I got a message a few months ago from a reader who said she bought Braddock's Lost Gold because she was planning a road trip through western Pennsylvania and wanted to understand what happened on that land. She finished it before she left home.
I think about that a lot. The idea that a story set in 1755 can make someone feel the weight of the ground they're about to walk on.
That's about to happen for a lot more people.
Young Washington: July 3, 2026
On July 3rd, Angel Studios releases Young Washington.
Andy Serkis plays General Braddock. The film follows a twenty-two-year-old George Washington into the wilderness of western Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War. The same campaign, the same forest, the same disaster that starts the hunt in Echoes of Fortune.
I grew up near those sites. I've walked that ground. And I've spent years writing about what historians believe may still be buried out there: the payroll, the dispatches, the things that vanished when Braddock's column collapsed under ambush on July 9th, 1755.
The movie will show you the battle. The book will show you what was never recovered.
Limited Time
The Search for Braddock's Lost Gold is $2.99 on Kindle now. Starting June 28th, it drops to $0.99 for one week, timed exactly to the film's release.
If you have friends who love history, thrillers, or anyone who says "I love National Treasure but wish it were set in real American history." That week is the moment to point them to the book.
Knights of the Golden Circle: August 2026
Book 3 is targeting an August 2026 release. I can't say much yet. But I will say this: it opens with Jefferson Davis, and it ends somewhere you won't expect.
If you're not already on the waitlist, you can join here.
A Note on the Audiobooks
The response to Jason Hauck's narration of Shadows Over Cozumel has been tremendous. Jason has now narrated The Search for Braddock's Lost Gold as well, and the audiobook has been re-released.
We've been in conversations about Knights of the Golden Circle having multiple narrators, given the size and depth of the cast. More on that as we get closer.
Until next month, keep hunting.
David R Leng
Echoes of Fortune. The Past Never Ends. It Echoes into the Present.
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Kirkus GET IT pick. PenCraft Best Thriller twice. Free via BookFunnel, no catch.
Download Free, No CatchA note about a fellow author
I’m a short flight reader. Give me a window seat and 90–120 minutes, and I’ll burn through one or two reads before we land. Usually they’re books from fellow authors asking what I think. On the flights to and from Miami for a family trip, this was one of the four I read.
Blackbeard has been on my mind for a long time. I wrote a short story about him in high school, and the obsession never quite went away. So when Grant sent me his book, I read it with extra attention.
If the legend of lost treasure pulls at you, this is a fast read on one of history’s greatest unsolved mysteries: Blackbeard’s hidden fortune, the curse that guards it, and the seekers who lost everything chasing it.
A fun read for a flight, a lunch break, or an afternoon by the pool. Grab it free → Grant Kelly’s Blackbeard