Eldorado

About the Book

The City of Kings is the second part of the three-book Eldorado series. In this novel the beautiful Monica has been kidnapped by the Peruvian terrorist group, The Shining Path. Peter Martin, a young American geology student is dedicated to finding his true love and her mother. As the sinister plot of Monica’s evil uncle is uncovered, Peter finds himself immersed in the middle of a battle between good and evil. It is a race against time to find Monica before the Shining Path does. The winner will get the coveted Inca treasure that Pizarro and the conquistadors found in their conquest of Peru. In the process Peter really discovers himself and his true feelings for Monica. The treasure is safely hidden in the ancient tunnels underneath the Incan capital city of Cusco, Peru, but will it stay safe? Peter is frustrated by the red tape and government bureaucracy that he has to wade through to get the help that is required. Time is of the essence and Peter knows that the terrorists will not hesitate to kill Monica if they receive the information they need from the Sacred Quipu to find the treasure cache. The parallel story of the conquest of the Incas is intertwined in the novel because of its historical importance to the location and quantity of the treasure. Francisco Pizarro the governor and conqueror of Peru is murdered in his own presidential palace in Lima. A struggle for control of the empire takes place between the remaining Pizarro brothers and the ‘Men of Chile’. These terrible civil wars between the Spanish conquistadors become not only a fight for power and the right to govern, but also agreed for Inca gold. Peter becomes entangled in a much larger plot that threatens more than just his life. He realizes that the terrorists aren’t really after a rich American kid, but this very special Peruvian beauty. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it would prove to change the direction of his whole life. This fictional history is about their adventure together and if their love will overcome the differences between their modern day cultures that become entwined with the past and the search for Eldorado and Inca Gold.

About the Author

L. Norman Shurtliff, (Les) was born in St. George, Utah and grew up on a small vegetable farm in Southern Nevada where he lived with his parents, four brothers and two sisters. After graduation from high school the family sold the farms in Nevada and moved to Canada. Les was able to serve a mission for the LDS Church in Argentina for two years where he learned the Spanish language and the culture of the wonderful people of South America. He attended Brigham Young University and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1979. Immediately after graduation from university the family moved from Vanderhoof, B.C. to the small town of Taylor, B.C. Les got a job at the local oil refinery as a chemist and held various positions there in the lab and in management for the next 25 years. Les and his family also developed a greenhouse complex to grow bedding plants and trees for reforestation. Eventually, Les would venture out on his own and build a gas chromatography lab which was later sold to Norwest Labs. Les managed the Fort St. John Norwest lab for a year and a half and built an environmental lab for the company until it again changed hands and sold. After his mission nearly 30 years ago Les was able to visit and see firsthand the magical land of the Incas. Intrigued with the history and culture of South America Les has re-visited this land of beauty and mystery many times since and continues to search this ‘Promised Land’ for its many types of treasure. The gold may now be gone or only found in museums, but there is still other kinds of treasure more important that can only be found in the wonderful people who live in the enchanted Andean Highlands. Les has spent a lifetime studying and visiting South America and has a unique passion for this people and their legends. The evidence of this passion is seen in the long hours and effort to write a series of novels which will bring to life the story of a chosen and elect people. Les and his wife, Christal, have four sons and three daughters and continue to live in Taylor, B.C. Les now owns and manages several businesses of his own with his wife as his business partner including the original greenhouse and landscaping business. His real passion is to visit South America during the cold winter months in Canada and thus escape to a land where dreams really have come true.