Authors Charles Breakfield and Rox Burkey are here today to chat about their new technothriller, The Enigma Threat. It’s book 12 of their Enigma Series.
Bios:
Charles Breakfield is a technology expert focused on the areas of security, networking, voice and anything digital. He enjoys writing, studying World War II history, travel, and cultural exchanges. For fun he enjoys wine tastings, Harley riding, cooking extravaganzas, and woodworking.
Rox Burkey is a technology professional who reviews technology and business problems to help clients create a path to deliver best in class customer and workforce experiences and meet business goals. She enjoys writing white papers but loves creating fictional stories.
Together, these two have co-authored twelve fictional thrillers in the Enigma Series, a historical fiction novella, a cozy mystery novella and nine short stories with more in the works including a next generation R-Group series. They leverage their knowledge of technology to weave compelling relevant contemporary stories filled with cyber threats, mystery, suspense, romance, humor, travel, and intrigue. Reach out directly Authors@EnigmaSeries.com and visit their website for story and audible samples, free downloads and latest release information.
Welcome, Charles and Rox. Please tell us about your current release.
–Charles: Our current release in the Enigma Series is book 12, The Enigma Threat. In this thriller, our heroes, the R-Group, are targeted for elimination by well-planted accusations from the Darknet. ICABOD, their supercomputer, is destroyed. Dr. Quip, the creator of ICABOD, is incarcerated with no hope for a fair trial in his lifetime. The R-Group family members evade discovery of the cyber police hot on their trail and work to find a way to be together again to continue their fight against the powers behind Darknet technology vying for control of global dominance. Fear and forsaken trust generate a new false justice that threatens the ability for freedom of choice. MAG is manipulating the international CESPOOL authorities to help crush their enemies. One by one, private, unsanctioned technologies get eliminated.
–Rox: Behind the scenes, Gracie Rodriguez, the next generation of the R-Group, heads up Marketing at World Bank and locates the breadcrumb trail to the digital killers. Gracie’s effort might work better if her snitch wasn’t a double agent working for the MAG. The renegade R-Group assembles new makeshift operations with new friends, but it includes old enemies now willing to join the fight against tyranny. Thinking out of the box, they use their vast knowledge of technology to take the fight to the MAG and break their insidious stranglehold on humanity. The stakes have never been higher for the R-Group or us.
What inspired you to write this book?
–Charles: We see the next threat to human existence coming from machine learning and artificial intelligence-enabled supercomputers missing the programming elements of moral and ethical guardrails. There are two sides to technology dependencies, and only one is good. Today’s technical evolution is so fast that principled governance remains ignored until it’s too late.
Excerpt from The Enigma Threat:
Chapter 1 – I Hear You Knocking
ICABOD quickly stated, “Dr. Quip, our data center is under direct assault. All our data circuits to the world wide web are saturated with data bombardment from unknown sources. I am unable to hunt on the Internet for our adversaries; thus, I am unable to identify them or halt their onslaught. Our defenses will hold, but there will be no outbound reconnaissance to determine our defensive posture or potential alternatives.”
Quip, dressed in the standard jeans and his ‘It Works on My Machine’ t-shirt, with his long greying hair tied back in a ponytail, was only half listening as he watched the building’s external video feeds streaming the physical onslaught of armored troops approaching the R-Group’s Zürich operations center. His chiseled features showed increased concern in his furrowed brow.
Setting his jaw in decision mode, Quip hollered, “Incoming! We have an all-out data center attack! Class, you are instructed to use the alpha exit plan A for a safe retreat! Get to the tunnel and type in the security code SOB! Follow the instructions as we have rehearsed. Don’t look back!”
Looking quite alarmed, Granger, a replica of his father at fifteen, tall and lanky with thick blond hair, protested, “Dad, aren’t you coming too? I’m not leaving without you! I don’t care if the escape tunnel will Save Our Bacon, it won’t matter if you stay to fall on your sword, dammit!”
Quip gave his best paternal smile to his son. “You’re just like your mother! Remind me to discipline you for swearing in front of your father. You and JW get the other children together and go! Go now. There must be someone here for them to blame and take into custody, so they won’t look for you kids! Move along smartly and stick with our game plan! That’s an order, soldier!”
Granger ground his teeth as he motioned for JW, Satya, and Auri to follow him to the hidden escape hatch leading into the tunnel. The disciplined youngsters, children of the R-Group leadership, were not happy but they did know how to follow the orders of their parents and trusted advisors.
Quip returned his gaze to the monitors, knowing he would be alerted when they were outside the facility. …
What exciting story are you working on next?
–Rox: We are feverishly working on completing the first book in our new series Enigma Heirs. The working title for this thriller is Enigma Tracer. In this story, Gracie and JJ, heading up the R-Group operations, get contracted to help Bailey get the evidence on a suspected eco-terrorist. These clever criminals, though previously investigated, have escaped prosecution. have been investigated. Finding the details requires following the suspects from one Caribbean Island to the next while trying to avoid the fate of the prior investigators. Is the cruise line in on the take?
Bailey and her group are determined to bring the ecological phonies to justice with jail time and fines to clean up their mess. Her focused determination puts her and Gracie in harm’s way and threatens to expose their current investigative operation.
Jeff and Keith keep an eye on their girlfriends while gathering additional evidence in each port. What they find cargo in the hold escalates the need to understand what is delivered to each island port and to whom. They suspect there are multiple business models and new buyers determine to dominate the locals.
JJ discovers that the output of repurposed plastics is not just for building materials needed in the wake of devastating tropical storms but possibly as weapons for Middle East insurgents. Finding this proof puts the entire team at risk. Time is running out.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
–Charles: We call ourselves authors because we are first and foremost storytellers. To be a writer means someone needs to acknowledge and accept us and our written works. It’s an earned title.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
–Rox: We each have full time careers in the high-tech world, which is where we get to see the good, the bad, and the ugly for building new stories. Our tendency is to create our stories outside of work time, weekends, and during vacations. Writing is our alternate job with a little time left over to eat and sleep.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
–Charles: To optimize our storytelling, we are delighted to alert you to our patent pending writing technique of Literary Badminton. We draft an outline, postulate at least ten chapters, then each focus on individual chapters. When one of us finishes a unit, it gets sent to the other author for review and editing. Batting back and forth each chapter is our polishing technique for characters and the storyline. The goal is for the reader only to see and feel a single voice writing the work.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
–Rox: I wanted to dance, sing, be happy in my own skin and be a doctor.
–Charles: My goals were along the same line in that I wanted to find outrageous happiness, be a chick magnet all svelte, and become a fighter pilot like my dad.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
–Charles: In discussing various story outlines and threads, we frequently walk around during these discussions. We’ve picked up broken pieces of cast-off old antique furniture left on the side of the road. Odd, but the refinishing results bring these used pieces back to better than new. We’ve gained some fun skills, including upholstery, webbing, wood refinishing, and proper attachment of springs, breathing new time into beautiful furniture. I guess that is how we work to give life to our stories.
Links:
Website | Charles – LinkedIn | Rox – LinkedIn | Series – Twitter | Rox – Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Pinterest | Instagram | Bublish | Blog | Amazon Author page – Rox | Amazon Author page – Charles
Thanks for being here today!
