Norbert Aubrey, with his new metal detector, was determined to find a gold coin near his home in Gualala, California, lost by a logger a hundred and fifty years ago in a time before banks. In researching good places to hunt for old coins, he read an old story about the founders of the small village of Elk, to the north of his home, originally called Greenwood. That story told of the Greenwood brothers. They hunted elk, bear and deer to feed the loggers of giant first-growth redwood trees. Their father, old Caleb Greenwood, was a remnant of the Rocky Mountain fur trappers. While over eighty years old, Caleb participated in the Donner rescue party, along with one of his sons. The Rocky Mountain fur trade became part of American lore in the 1830's after the Lewis and Clark expedition, 1803 - 1806, opened up a whole new world west of the Mississippi River. They described a land overflowing with the highly sought-after beaver, which were used to make felt hats, the most popular hat in a day when everyone, men and women, wore hats. Shortly before the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the dividing line between the American frontier settlements and Indian territory had been the Appalachian Mountains, where the The Warriors trilogy takes place. Ohio had been entirely Indian territory when the American Revolutionary War started. It was a state 30 years later, with few Indians left. In another twenty years, there were none left. The historical fiction series, The Warriors, explores those early times in American history and attempts to shine a more accurate light than is taught in public schools about the role the American natives played during those times as they attempted to defend their land and way of life from invaders.

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Norbert graduated from Ohio University. He enjoys meditating and martial arts. He found American history more interesting than searching for old coins, although he still metal detects occasionally. The only gold he's found is in books.

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