Brainstorming a new John Haynes Series

Vampires

Demons.

Monsters.

Just another day at the office.

That’s the premise for the new John Haynes series I’m proposing.

Back in The Temptationof John Haynes, John started working for Morris Phillips. And he became the CEO of a corporate Hell filled with demons, vampires, monsters and other assorted creatures of the night. Working stiffs. Dead weight. A company filled with miserable lost souls waiting for the clock to reach five o’clock.

While I’ve spent quite a bit of time focusing on the rivalry between Lucifer and John in stories like TheTemptation of John Haynes and The ManWho Rules The World, I’d love to explore the world of Morris Phillips and all those working stiffs working in that corporate Hell in those nine-to-five jobs in Lucifer’s Legion. We got to meet a few of them like Lilith Graves in Isis: Night of the Vampires and Claudius Johnson and D’lilah Williams in E’steem: Demons Anonymous. But I’d love to expand the cast in John’s world. Rather than make the demons straight bad guys like they are in Isis and E’steem books, I’d love to show some of those lost souls as people who desperately need to be shown an example of Christ. 

John’s a good man trying to make the best of a really bad job. He’s 1.5 years into a three-year contract and while he’s had an impact on the lives of Black people, he needs to start having an impact on the Demon community. Yes he’s helped E’steem and Lilith, but it’s time for him to do more of God’s work among the masses of the night. In spite of all he’s faced John believes that God brought him in to Morris Phillips to do a work, then he’ll leave Morris Phillips in one piece when his work is finished.

As a comic fan John is indifferent by the world of monsters, demons and vampires. And the nonchalant way he sees them intrigues some like E’steem, and scares others like Lilith and Isis. Isis sees demons as monsters, but John sees them as people. And I think it’s time he got to know more of them. Some are scared of John, but others….are drawn to him and want to know what makes him great.

When I was writing Isis: Bride of Dracula I thought about the larger demon community roaming the realms. (Yes, I DEFINITELY want to bring Dracula back!) and I wanted to further explore demon culture in Lucifer’s Legion. Do demons and Vampires coexist? Do they watch TV? What kinds of shows do they watch? What are their favorite foods? What kinds of schools do they go to? Where do they live? Among us? Or in another realm?

So far we’ve seen a lot of the SJS DIRECT Universe through the eyes of the female leads like Isis and E’steem. I believe it’s time we got a look at some of the experiences from a male perspective to balance things out. I’ve been paitient and deliberate in utilizing John’s appearances in Isis and E’steem stories, and I want to make sure he continues to represent a strong, positive example of Black masculinity in media.

The character transformation arc for John hasn’t even started. The John character who readers met in The Temptation of John Haynes is an introvert and a loner. His character progression has moved forward in his appearances in the Isis series and E’steem series and The Man Who Rules TheWorld, but it’s time to begin it in earnest. At the end of John’s character transformation arc he was supposed to be more less of a loner and become a leader connected to people to the people who work at Morris Phillips. Yeah, they’re vampires, demons and monsters, but a Christian is supposed to be a light that everyone sees and salt that changes all those around them with their presence.

A John Haynes series would be another part of my Monster High grown up concept. In between the action and adventure, there would be the humor that made the E’steem series and The Temptation of John Haynes fun reading. The model for the stories I’d use would be to make them short, quick, reads similar to The Man Who Rules The World.

I’ve been roughing out a couple of ideas for John Haynes stories, including expanding Lilith’s backstory, his past relationship with Colleen, and his growing relationships with Isis and E’steem as we get to know more of the staff at Morris Phillips. I have a few new bad guys planned such as succubus inspired by actress Persia White, and continuing the feud between John and Dracula. Vampires are a billion dollar business. Which is one of the reasons why Drac wanted to go after John in Isis: Bride of Dracula. He’s costing him customers!

Yeah, I’ve got a lot on my plate with the Isis series and the E’steem series, but I figure if I do one book a year featuring each character and ship em’ quarterly readers can get an adventure featuring everybody and the SJS DIRECT Universe could expand. Slowly. Very slowly.