Mark Greenwood is a history hunter! He enjoys searching for lost explorers and glittering treasure, delving into baffling mysteries and investigating famous cold cases. His many award-winning books examining history and multicultural themes have been honoured internationally. Today Mark chats to us about his new History Hunter series, exploring unsolved mysteries. The first two books in the series – The Vanishing and The Dragon’s Treasure – were released in July 2024.
The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with reading copies of these books.
From the publisher:
The Vanishing: In 1978, a young pilot vanishes during a routine flight over a notorious stretch of water. His radio transmission to airport control is one of the most bizarre ever recorded. What did Frederick Valentich encounter? Where did he disappear to?
The Dragon’s Treasure: On a summer morning in 1931, four children on a remote beach make a remarkable discovery. But this is only one of many astonishing finds in the same area: silver coins, hidden chests, mysterious stones, strange objects and an unidentified skeleton. Why is it all there? Where has it come from? Can the truth be found?
Join the History Hunter to unravel these marvellous mysteries.
You’re an avid history hunter, but how did you come to hear about these two unsolved mysteries from 1931 and 1978? (Do you overhear conversations, or frequently look through old newspaper articles to uncover anything interesting?)
I’m drawn to real-life mysteries to search for the truth. The spark to write could be a character, a place, an event, a photograph that teases my imagination, an object or relic, or a tall tale recalled. Sometimes, I wonder if we come across stories by chance – or if stories find us. A curious, questioning mind kick-starts the research process and once history hunters get going, there is no stopping the search for truth.
The Dragon’s Treasure invites readers on an adventure back in time. The premise reads like the plot of a fictional novel – a fabled shipwreck, seven chests of treasure, a mysterious skeleton and 68 desperate castaways abandoned on a bleak coast. But sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
There are many mysteries out there, waiting to be discovered – secrets and hauntings, unexplained occurrences, lost treasure. There are mysteries that solve the disappearance of something or someone. There are mysteries that remain unsolved. Not to mention strange objects, legendary creatures, ghostly ships, freaky phenomena and cryptic codes. For history hunters, a mystery is anything inexplicable, unknown or puzzling. That is what drew me to the story of The Vanishing …
Do you have an opinion about what really happened to the pilot who vanished?
The Vanishing kicks the History Hunter series off with THE question – are we alone in the universe? The disappearance of pilot Frederick Valentich is Australia’s greatest aviation mystery. In 1978, he was on a routine flight over the Bass Straight when he reported an encounter with a UFO. His extraordinary voice transmission with Melbourne flight control was recorded in full. His last words were: ‘It’s not an aircraft …’ Neither Valentich nor his plane were ever found. What on earth (or not of this earth) happened? After years of research, I have formed my own opinion about what happened to Frederick Valentich. I conducted a thorough investigation, and The Vanishing provides evidence and enough information for readers to draw their own informed conclusions.
Has anything strange or mysterious ever happened to you?
Yes – quite a few strange things have happened to me. I’ve learnt to embrace the mysterious, accept it and use the experiences creatively. These private episodes are random and rare, but always welcome.
Your books contain a variety of artefacts and primary source materials, like photographs, newspaper articles, investigation reports and more. How do you gather and store all that information and research for your writing?
I’m a history mystery detective. I collect information, clues and evidence. I keep files on the people in each story, newspaper accounts, photographs, research documents, maps and books about the subject that are valuable sources of knowledge. These are the tools that help me brush away the layers of time so my readers can walk undetected in the past.
Can you tell us a little about what you’re working on next?
I’m thrilled to be working on the next two books in the HISTORY HUNTER series. Each case file invites readers to delve into the unexplained and investigate extraordinary historical mysteries.
Case File No. 3 is the story of a legendary jewel that has crossed oceans and continents, passing from thieves to commoners, kings, and queens. The sinister forces that lurk beneath its indigo surface are said to have origins in an ancient curse.
The fourth book in the History Hunter series is set in the Great Depression – when a hero was needed to lift the spirits of a nation. The call was answered by an underdog with unflinching courage, a tall poppy who refused to be defeated, a battler who defied the odds, and an icon whose glorious life sparked one of Australia’s greatest unresolved mysteries.
The truth is out there …
The Vanishing and The Dragon’s Treasure are out now! Ask for them at your favourite bookshop or local library.
AWESOME EXTRAS:
Take a sneak peek inside The Vanishing
Take a sneak peek inside The Dragon’s Treasure
Download the Teachers’ Notes for The Vanishing
Download the Teachers’ Notes for The Dragon’s Treasure
Create your own newspaper article and comic inspired by the books
Visit Mark Greenwood’s website for more about him and his books
And now Lorraine Marwood passes the baton to the next Friday visitor — Kelly Canby. Kelly is an author-illustrator living in Perth, WA.
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