When he learns that his grandfather has been kidnapped, Nik must make a choice. Finding his grandfather becomes his priority, and his role as guardian takes on a whole new meaning.

This experience helps him understand what his grandfather had tried to explain during his training as protector of the coin: that some individuals use history to further their own agendas and gain power over those who are less able to defend themselves.

What guided your decisions about the coin’s painful landings, exhaustion, and unpredictable reactions, and how do those limits shape Nik’s choices?

I wanted to create an object of power that, while offering extraordinary means of transportation, also carried disadvantages for those who sought to control it. I decided that the impact of using the coin would physically manifest the consequences of a person’s decisions, with the effects potentially being either positive or negative. In this case, the coin’s power has a detrimental effect on the user.

Through his research into previous guardians and their use of the coin, Nik comes to realise the potential adverse effects of its continual use. He doesn’t make the decision to use the coin lightly, justifying his actions initially as a means of escape and, more recently, as a way to access resources he knows are available at his grandfather’s home. He understands that prolonged use could alter his biology, yet it’s a risk he is currently willing to take.

How did you develop Nik and Detective Sauveterre’s attraction through their repeated confrontations while preserving the distrust and conflicting obligations between them?

I wanted Nik to maintain his independence while building friendships with unlikely allies who could help him operate outside the boundaries of the law. The inclusion of Detective Sauveterre was initially intended to make the detective a foil for Nik, but as the story progressed, their relationship began to change.

Nik wants to trust the detective, and during their first meeting, he realises that doing so was a mistake. However, their subsequent interactions establish a tentative rapport, which gradually develops into an attraction that becomes more evident each time they meet.

Although they often butt heads, their mutual admiration and attraction continue to grow. Nik is desperate to find his grandfather and recover the second coin, using whatever means are available to him, while the detective is determined to follow the leads and work within the boundaries of the law. Their conflicting approaches create tension between them, even as their feelings for each other grows.

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