In The Works

The Legend of the Golden Dragon Chest
Quest for the Third Key


I am attempting a new direction for this next romance novel.  This will be a mystery romance about a legend told through the ages.  It originated from the T'sang Dynasty in China and it told about an old rich merchant who wanted to marry the young daughter of the Empress.  If she agreed he will give her all his riches which he has placed in a chest shaped like a golden dragon. She was in love with the Emperor's gardener's son.  Under pressure by her parents she agreed to marry the merchant.  However, the merchant suspected his easy victory and commissioned a goldsmith to fashion three keys, one to give to the young girl, the other he will keep and a secret third to reveal a puzzle box inside the chest.  When two keys were inserted a small opening will appear where he will place a jeweled necklace.  The third key when opened will reveal a treasure horde.  This he will only hand to his bride after the wedding, which never took place.  When the young princess received the chest and key, she and her lover conspired to steal the second key from the merchant and ran away from home.
This so saddened the old merchant that he left the area never to be seen again.  Some said he died and took the third key to his grave.
Our story begins with our heroine whose father once had a key but it was stolen and our hero who inherited one of the keys from his father.  She thought his key was stolen from her father's antique store.  The story progresses with both protagonists eventually searching for the third key when the golden dragon chest was discovered in an archaeological find.  When the chest mysteriously disappeared from the museum all three keys  became immensely important in order to prove once and for all that the legend is true or untrue.
This novel is still in the working stage.  I will be continuing with the writing during the year.