In 2004 I wrote Metro Girl, a story about Sam Hooker and Alexandra Barnaby. Barnaby’s brother steals Hooker’s boat, and as a result Barnaby and Hooker embark on an adventure that involves yacht explosions, a vintage bomb, and giant spiders.

In 2006 Barnaby and Hooker returned in Motor Mouth, and they were joined by Hooker’s newly adopted St. Bernard, Beans, who helped steal an eighteen-wheeler, find a dead guy, and destroy a motor home.

When Dark Horse asked if I would like to take Barnaby and Hooker to the world of comics, I jumped at the opportunity. How could I not? After all, if it hadn’t been for Carl Barks sending Scrooge McDuck and his family off on treasure hunts, I probably wouldn’t be hooked on adventure stories. And if it hadn’t been for Little Lulu and the elusive beebleberries (where did they come from?), I might never have fallen in love with a good mystery.

The problem was, I wasn’t sure I had the skills to write a comic. It takes a special talent to be able to visualize each frame and page turn. So I went to my daughter for help. Alex’s house is filled with comics. Everything from boxes of comics she read when she was five years old to stacks of manga she read last week. I knew Alex’s passion and understanding of comics would help make the project come alive.

We dove headfirst into the writing of Troublemaker, the first Barnaby and Hooker graphic novel from Dark Horse. Immediately, Alex and I decided we didn’t want it to be a comic version of Metro Girl or Motor Mouth. We wanted it to be an original story that was every bit the third book in the series, made even better by butt-kicking pictures by Joelle Jones.

We hope that Troublemaker delivers everything a good adventure needs. It’s set in the seedy underbelly of Miami (including, but not limited to, the South Beach nightclub scene, botanica shops in Little Havana, and the Everglades, where petro voodoo rituals are taking place), and filled with gift-wrapped body parts, a deadly swamp chase, St. Bernard drool, a Porsche GT3 RS versus a Nissan GT-R, and the biggest challenge Barnaby and Hooker will ever face . . . Hooker’s mom.

It has been an incredible, rewarding experience to see a written story take on a whole new life. We couldn’t have asked to be part of a better team. So here’s a big thank you to Dark Horse for allowing us the opportunity. We love you!

—Janet Evanovich