Swept Away (The Swept Away Saga, Book One)

Acknowledgments

This book's acknowledgments are little bit different than what I normally write (thank you family and friends for all of your help getting here, I haven't forgotten you!), but it's for good reason.

Perhaps, as you were reading, you noticed that there were several elements of Swept Away that sounded like a place and mystery that really exist. You're right! I changed a few things around to suit myself and the story, so it could lay out how I wanted. However, I would like to talk now about what inspired me—in part—to write Swept Away.

In Nova Scotia, Canada, there is an island called Oak Island. On this island is a pit, called the Money Pit, that was discovered over two hundred years ago. It was seventeen ninety five when the three teenaged boys came across it and, with pirate treasure in mind, began to dig. That was the start of the world's longest and least successful treasure hunt, continuing on today.

Over the years, hundreds of hopefuls have come to the island, dreaming of finding what's hidden at the bottom of the pit, including famous movie stars and a former president. Until recently, nothing of value was ever found. The island has bankrupted everyone who's ever tried to solve the puzzle.

The myths and curses of Oak Isle in Swept Away are the same as the real life Oak Island, including the prophecy that seven must die before anything can be found. At the time of this publication, six men had lost their lives in search of the treasure.

Currently, two brothers—Rick and Marty Lagina—run the operation on the island. They found a gold coin in the swamp and became the first treasure hunters to turn up something of value. You can watch their efforts on the History Channel show, The Curse of Oak Island.

While Swept Away is pure fiction, it excites me to see just a little mystery left in the world, and the desire to discover what all is out there. Several people do believe that the treasure of the Knights Templar is buried on the island, as well as the other theories brought up in the book. It's also worth mentioning that most of the history of the story is based off of alternate history theories, which are a whole realm of research and discovery on their own.

I encourage you to take a look at it for yourself—there is much, much more to the real story than there is in Swept Away—and decide for yourself what you think is really happening on Oak Island.

Thank you to my beta readers—Heather Garrison, Tyanne Romney, Raquel Auriemma, Dawn Povijua, Laura Collins, Julie Engle, Nikki Rawson, Kassidy Carter, Sabrina Shoup, Holly Cooper, Kayla Hyden, Lisa Markson, and Annie Angelich—who helped out on this project, y'all are awesome! Thanks to Miles Romney for looking over the tiny bit of Spanish. An extra special thanks to Belinda Boring and Lacey Weatherford, who are both so awesome that there are no words to even describe it. You helped me through this so much and I can not tell you how much I valued your honest opinions. Thank you for helping to make Swept Away what it is!

~Kamery