Hidden Demon follows a US Counter Assault Agent who is sent on a mission to hunt a monstrosity born from indigenous legends but discovers something much more dangerous. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

This started as a screenplay inspired by climate change and the impact it has on relationships between species, but within the context of an action thriller. I can’t say too much here without giving away major plot points, but the accuracy of the setup was important and researched thoroughly across military, science, psychological, medical, and telecommunications domains. I think it will astonish readers at how real this near future science fiction thriller feels. One reader already said it is “real enough to scare a person.”

Dee is an intriguing and well-developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

When I first started, I didn’t have Dee’s character profile completely fleshed out. I knew her relationship with her dad was a problem and that she hated baseball and hunting. I thought she might be from Georgia, since that’s where I live right now, but I decided on Louisiana with an ancestry through the Caribbean. As characters speak throughout the writing journey, authors should learn from them. I let them author their own story. I know that sounds odd, but my conversations with her, and all the characters, feed what ends up on the page. She has miles of experience as former military SpecOps and knowledge through her college education. She’s a vegetarian who drinks heavily and is already considering a career change in her mid-30’s. This speaks to the dissatisfaction with her current life, which she oddly can’t admit. Her reactions to Ko, her partner on the mission, and discomfort with small towns led me to ask questions. What influenced her to be this way? Why did she leave? Even though the story takes place twenty years from now, in the world I’ve created, the perspectives in small town America have changed little.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

Numerous themes exist in the novel, such as nuclear energy, equality, and coping with anger and grief. Some of these are intentional distractions, but educate the reader, nonetheless. The story is mostly about how we fight to maintain the status quo, even when it is bad for us and the world. The characters here are diverse, but each is fighting against change because it is painful. Eventually, they must acknowledge structural changes in the story world and shift along with it or risk perishing.

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

The next book is book two in the series. We haven’t revealed the name yet, but with the cliffhanger ending of Hidden Demon, I want to get it out before the Summer of 2022.

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