Hub Staff

Attendees had a chance to meet Port Elgin author Doug Archer at his book signing and reading October 17 at the Port Elgin Public Library.

The book, Ghoul’s Gold - The Mystery of the Chantry Island Treasure, is for ages 8 plus and is set on the shores of Lake Huron.

“[The launch] was a great success,” Archer said in an email to The Hub, “ended up being standing room only.”

Archer has a history of freelance writing for newspapers and magazines but it was his eldest son who planted the idea in his mind to write this story. “We were looking out at the Chantry Island lighthouse from the beach in front of our house when he wondered aloud if there had ever been any pirates on the Great Lakes – because Chantry Island, he said, would have made a great pirate hide-out.” Archer added, “That was 15 years ago.”

It wasn’t until retirement was “within reach”, about three years ago, that Archer began to put ideas to paper. “I developed a cast of characters. And when I actually did retire two years ago, I started writing.

“Ghoul's Gold is the story of three 11-year-olds – Brogan, Brycen, and Heather – who are known as the Cold Case Kids. They come to learn that there is a treasure hidden on Chantry Island in Southampton, riches left behind by pirates of the Great Lakes, so they spend their summer hunting for it,” said Archer, adding that there are some twists and turns like a resident zombie, ancient ghosts and a riddle filled with clues.

Archer called writing the book “a very long process”.

“I planned it out chapter by chapter on a huge roll of poster paper that was three feet wide and 40 feet long. I hung it on my basement wall and wrote the story on it in point form using sticky notes that I could move around and change as the story evolved,” said Archer.

Then to the first draft which took about two years; then editing and re-drafting. “I went through the story to make sure that it made sense, that the plot was tight, that the characters were real,” said Archer, adding that this took about six months. Then the polishing which took another four months.

“During the editing process I also began working with the illustrator, Rob Elliott, a friend who used to live in Kincardine but now resides in Toronto. We toured around Chantry Island in kayaks, visited the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, ate at the Walker House, and scarfed down Jerry’s fries. All so he could get a better sense of the scenes I depict in the book and really bring his drawings to life.”

Archer recalled vacationing in the area when his sons were young. “Two months of biking and swimming and seemingly endless adventure. I wanted to capture that in Ghoul's Gold by creating a summertime adventure with zombies, ghosts and pirates.” Archer added that even though the book is written for young readers, “You're never too old for a good adventure story!”

Ghoul’s Gold was released in September and Archer says that the Cold Case Kids will have “many more adventures”.