Lou Paduano | Urban Fantasy Novels | Sci-Fi Crime Series

Writing Update – November 20, 2018

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Welcome to your monthly writing update! It’s been an insane month behind the keyboard so let’s catch up, shall we?

NaNoWriMo Insanity!

I set a pretty big goal this year. Last year it was a single novel. This year it is three novellas. Why? Because I want to put a pin in this project before New Years.

As I type this I am only 12 chapters away from completing Book Six of the DSA’s inaugural season. 12 CHAPTERS!!!!

I love working on this series. I absolutely adore the scope. No matter how terrified I become because of the sheer weight of managing the series, the format, the sub-plots, the cast–all that STUFF– I love the story being told here.

It’s grown so much over the year. Not just the size of the undertaking but the evolution on such a grounded level. Down to the very core of each character. It’s become this defined entity and when something new comes up it makes complete sense in where things are heading. It’s fantastic to watch. It truly is.

When I finished Book 5 last weekend, my initial plan was a four day break. Maybe watch some movies, catch up on my reading, remember the names of my children. That sorta thing.

I outlined a new book instead. More DSA. Season Two, Book Three. It’s the second of four planned spin-off pilots within the confines of the main series. The concept stems from one conceived a decade ago. I even wrote the first book way back then – it was terrible…

Coming back to it though, I remember the joy of piecing together the mysteries involved. That’s what this is and why the DSA has been this dream project for me. There is weird science fiction aspects, there is the conspiracy thriller side of the main series but every once in awhile it branches off into these new areas.

The first spin-off deals with ghosts and the law. This one? Pure mystery bordering on the cozy mystery side of the genre. An amateur detective working on disparate cases in an attempt to piece together a broader mystery and understand the disappearance of someone close to her.

It’s called The Missing. And yes, I am YEARS from unveiling this beast on you and, yes, it is unfair to tease you so, but it is so exciting to discover these little explorations that I had to share with you.

Hope you don’t mind.

Thanksgiving fun

Thanksgiving is around the corner. I have a HUGE Greystone promo in the works. Two FREE books and the other three for only $0.99! Head over to Amazon for more details starting THIS FRIDAY!

Speaking of Amazon…

For the last six months I’ve been exclusive to the platform. It was my hope to bolster the exposure of the series and pave the way for what comes next.

It was a fun experiment and certainly hundreds of people snagged copies at a steep discount. But I don’t think Amazon is the same marketplace it was a year ago. Things have changed, demanding authors pony up more in advertising than is feasible for someone like me at this stage in the game.

So starting after this session in KDP Select – December 19th or so – Greystone will be available at all major ebook retailers once more! Apologies if this set you off for one reason or another, but I had to see how things worked out and I intend to play with them many more times in the future no doubt.

In Remembrance of Stan.

Stan Lee passed away on November 12th. If you weren’t aware, I am and always will be a huge fan of the comic book medium. To say Stan didn’t have an impact on who I am today would be an utter and complete lie. The man enriched millions of people over the decades and I am lucky to count myself among them.

I had planned to write a piece solely about the man but there is little I can say that you probably haven’t read by much more intelligent people than me.

I can only say thank you to the man once more for all he has given me and also for all he has given my daughters who have absolutely fallen in love with his early work from the 1960’s at Marvel. Watching them tear open a comic written by Stan and enjoy the hell out of it no matter the age is a true testament to the man’s talent and his enduring legacy.

Excelsior, Stan. Thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

A Circle of Shadows Commentary – The Heads of Cerberus

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Welcome back to the author commentary on A Circle of Shadows. As always, SPOILER WARNING ahead. Especially going forward in this commentary!

Starting…… NOW.

No waste allowed.

The Heads of Cerberus. Their return was something I had in my back pocket for quite some time. I owe it to the research done during the scripting of The Consultant. While putting together the story of Russell Kerr and his confrontation with Heracles, I discovered that the lore behind Cerberus has been adapted throughout the ages.

As we know it now, Cerberus is a three-headed dog. It’s been seen this way countless times. Try and tell me Fluffy from Harry Potter isn’t your first thought when you think of Cerberus. Go ahead, try it!

(Liar)

Okay, so prior to this belief in only three heads, the lore behind Cerberus mentioned a creature with hundreds of heads. A guard dog without limit, eyes and ears everywhere to keep the gates of Hell barred against those locked within.

I couldn’t let that go. I refused to allow something so cool as that slip through my fingers.

A detail about The Medusa Coin

The initial draft of The Medusa Coin, prior to the published novel, was a shoddy little comic book script I cobbled together back in 2009. I wrote the scene where Soriya confronts Henry Erikson in his classroom after hours and during the scene two hellhounds pounce at Soriya; summoned by their master during his quest for immortality.

It made no sense. But the image remained. Probably thanks to my undying love of Supernatural. Probably.

These hellhounds were my first attempt to land on the Charon that eventually found its way into the story. Something about that visceral image stayed with me though and I kept circling around to it as the series went on.

Pop ’em in a mixer and put it together.

Those two pieces led to the return of the Heads of Cerberus. Those two little discoveries along the way of forming these novels shaped the threat of A Circle of Shadows.

Lately, I’ve pondered what would have happened if I never researched The Consultant as fully. Or if I never revisited my old script for The Medusa Coin. Would A Circle of Shadows be the same book?

Definitely not.

It’s funny how things work out.

Why the Heads of Cerberus? Why here and now?

The same questions asked by Soriya upon discovering their return were asked by myself during the outlining phase.

The truth behind their involvement came from a need to overwhelm not only Soriya but Portents. I wanted to show what happens when you beat back the shadows for so long, how they come back twice as vicious.

It was a way to snap the city from the delusion of security, that the police handled the badness and everything was sane. Hardly. Not in Portents anyway.

Beyond that, there has never been a threat where I couldn’t see a way out for Soriya. A myth or legend that when all was said and done Soriya, with the power of her Greystone, couldn’t vanquish given the opportunity.

I wanted the unbeatable villain this time. The single greatest threat to our heroes imaginable.

The Heads of Cerberus fit the bill.

Perfectly.

A Circle of Shadows Commentary – The Second Greystone

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The author commentary on A Circle of Shadows continues with a closer look at the Greystone! SPOILER WARNING ahead!

The evolution of the Greystone

For me, one of the great joys of the series has been the slow-burn reveal of the Greystone and the mysteries surrounding it.

Purpose is extremely important to the players in the story, especially Soriya and Mentor. They exist for a reason, even though that reason has not completely presented itself to them as of yet. It is why Mentor takes care to teach Soriya all those years in the Bypass Chamber. Why he pushes texts and lessons above all else.

To introduce patience. To give her the knowledge to seek out that purpose.

But the Greystone itself remains locked to them.

How a villain showed the way to A Circle of Shadows…

The initial draft of The Medusa Coin held no insight into the Greystone. The focus was on Erikson and his quest for immortality. Even Loren’s search for his wife’s killer was sidelined, offering a very standalone installment.

To the detriment of the series as a whole.

As editing took hold, as I saw a way to introduce Myers and this element of Soriya’s involvement the day Beth fell, I realized that added something personal to Loren.

But what about Soriya? What was important to her at this moment? That was the start of the out of control Greystone, the inkling that the merging of the two stones in Signs of Portents came with repercussions.

Understanding why opened the door to Erikson’s connection with Mentor and in turn his innate knowledge of the stone. And the other pieces…

Introducing the second stone

There is a clear line of thought from that moment in The Medusa Coin where Erikson announces the existence of the other stones to the arrival of Gabriel Jordan in A Circle of Shadows. Without one, the other would fall flat or need more explanation than necessary in what was shaping up to be an action-packed book already.

But with that information, that possibility of other stones, introduced in the previous novel, Gabe’s entry is seamless. Without question.

Gabe’s involvement in this book was one of the first pieces of the outline put together. How he manipulated the stone, his access to the power – how the pair were more in tune than Soriya ever was with this stone she’s carried since childhood – were very much set from the start. To me, it was a way of looking at the power from an outside perspective, but also seeing how it could be manipulated, compared to the teachings of Mentor.

What does this mean going forward?

I won’t spoil where things are headed. What I will say is that Loren’s story has closed for the moment. His big mystery was solved here. Was Soriya’s?

What is the Greystone exactly? What is it here for? How many other stones are there with bearers to match?

I hope you’ve pondered these questions as well. I know I have and I can’t wait to find the answers with you.

Thanks for reading.

A Circle of Shadows Commentary – Return of the Sirens

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The author commentary on A Circle of Shadows continues! SPOILER WARNING ahead!

Loose Threads…

The Night of the Lights described in Signs of Portents was a defining moment in the novel. It was meant to be this door-opening experience where not everything that came out was immediately shoved back into the box, or in this case, the floating green orb of light.

The Sirens were always supposed to play a greater role in the series.

No one questioned their arrival in Signs. No one questioned why they were mentioned.

They should have. If Signs is the only book you read, there should be an answer within its pages to some degree.

When I closed that initial book, I knew I had to address them. The Sirens were now roaming the streets and had to be dealt with. I knew this.

I just didn’t know how to hand this loose thread.

The Medusa Coin

I tried to squeeze it into The Medusa Coin. The Sirens were supposed to show up at the beginning or the end in a very Blade 2 moment, where Soriya jumps them and tells them they were foolish to think she forgot about them or some other nonsense. (You know what I’m talking about… if not, see the film. It’s fantastic.)

It didn’t fit. The narrative was tight, focused on Erikson and the Charon. Even if it hadn’t been, the conceit that the Greystone was out of control took another threat off the table. At least until Soriya solved that piece of the puzzle.

Pathways in the Dark

A seventh short story almost made its way into the collection. It revolved around a conspiracy created by the Sirens, who were manipulating principal players in the city.

I couldn’t get it to work. And Pathways had a full line-up I wasn’t willing to cut to make room.

I needed the Sirens resolved. I needed an answer to this situation I created with my genius planning of loose threads.

loose threads

A Circle of Shadows opens the door…

Then came book 5. I had a slot to fill in the opening chapters where members of the circle converge on a supernatural threat. I had no threat.

A small problem to be sure.

The Sirens filled the role perfectly.

Then I took it further. The original outline had the two sisters taken down by the circle and the third, Thel, given a second chance at life by the Greystone. That was the end of the story for the Sirens. Originally…

It didn’t close the loop on the character.

And I didn’t want another dangling thread.

Thel’s involvement in the climax of the novel came as a direct result of this need to close their story. It tied into Soriya’s need to be a force of good instead of destruction. It tied into the theme of second chances seen throughout the narrative.

I was so excited when it worked out. When she is struck in the back and begs Ruiz and Myers to let the Greystone know she made good; that gut punch to Myers for the way she treated Soriya? That was why that scene exists. That is why the Sirens made the cut for this book.

So glad they did.

The epilogue scene.

It wasn’t in the original outline. Hell, it wasn’t even in the original draft. Or the first revision.

When Thel shows up as Myers’ new partner, setting up a brand new dynamic for the police force going forward, it was brand new for me as well.

Unplanned. Off the cuff. Completely out of nowhere writing.

Wish I could take credit for it. Truth be told, in the original draft, Thel died in Heaven’s Gate Park. Shocker, right? With the amount of bodies dropping who would have noticed?

Exactly why I changed it. I needed survivors. I needed characters that had depth and foibles to carry on for the next five books. Thel proved herself to me over the course of the writing she had that in her.

All because of that damn loose thread in Signs of Portents.

Thanks for reading.

A Circle of Shadows Commentary – The Prologues

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The author commentary of A Circle of Shadows begins now! SPOILER WARNING in effect!

Two Prologues

I created my own monster by including these in Signs of Portents. I believed it to be important when putting together the series to focus on both leads. It was a natural fit with Signs. Soriya and Loren needed a starting point. They needed some background information conveyed so the reader had that natural attachment before being plopped into the center of the story.

The Medusa Coin followed suit. This was a little more difficult – only on the Loren front. Soriya’s was easy to handle as it continued directly from the final story beat of Signs with the lightning strike. I still love that moment – if only it was always that simple.

Loren’s was challenging but again, once I thought about his starting point, was a natural fit for the opening of the novel. For him it was about isolation, while also introducing elements of the growing mystery surrounding his return to the city.

A Circle of Shadows changed the game in terms of the formatting.

I didn’t have an opening for Soriya and Loren. Their story was pretty much covered by the main narrative. So what could I use for the prologues?

Keeping Soriya and Loren at the center…

That was the key. The prologues had to be ABOUT the main characters, no matter what. My personal rules, however, never stated their actual presence was required.

I went back and forth on this. Were they necessary to opening the novel? What would the reader need to know about them in order to flow naturally into the story being told?

I stumbled on Loren’s connection first. Instead of writing a chapter about Loren’s emotional core for this novel to lay out his arc for the reader, I turned the focus to Beth. She is and always has been the center of his story in Greystone. Her death. The mystery behind her great fall.

Why not play with that moment and tease one of the many reveals in the novel?

Connecting her to Soriya was crucial in this regard. The reader was already set up to believe Soriya was involved in Beth’s fall to some degree, or at least the doubt had been planted with the reader…

Why not showcase their connection prior to Beth’s murder? It was a simple twist to an adjacent character, while maintaining the emotional core of Loren.

Falling into place.

With Loren’s opening in place, Soriya’s came quickly. With the Greystone bearer off the table for her prologue chapter it left only one player capable of filling her shoes –

Mentor.

It was a shame I killed him off in Signs. I love writing his character and this provided the opportunity not only to deepen Soriya’s relationship with Mentor through his story but also allowed me to play him off the woman at the center of A Circle of Shadows…

Karen Winters.

Setting the circumstances of the flashback brought another layer of challenges to the scene. When you have almost twenty years of potential moments to pull from, what matters most? For me, I prefer tighter connections with previous tales.

I combed through the earlier stories to figure out the perfect placement of the prologue. Pulling the small fragment during Soriya’s pounding of the creep on the subway platform, expanding that memory of the two Greystone’s humming next to each other in the Bypass Chamber and then telling it from Mentor’s point of view played perfectly into introducing this scene as well as the antagonist of the novel.

Seeding her plans for the Bypass and the Greystone were not part of my original design but by placing this conversation early it added to her overall motivation, something I felt was important for my villains over the course of the series.

Will the prologues continue in the second half?

Probably. I think format-wise it’s pretty set in how the books open but I am always open to trying new things with each novel.

Did these prologues work for you as a reader or did you feel they were jarring when Soriya and Loren were not involved?

Shoot me an email at lou@loupaduano.com and let me know!

Thanks for reading.

A Circle of Shadows Commentary Intro

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If you’ve been around the blog for the last two years you know I absolutely love writing author commentary on my books. I love sharing the stories behind the writing, the little nuances that shift from the outlining phase to the outright changes in the editing phase.

Author Commentary rules

I spoil things. I do. It isn’t because I want to ruin the reading experience. My goal is for these commentaries to be here after you finish the novel. If you want that information ahead of time, that’s your call.

When putting these together I’ve tried to make sure I start with the opening of the novel and not jump right into anything too major plot-wise. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

author commentary

What do you want to know?

Anything and everything is on the table when it comes to the commentary. Want to know why certain choices were made? You have to LET ME KNOW! This commentary runs through the end of the year, with a couple breaks along the way, so shoot me an email at lou@loupaduano.com and I’ll be glad to make it work into the schedule.

I love reader feedback. I want to know the questions you have. More than anything, I want to share my process behind building these novels. Especially A Circle of Shadows, as writing conclusions is so satisfying from my point of view.

Where are we heading?

Well, A Circle of Shadows concludes the Greystone Saga’s opening arc. It brings a ton of pieces together and opens the door down the line for other questions to be answered. I won’t spoil what comes next but I will be making connections to earlier installments to see the natural progression of the story.

If at any point you want to know more about a topic, how I broke down a specific moment or chapter, reach out. One of the main reasons I enjoy writing these commentary blogs is that I find them informative on a technique level. I learn so much about my own process along the way. I hope you feel the same by reading these.

Next time…

We start with the prologues in A Circle of Shadows and the difficulties in settling on them for this novel.

Thanks for reading.

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