What do the Bermuda Triangle, Stonehenge, the Lost City of Atlantis, the Northern Lights and Easter Island all have in common? How do those mysteries connect to the Nazca lines in Peru or the Pyramids of Egypt? Those questions and many more are answered in C.W. Trisef’s seven-book young adult fiction adventure series, Oracle.

The Inspiration Academy (TIA) welcomed Trisef to Fountain Hills and he spoke to the private school students about his series on Thursday, Aug. 10. Trisef’s books offer fictional answers to actual geographical questions, and he based many of his writing on real-life observations and scientific data.

Trisef told TIA students that his inspiration comes from cartoons from when he was a kid, like “Duck Tales,” and because he was always fascinated by natural phenomena. The first book, “Sunken Earth,” tackles the question of the Bermuda Triangle and its connection to the lesser-known Bimini Road.

In 1968, the Bimini Road was discovered off the coast of North Bimini Island, Bahamas. A diver noticed a series of stones below the surface that appeared manmade and were evenly spread out in a line stretching approximately a half mile. The official origins are unknown, but some theories say the Bimini Road is evidence of the Lost City of Atlantis.

Since the Bermuda Triangle was the catalyst for his series, Trisef flew down to the Bahamas and scuba dived to find the Bimini Road for research. He shared pictures of his trip with TIA students, which led to plenty of “oohs,” “ahhs” and questions asking how Trisef survived his trip to the Bermuda Triangle.

Trisef researched phenomena on every continent and imagined an expansive world where they all connect inside the Oracle. The Oracle series follows Ret Cooper, a young man with no memory of his past and strange scars on the palms of his hands. Cooper travels the globe, explores secrets and discovers his own destiny.

“The Oracle is the key to Earth’s unity and full potential, too perfect to be man-made,” the back cover of “Sunken Earth” reads. “Legend claims it can unleash limitless power when filled with Mother Nature’s six, pure, original elements. But where are these elements? And which of our planet’s secrets will be explained in the process of locating them?”

Trisef wanted to create an educational adventure series that could be enjoyed by all ages. He has five children of his own, and he wrote his books with the intention that his kids could read them without issue.

TIA uses a unique community module approach where students meet professionals and learn about their industry. The students asked Trisef about his writing process, everything from brainstorming to editing, and they asked how long it took to write, where the name “Oracle” came from, if Trisef is working on any more projects, and more.

Typically, TIA students learn from locals in the community module approach, but Trisef flew in from Oregon to visit The Inspiration Academy and five other schools in the Phoenix area from Aug. 7-11. In 2017, Trisef founded Coy Manor, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization focused on promoting literacy and creativity in future generations, and he’s spoken to over 200,000 students at more than 1,000 schools since.

Trisef is self-published, writes in his spare time and has given away over 10,000 free books. To learn more about Coy Manor, purchase a copy of Trisef’s books, or connect on social media, visit oracleseries.com. To learn more about TIA’s community modules, visit theinspirationacademy.org.