Unveiling Hidden Truths

How a Childhood Fascination Shaped My First Book

Ever held a dollar bill and wondered why an ancient pyramid with a glowing, all-seeing eye stares back at you? It’s not just a design—it’s a puzzle, one that’s sparked theories of shadowy organizations and hidden agendas for decades.

As a kid, that symbol hooked me. Why would our money have such mysterious, almost sinister imagery? When I asked someone who spoke Latin, they translated the phrases underneath: Providence has favored our undertakings and A New Order of the Ages. The phrase new order made my imagination run wild. What did it mean?

Growing up without internet at home, I had to wait for opportunities to explore these questions. My mother, an alum of a local college, let us use their computers. One day, bored with the usual chatrooms, I remembered that odd symbol on the dollar bill and decided to look it up. Typing “eye over pyramid” into the search bar opened a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. What started as idle curiosity quickly turned into a dive into the hidden world of secret organizations and global plots.

That’s when I stumbled on stories about Nazi bases on the moon, Tesla’s death ray, and, of course, the Illuminati. Every page seemed to unravel another layer of wild speculation. And while most of it felt like fiction, it was hard not to wonder—what if? What if one of these conspiracy theories was real?

My mother’s advice was simple: “People love their stories. Enjoy them, but don’t believe everything you read.” I didn’t take any of it too seriously, but I couldn’t help being fascinated by the creativity of these theories. I never stopped reading about them—each one bigger, bolder, and more bizarre than the last.

So, when I started writing The Vanishing of Jessica Muir, I couldn’t resist the idea of a world where conspiracy theories weren’t just fringe beliefs, but hidden truths. My protagonist, like me, is drawn into these theories, questioning everything he knows about reality. But unlike most of us, he discovers that some of these ideas might be more real than we could ever imagine.

While building this world, I drew inspiration from some of the most infamous conspiracy theories out there. Here are a few that had a direct influence on the story:

• HAARP: A research project studying the ionosphere, but theorists believe it can control the weather—or even minds.
• ECHELON: A global surveillance program that allegedly monitors all communications, tracking what we say and do.
• Project Paperclip: The U.S. secretly brought Nazi scientists to America after WWII, raising questions about what other dark secrets remain buried.

These theories, while fascinating on their own, are even more powerful when combined. In The Vanishing of Jessica Muir, I weave these ideas into a world where nothing is as it seems, and the protagonist must navigate a labyrinth of lies, hidden truths, and shadowy forces.

That all-seeing eye on the dollar bill sparked a childhood fascination with the unknown, but it also shaped my approach to storytelling. What if some of the conspiracies we laugh off were real? What if there was a hidden layer to our world, just beneath the surface? In my novel, these questions drive the mystery forward—and the answers might be more shocking than anyone expects.

So, the next time you see that pyramid and eye staring back at you from your wallet, remember: sometimes, the truth is hidden in plain sight.