The Hammer and Anvil author commentary continues. SPOILER WARNING is in full effect! Today I’m talking about that dastardly group, A Circle of Shadows, and my reluctance to keep them in the book.
A Circle of Shadows
When I sat down to outline Hammer and Anvil, I knew I wanted some touchstones to the main series. The top two, of course, were the Minotaur and Soriya’s first meeting with Beth. Those were established facts from the series and should be dealt with in the book.
Beth brought with her some challenges though. Her association with the Circle being one of them.
It needed to be addressed. Clearly, Beth was a member of the group. She was tied to their endeavors in the background prior to Signs and leading up to her death. So I knew I couldn’t avoid the subject. It wouldn’t have made sense.
Still, I fought with myself over having Julian and Pratchett in the book. I mean, FOUGHT.
The argument AGAINST them
Spoilers. That was what it boiled down to for me. If someone decided to check out Hammer and Anvil before reading the main Greystone series, I didn’t want them spoiled about who was in the Circle of Shadows and how important they are.
I created the prequel trilogy as a gateway for new readers, but the more I wrote and delved into the series, I realized it was more a continuation of Greystone than anything else. In truth, Signs should still be first in the reading order. Always.
Hammer and Anvil, while a streamlined version of the main series, was still part of the larger picture. And though I hoped to give people this entry-level adventure, it really is Greystone Book Six in a lot of ways. That wasn’t what I was looking to do, it wasn’t the goal of the project, but looking back I can’t help but feel that the inclusion of A Circle of Shadows in this story made it that way.
So why the hell did I keep Julian and Pratchett in the damn book?
The argument FOR them
Insight into Beth. That simple. Character, for me, is the most important aspect of a story. Any story.
Beth was a member and it should be seen, it should be understood why by the reader. I felt it was too crucial to who she was as a person, and the doubts she was starting to have in that role with the Circle, to ignore.
The great bits included in their scenes:
I can’t help this. I loved the scenes with Beth and Julian. The back and forth between them, the way Julian kept trying to manipulate the situation for his own ends and Beth was so well aware of it, really brought out a nice tension. It also served to plant the seed of doubt for Beth.
This was the moment she realized maybe the Circle wasn’t the right path to follow.
The Circle’s role in Beth’s story ended up being more important to me than the threat of spoilers for new readers. That was how I justified their involvement here and why I did everything I could to make those scenes from Beth’s POV as well as focus in on who Beth was as a person because of her association with this secret organization.
Did it work for you? Were you questioning their presence in the novel or did it fit with the narrative being told? If Hammer and Anvil was your first foray into Greystone, I’d be especially curious about your thoughts.
