Via his senile great-grandmother, he hears of some hidden gold, and out of desperation he starts looking. One of his classmates, Three Sticks, is also having financial trouble, although his problems are due to his dad’s poor investments. Three Sticks also learns of the gold, and the two young men are in a race to find out if it ever existed and if so if anything’s left.

Chris Gerrib 16 October 2025

The Back Flap

Is the gold real, or is Pat on a fool’s errand?

It’s January 1986, and Pat Kowalski has just turned 18, but there’s no cause for celebration. His father is dying, and the local bank is foreclosing on their house. Pat talks to his senile great-grandmother, who tells him a story about a man dying in front of her in 1894. What she doesn’t tell him is that the man – Mister Good Boots – had been carrying a suitcase worth of gold coins. These coins would be worth a fortune today – if any of them are still left.

But Pat’s not the only person in their small Central Illinois town who needs money. Pat’s classmate Vince is watching his college dream evaporate. Vince has also convinced himself that Pat’s family stole something of great value from his family in the 1920s. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to right an old wrong. Vince has another advantage – Pat doesn’t know Vince is looking.

The two men are both trying to figure out if there’s any gold left and, if so, where it is. While they look, they discover a lot about their own history, from bodies buried under an abandoned restaurant to both family’s relationships with Al Capone. It’s a race where the winner gets the gold, and the loser gets a bullet.

About the book

What is the book about?

Set in a small fictional Central Illinois town in 1986, the book opens with Patrick Kowalski’s 18th birthday.  Unfortunately there’s no celebration as his dad is dying and his family home is being foreclosed on.  Via his senile great-grandmother, he hears of some hidden gold, and out of desperation he starts looking.  One of his classmates, Three Sticks, is also having financial trouble, although his problems are due to his dad’s poor investments.  Three Sticks also learns of the gold, and the two young men are in a race to find out if it ever existed and if so if anything’s left.

When did you start writing the book?

What became Chapter 2 of the book came to me in a daydream in June of 2018.  I had been laid off from my job of 17 years and found myself with lots of time to write.  I finished the first draft by the end of 2018, and then started shopping it around.

 How long did it take you to write it?

That’s actually a tough question.  The version that I thought was ready to shop to publishers was done by Christmas of 2018, so maybe six months.  There were two later versions before I got to what was published – each of those took a few months.

 Where did you get the idea from?

As mentioned above, I was laid off from a job in March of 2018, and found myself with a lot of free time.  Some of that free time was spent visiting the (tiny) historical museum in the small town I grew up in.  There they had an exhibit which claimed that the first mention of the town to the wider world was during a railroad strike in 1896.  In those days, strikers blocked the railroad tracks and the National Guard was sent to clear them.

The idea came to me of a man hired to deliver a bag of gold coins to Chicago but getting stuck due to the strike.  He gets out, planning to walk around the blockage and get another train, but has a heart attack.  He does however hide the gold before he dies.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

One of the visions I had for the book was a little old lady holding off robbers with a Tommy Gun.  I struggled for a while trying to fit that in, but eventually gave up.

What came easily?

This book was shockingly easy to write!

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

I’m going to have to plead the 5th Amendment on that one!

Do you have a target reader for this book?

I didn’t (and don’t) have target readers for any of my books.  But given that I grew up in the ‘80s in a small Central Illinois town, I’d guess the target reader is like me.

How was writing this book different from what you’d experienced writing previous books?

In terms of process, there was no difference.  I write what I know, so other than a quick Google on “when did that movie come out?” I don’t find that I have to do a lot of research.

What new things did you learn about writing, publishing, and/or yourself while writing and preparing this book for publication?

My lead character’s dad dies very early in the book.  As I am watching my 85-year-old dad’s decline, those scenes were very emotional.  I’d not had that in other books.

End of Interview:

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Get your copy of Strawberry Gold from Amazon US or Amazon UK.