Brooklyn Park resident Terry Lovaas and co-author Mark Neuman-Scott have now published their treasure hunt novel, more than a decade after writing the book.

Friends and partners Lovaas and Neuman-Scott partnered to write a novel in 1992 when neither had novels "making any headway."

The final result is "Lady Luck's Smile," a book about two men and their search for $16 million in rare gold coins - a treasure that actually exists.

Lovaas starts the book through the eyes of his character, Jake: a "good boy" character who isn't quite a boy scout.

"You can't help but like him, but he doesn't always do the right thing," Lovaas said.

Neuman-Scott takes over the second chapter, and narrates as Jake's conservative friend Hank.

The chapters go back and forth as Jake and Hank scour the Southwest to dig up a buried treasure and learn lessons about trust and greed.

"When it comes down to it, really the story is about these two guys, their adventures and how their friendship survives," Neuman-Scott said.

The authors said the writing process for this book was interesting because each one was reacting to the other instead of carrying an entire plot throughout the book.

Neuman-Scott said it helped him be more creative and get into his character more.

Readers also comment they like having two perspectives on the same story, he said.

The initial inspiration for this story came from Lovaas' friend, Don Carter, who is a professional treasurer hunter.

The idea of finding buried treasure isn't "guilt free." Many people, including insurance companies, would want to lay claim on the items. The book deals with this and several other real world issues surrounding finding a buried treasure, Lovass said.

Once the book was finished and the pair found a publisher, plans fell through. Now, 13 years and a couple of sequels later, the first of the series is published. Because technology changed, the book went through a re-write to update the story.

We're real happy with the final product," Neuman-Scott said.

The book is available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, major Internet booksellers and at www.jakeandhankbooks.com. The two have been working on additional novels to create a series, which will also be available on the Web site above.