Paths of Anguish follows a graduate student working on a field expedition that reveals our hidden history and the origins of our End Times. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

A deep study of our (humanity’s) mythologies and ancient gods of old, discovering most tell a similar story of creation and of the gods (little “g”s) only with different names and different cultural contexts. The Primeval Origins saga is architected as an epic adventure revealing our “undiscovered” human history and origins through the eyes and experiences of Nikki and her experiences of the memories of Rogaan and others in the First Man civilization on Earth. The setup of the modern story is in the late 21st semi-dystopian century. The ancient story is set 65 mya on the lost continent of Dilmu years before nature made extinct the dinosaurs and more than 70% of all life on Earth. Or was it nature?

Nikki, Rogaan and Pax were interesting and well developed characters. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

Rogaan and Pax are AD&D characters played by myself and a friend, among other characters to be joining the adventure in the books following Paths of Anguish, at the United States Air Force Academy in the early 1980’s. Their interactions are genuine as they were played by us through multiple adventures, though adapted to the Primeval Origins storyline. Nikki is a combination character in personality and drive of my daughter and daughter-in-law. Both strong women that are inquisitive with streaks of stubbornness, yet with enormous senses of integrity and loyalty. This made character development rather straight-forward…with some tweaks to fit with Nikki’s profession and spinning out of control situation.

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

The nature of our humanity is at the core of all story themes…are we just simple chemical accidents in the universe or is there a grander plan, origin, and history of our human experiences of being Lights/Souls merged with the clay of the earth, our flesh bodies? Everyone behaves and reacts to situations/influences for reasons of their own, though our environment does not dictate who we are and who we are to grow into. We make choices and act. The question is whether we choose to be good persons or not, brave or cowardly, honest or deceptive, selfish or selfless. Our maturing through these experiences and testing of our souls determines which path we follow both in this life and the next. As to the worlds of the future and ancient past, accuracy of scientific knowledge, archeology (the undiscovered and non-dogma version of archeology), paleontology, geology, physics, engineering principles, etc are important to the story as is the speculative sciences that are largely ignored all integrated with our oldest creation myths telling of the creation and origins of earth, life in our solar system, and mankind. It’s a really unique and cool story that will be revealed in the books ahead.

This is book one in the Primeval Origins Epic Saga. What can readers expect in book two?

Book #2, Light of Honor, and book #3, Rise of Serpents, are both published. Book #4, untitled to the public at present, is being written now. The Primeval Origins saga grows in interesting characters telling of the creation of humanity (taken primarily from the Sumerian, Egyptian, and Hindu myths and their correlation with the Abrahamic religions) and of the coming days of Final Judgment in the modern story as Nikki is witness, and a player, in the rise of the Four Horsemen. I don’t know of any story past or in present literature that combines these themes, the sciences, our mythologies, and humanity’s religions into a single story as Primeval Origins does.

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