In 2004 the author and illustrator Michael Stadther made publishing history when his first book, the self-published A Treasure's Trove, appeared on nearly every bestseller list in the United States. Rarely, if ever, had a self-published book received such popular acclaim so quickly. And, in publishing A Treasure's Trove, Mike reintroduced a book genre long ignored by the industry: the event book.
A Treasure's Trove, an enchanting adventure-fantasy, virtually took the country by storm. Demand for the book was overwhelming, and in a matter of three months Mike moved his operations from his home to an office and founded a publishing company, Treasure Trove, Inc.
With this success and a track record, Mike has embarked on an even more ambitious and wide-ranging project. In September 2006, his publishing company, in association with Simon & Schuster, released Secrets of the Alchemist Dar, the sequel to A Treasure's Trove. Secrets of the Alchemist Dar launched the first worldwide treasure hunt, this time for 100 Aaron Basha jeweled rings valued at more than US$2 million.
Mike Stadther's life is a classic rags-to-riches story. By his own description, Mike Stadther was born 'dirt poor' in Mobile, Alabama. He and his mother eventually moved to Louisville, Kentucky where one of his teachers noted the young man's promise and recommended that he go to a residential high school for gifted children. There, he wrote an original mathematics research paper that he presented to NASA. A NASA physicist became Mike's generous benefactor, helping Mike finance his college education at Tulane University, where he earned a B.S. in mathematics in three years. Mike graduated in 1973 as the computer age was dawning, becoming an early software developer.
He and his wife of more than 25 years, Helen, met when they both worked as programmers in New York. Mike went on to work as a consultant while his wife joined a large New York bank and became a vice president in its information technology department.
In 1979 Mike and Helen started a banking software company which they eventually sold to a large domestic software vendor. Shortly thereafter, the couple formed another banking software company which serviced institutions around the world and had offices in New York, London and Mexico. In 1996 they sold that business to a British software company.
A New Career
After the sale of this second company, Mike had the time to focus on a notion he had since the mid-1980s ' creating a national treasure hunt that would captivate Americans, young and old. He spent long hours thinking how he could hide tokens redeemable for real treasure so that they weren't buried or put in dangerous places or private property; nothing could be moved to find the tokens, yet they would be truly hidden. To him, it was a mental challenge, one that took him eight years to solve --and A Treasure's Trove was written. The 12 tokens were found and solutions then published in The Official Solution Guide, distributed by Simon and Schuster.
Secrets of the Alchemist Dar was released in a worldwide simultaneous laydown on September 26, 2006. Additionally, its release was accompanied by five coloring/activity books, a new Puzzle Book Companion, and Secrets of the Alchemist Dar: the Audiobook. Simon & Schuster is the distributor.
The Secrets of the Alchemist Dar launched the first public worldwide treasure hunt. Mike has collaborated with Aaron Basha, the world-famous jeweler, to design this hunt's treasures: 100 jeweled rings collectively valued at more than US$2 million.
How will this hunt work? Here is what Mike offers readers:
'The real mystery in Secrets of the Alchemist Dar begins with clues concealed in the pages of the book that will let anyone, anywhere in the world, who can read English and is a resident of a legally qualified country, get one of the 100 jeweled rings valued together at over $2,000,000.
Happy Hunting!
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