For years, I had this idea for an Indiana Jones-style thriller that involved the Hobbit legends of Flores Island in Indonesia. This race of hominids, Homo floresiensis, is believed to have gone extinct about 50,000 years ago. But legends say that they were still around in the 1800s, and some might still exist in remote places even today. How exciting would that be if it was true?

I've always had an interest in archeology and paleontology, and this seemed the perfect basis for a plot involving those sciences, in a style that paid homage to the adventure stories and pulp thrillers I grew up loving.

After doing more research than I'd done for any book (on and off for a year), I finally got down to writing. But things like moving halfway across the country, work, and writing some other stories kind of delayed it. Plus I had to decide if I was going to make it a one-off or the first in a series. I finally decided on series, with Annika Vahle and her lover and fellow scientist, Blake Downey, being the leads for each one.