In the summers, Mike and his cousins would go lobstering in Ft. Pierce. Mike remembers salvage boats going out the inlet with blowers tilted up on their transoms and wondering what they were doing. In the dive shop, divers came in with gold coins hanging on chains around their necks. Thus, he had a vague sense of what the Treasure Coast was about, but not really. When he looked at the water, all he thought about was the lobster and fish it held. Mike had no idea those limestone reefs were the very ones that had smashed the hulls of an entire fleet 300 years ago.

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The sun-drenched beaches and ocean of Florida had always been his playground, but it wasn't until his mid-twenties that he discovered their true treasure: the tangible remnants of Spanish galleons and their lost fortunes. The realization that he'd been unaware of the Treasure Coast's rich history sparked a writer's ambition, and he was determined to tell the extraordinary tale of the 1715 fleet, crafting a novel that is accessible and engaging for all readers.