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The Real Shock
The Lost Bitcoin is an exciting middle-grade adventure about four friends who travel to London on a billion-dollar treasure hunt to recover a lost Bitcoin hard drive while uncovering a mystery that adults have failed to solve. What is the most rewarding aspect of writing a series?
The most rewarding thing is probably getting to imagine how these adventures would play out like a movie in my head. When I first heard about James Howells trying to gain access to a landfill in Wales to find a hard drive containing the key to hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin, I immediately thought, If my friends and I lived anywhere near there, we would figure out a way to find that thing!
That’s one of my favorite parts about writing a series. Whenever I hear about a real lost treasure or an unsolved mystery, I start imagining what would happen if my friends and I tried to find it. What would we need? Who else would be looking for it? What could go wrong?
How did you develop the personalities of the four friends and decide what each would contribute to the team?
You asked me this same question in the interview for my first book, and my answer is still the same. The four friends are really different parts of my own personality. I think everyone has different “voices” in their head depending on the situation, and I thought it would be fun to turn those into separate characters.
I’m writing the third book now, and one of the coolest parts of writing a series is seeing how their personalities have grown. Each character has become more complete and distinct, and sometimes I already know exactly what one of them would say or do before I even write the scene.
What research did you do to make the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency elements understandable to middle-grade readers?
First, I will say that there is nothing understandable about Bitcoin! I spent a lot of time researching cryptocurrency, private keys, digital wallets, and what happens if someone loses access to their Bitcoin.
The hardest part was figuring out how much readers actually needed to know. And that turned out to be pretty simple: there’s a hard drive, it contains keys to a fortune in Bitcoin, and no keys = no money.
The real shock was learning that Bitcoin is only valuable because a lot of people believe it’s valuable—kind of like cash—and that you basically own it because a huge network of computers agrees that you do. Once I understood that, I figured readers didn’t need a school lesson on Bitcoin. They just needed enough to understand the treasure hunt.
What do you hope young readers learn from the characters about ingenuity, responsibility, honesty, and teamwork?
I don’t really have a goal of teaching my audience anything. I just want them to be engaged, entertained, and to keep turning the page.
This question actually reminds me of a trip I took to a museum. The guide kept pointing out all the symbolism and hidden meanings in the paintings, and I remember wondering if the artists really intended all of that or if they were just painting something they liked.
I think about my books the same way. If adult readers see lessons about teamwork, honesty, or responsibility, that’s great. But when I’m writing, I’m mostly thinking, Is this story good enough to make someone put down their phone and keep reading?
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The Goonies meets Home Alone in a hilarious, high-stakes hunt for a billion-dollar fortune buried beneath a mountain of garbage.
Five years ago, a hard drive holding the keys to 15,000 Bitcoin was accidentally thrown away. Now, it’s lost somewhere inside a sprawling, heavily guarded garbage dump outside London.
Sam, Riley, Ava, and Jonah are going to find it.
Soon, the four friends are sneaking past security, deploying custom drones, dodging guard dogs, and racing an eccentric British politician who will stop at nothing to claim the fortune for his own royal ambitions.
They thought digging through trash was the hard part.
They were wrong.
When the treasure hunt follows them home, the kids have to turn their own turf into a fortress. Think glitter bombs. Paintballs. Homemade gadgets. And one very angry, humiliated would-be king.
Finding the treasure was only the beginning.
Now they have to keep it.
The hunt is back on. Are you ready to join them?
Beyond the Maps
Legends Unearthed follows young adventurers as they decode a wartime notebook, evade dangerous treasure hunters, and discover that the true test is not finding a legendary hoard, but deciding what to do with it. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I’ve always thought it was incredible that there are real lost treasures in the world. I kept wondering, What if I actually found one? Around the same time, I wanted to challenge myself to write a fun adventure novel and prove to myself that my dyslexia wouldn’t stop me from becoming an author.
At first, I imagined one person finding a lost treasure, but I realized it would be much more interesting if a group of friends discovered it together. Then I started thinking about how that could realistically happen. A family trip with close friends traveling together seemed like the perfect setup, giving the characters opportunities to explore different locations, solve puzzles as a team, and face challenges together. From there, the story just kept growing until it became Legends Unearthed.
How did you develop the distinct personalities and complementary skills of Sam, Riley, Ava, and Jonah?
The four friends are really different parts of my own personality. I think everyone has different “voices” in their head depending on the situation, and I thought it would be fun to turn those into separate characters. Jonah is the part of me that’s always thinking about snacks and would rather avoid anything involving ghosts. Ava is the tech genius with skills I wish I had — she’s the one who keeps the adventure moving. Sam is the planner who likes to think everything through before taking action, and Riley is the brave one who’s willing to take risks.
Putting those personalities together made the team feel balanced and made the adventure a lot more fun to write. Sometimes we’re cautious like Sam, sometimes we’re adventurous like Riley, sometimes we’re curious like Ava, and sometimes we’re just hoping there’s food nearby like Jonah.
What research did you conduct to portray Filipino landscapes, foods, transportation, family terms, and cultural heritage authentically?
One of my favorite parts of writing the book was spending hours on maps of the Philippines, trying to find terrain and locations where the treasure could realistically be hidden. I wanted readers to feel like the adventure could actually happen — that the places were real, the routes made sense, and the landscape matched the clues the characters were following.
Beyond the maps, I researched Philippine history, animals, famous landmarks, local foods, common transportation, family terms, and cultural traditions. I also watched travel videos and read firsthand accounts to better understand what everyday life actually looks and feels like there. The goal was always to make the setting feel as authentic as possible, because the Philippines itself is such an incredible backdrop for this kind of story.
Why was it important for the treasure to become an ethical dilemma involving looted cultural property rather than simply a reward for the characters?
I wish I could say I planned that from the very beginning, but it actually came out of trying to make the story realistic. If I found a huge hoard of gold on a family vacation, my first thought would probably be, “This is amazing — I want to keep it!” But then I started asking practical questions. How would you even get it out of the country? The parents would have to get involved, and suddenly the story would become about a family trying to take cultural property that didn’t belong to them.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized the right thing for the characters to do would be to turn most of the treasure over so it could be preserved and shared — maybe in a museum where everyone could appreciate it. My original ending was actually for the kids to simply hide the treasure again so another group of adventurers could find it someday. But I ended up liking the final ending much better because it felt more believable. I think real kids might keep a small souvenir, but they’d eventually realize they couldn’t keep the rest — and that doing the right thing was the real victory.
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Most kids spend summer vacation playing video games, sleeping late, and trying not to get sunburned.
Sam, Riley, Ava, and Jonah accidentally start a treasure war.
When Sam discovers a hidden notebook connected to the legendary lost treasure of General Yamashita, the four friends are pulled into a dangerous hunt across the Philippines filled with secret tunnels, hidden maps, ancient booby traps, pirate chases, and clues buried since World War II.
At first, it feels like the ultimate adventure.
Until they realize they are not the only ones searching.
A ruthless treasure hunter has spent years hunting for the lost gold, and now he is following the kids’ every move. With armed pirates, deadly caves, mysterious maps, and hidden enemies closing in, the friends must solve clues before the treasure and its secrets disappear forever.
Perfect for fans of fast-paced middle-grade adventures, Legends Unearthed: The Hunt for Yamashita’s Gold combines real historical mystery and unforgettable friendship into a thrilling treasure-hunt adventure.
If you’re ready to uncover hidden secrets, survive deadly traps, and join the adventure of a lifetime, then scroll up and click the “Add to Cart” button right now.
Legends Unearthed: The Hunt for Yamashita’s Gold
Legends Unearthed is a middle-grade action adventure that combines historical fiction, mystery, and a contemporary treasure hunt. Sam, Riley, Ava, and Jonah arrive in the Philippines on a family vacation with an inherited wartime notebook, then follow its clues from Pangasinan’s Hundred Islands to Baguio’s abandoned Diplomat Hotel. The prologue establishes the mystery with the line, “And deep beneath the seminary, in cold tunnels lined with stone, the treasure waited,” before the main story turns that wartime secret into a fast, accessible quest.
The novel’s strongest feature is its ensemble chemistry. Sam’s historical curiosity, Riley’s practical courage, Ava’s technical inventiveness, and Jonah’s comic anxiety give each scene a distinct rhythm. Their banter keeps cave traps, boat chases, pirates, and nighttime exploration lively while preserving the story’s suspense. The parallel plot involving their parents’ secret treasure hunt is especially effective because it mirrors the children’s schemes and broadens the family humor. Filipino foods, vehicles, landscapes, and family terms are woven into the action, giving the setting an active role in the adventure.
Beyond the action, the book develops a thoughtful idea about ownership and history. When the group finally finds the hoard, the objects are presented as looted cultural property, and the discovery becomes a test of judgment. Captain Yamamoto’s letter states, “Treasure does not make a person rich. It only shows them what they already were.” That line gives the climax moral weight and connects Sam’s family inheritance, Victor Serrano’s obsession, and the children’s decision to report the site. The ethical turn suits younger readers because it emerges naturally from the characters’ choices.
Author Sutton Lewis writes in short chapters with punchy titles, quick scene changes, and a steady balance of danger and comedy. The illustrations reinforce the cinematic mood and help establish the major locations and action sequences. The final chapters provide emotional closure while opening the series toward another mystery, so the ending feels complete and forward-looking. As a whole, the book is an energetic, culturally grounded adventure with a clear moral center, well suited to readers who enjoy puzzles, teamwork, historical legends, humor, and suspense.
Pages: 148 | ASIN: 196228901X
