The year was 2007. I had already finished writing--but had not published The Djinn--and I became obsessed with a thrilling new docuseries on SyFy Channel that was one part Ghosthunters and one part...honestly, there was no other show that quite compared to it honestly. I mean, these guys didn't just hunt ghosts. They hunted MONSTERS! I'm referring, of course, to the hit series 'Destination Truth' that ran for five wonderful seasons.
I was hooked. Couldn't wait for Thursday nights to catch Josh Gates' witty, wisecracking humor and the team's incredible chemistry together...not to mention the jump scares and the possibilities that abounded that monsters...real monsters...might live among us!
Soon, I found myself wondering if there might be any books out there similar to the show. Back then, I was pretty limited on the authors or books I knew about (Lawrence Block and his thief/sleuth Bernie Rhodenbarr were top on my TBR lists back then). So, I did what every normal human being back then would do--because ebooks were only just getting started and Amazon books was still very much in its infancy--I headed to my local Barnes and Noble to see what might be available that would scratch my monster-hunting-wise-cracking-hero fix. And lo and behold...I couldn't find anything remotely similar. Sure, I found books by some guy I'd never heard of named James Rollins. Jeremy Robinson, I'd later learn, was just getting started, so no books on the shelves from him either. No matter what I found, there was nothing that quite resonated with me as a thrilling monster hunt with light-hearted chuckles thrown in here and there for good measure. It was either too high-octane, guns-a-blazing and dour or it was for kids. Nothing in between.
So, I set publication of The Djinn on hold and set out to write the monster hunting adventure I'd been looking to read. From that, PRIMAL THIRST, book one of The EnIGMA Directive series was born.
There were three total books and a short story in the series and they were immensely popular. Even more popular, I'd say, than my Ezekiel Crane series. And yet, as I started writing the third book, I realized I had some major problems. Through the series arc, I'd written my characters into some pretty nasty little corners (not story elements, mind you, but rather mistakes in logistics that would make it difficult to fix going down the line). After the third book, DEVIL'S CHILD, I put Jack and the EnIGMA Team on the shelf for good and moved onto other things.
Those other things gradually moved to a full-fledged mystery author that left his days of adventure and thriller novels behind for the more cerebral puzzly fun of story-telling. But every once in a while, my eyes would glance over at that proverbial shelf the EnIGMA Directive series sat on and I would ponder the possibilities.
AUTHOR CONFESSIONAL
I'm not sure anyone actually knows this about my writing process. I've specifically not told my writing friends/mentors/soundboards I do it this way because I know exactly what they'd say. They'd say, "What on earth? You can't possibly do this and hope to develop quality stories." But I seem to pull it off...although some stories tend to drift off into the ether, never to be finished or seen again.
But here's the big secret: I'm usually writing at least three different books at any given time. See, my brain has just too many story ideas cycloning through my gray matter . Story possibilities. And it gets bored real fast. I've discovered over the years that writing multiple books at any given time helps me to push on through those writer's block moments. Then, eventually, one book takes hold over all the others and I focus entirely on that one until I'm finished.
In 2021, I finally decided to pull the EnIGMA Directive off the shelf and give it another go. However, instead of trying to fix all the internal issues the series had, I decided to reboot the series entirely. That way, fans of the old series would be thrilled while newcomers wouldn't be overwhelmed with story arcs they might not be familiar with. It could be a fresh start. I could fix all the issues I personally didn't like about the series. I could fix the problems that I might have liked, but just didn't work well. And I could take the series down a whole new line of actiony adventures hunting creatures from all around the world!
So, I began typing away at the reboot and things were going pretty good. I definitely liked what was happening in it. But at this time, I was trying to break into cozy mysteries and decided to shelve it once again to focus on several whodunnits that I erroneously decided to give priority.
DON'T WORRY! I'M COMING TO MY POINT!
Enter the last few weeks. If you read last week's post about my desire to write more middle grade fiction [Read HERE], this might be easier to understand how it all worked out. I wrote that post last week. A few days after that, I happened upon this article HERE, from a mother, homeschooler, journalist, etc, who was lamenting about the desperate need for more children's fiction written with boys specifically in mind and preferrably written by men. Men writing for boys. Made sense to me. Why wouldn't we want to provide great examples of what it means to be men to our young boys? And it was precisely what I had in mind with my own blog post.
So, once again, I found myself looking over at the dusty old shelf. What if, I thought, I turned the EnIGMA Directive into a middle grade adventure? Something similar to Jonny Quest but with monsters!
For you grownup fans of the series, don't freak out!!! Keep reading. I promise, you're going to like this. Because as I pondered this idea of maybe turning Obadiah 'Jack' Jackson into a twelve-year-old kid, I decided instantly I wasn't a fan of that idea. But it did trigger a separate idea! What if Obadiah Jackson had a 12-year-old son named Jack? And what if they often went on adventures together? And what if the boy had his own separate adventures while his dad was doing his own thing?
Would that not create two...I repeat, TWO...separate EnIGMA Directive series? One for adults. One for kids.
And so, that's what I'm doing. I've been typing away like crazy since coming up with this idea. Book one of the grown up EnIGMA Directive reboot, currently entitled THE LOOMING, is about halfway written. When that's done, I'll tackle the kid's adventure. And hopefully rotate between books (while also tackling a few of my current series along the way).
To me, this is the best of both worlds! I get to write to you guys with new EnIGMA stories and you'll be able to share the same series to your kids, grandkids, nephews and nieces. Plus, more JACK!!! (Although, Jack is his son's name...in the reboot, Dr. Jackson will go by Obadiah or Obi (by his friends).
Anyway, what do ya'll think? Let me know in the comments! Seriously, I want to hear from you about this, so comment, comment, comment!
P.S. There's a reason for all this. A reason I'm not currently ready to reveal. Yes, I'm still going to write mysteries. Yes, I'm going to finish the Hand of Cain cycle in my Grim Days books. But as I mentioned in last week's blog post, this is bigger than me. God's at work in all this and it's something I just cannot explain to anyone. Even my pastors, Christian brothers and sisters, and a whole assortment of other revered friends...there's no way I can explain what's going on with this new direction even to them. So, I'm not going to try. Just know, God's in control and it's going to be spectacular! I'm putting all my trust in Him for the future of my career!
I love this idea!