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

The Greystone Saga Volume Two – OUT NOW!

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OUT TODAY!! The Greystone Saga Volume Two is available for purchase at any and all greater retailers!!!

            

The shadows are growing…

Over 600 pages of monsters, myths and murder as Soriya and Loren struggle against the growing menace surrounding the city of Portents. This box set contains books 3 and 4 of the series and offers an EXCLUSIVE sneak peek at the gripping finale coming your way this September, A Circle of Shadows!!!

Nothing will ever be the same again.

The seeds are planted here. Follow one man’s desperate quest for immortality in The Medusa Coin and then continue the journey of our principal characters in Pathways in the Dark as each must face a dark choice.

Not everyone will make the right one.

Partnerships crack while others cement. Dangers from the past return.

Can Soriya and Loren survive the growing threats in Portents?

Find out in this box set!! Only $2.99 for 2 books during the limited time launch sale!

Grab your digital copy of The Greystone Saga Volume Two now…

            

A Circle of Shadows Sneak Peek

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There is more to be unveiled come Tuesday with the release of The Greystone Saga Volume Two, however, I couldn’t resist sharing some tidbits about the climactic finale of the first arc of the series!!!

A Circle of Shadows

The war for Portents has begun.

The mayor is dead, his cause of death: a Greystone. Soriya flees into the shadows of the night, accused of a heinous murder. She is alone; those who trusted her, including Greg Loren, now stand against her. But even Detective Loren doesn’t see what this truly is: a distraction.

From the shadows rises a new threat, one that has lain in wait from the beginning. She ushers in the return of the Heads of Cerberus—and with it, the promise of Portents’ last sunrise. Meanwhile, Loren inches closer to finding the truth about Beth’s murder. But can his shattered heart face the truth of his late wife’s killer—or about the secrets she harbored from him in the months before her death?

The climactic finale of the Greystone Saga’s first massive storyline will leave readers breathless and stunned, desolately questioning the motives of once-trusted characters.

The culmination of two years of work.

The series has been building to this moment since Signs of Portents was published back in August 2016. Every short story, every installment, has fleshed out the drama contained within these pages. Everything was set for a purpose and that purpose is about to be revealed.

Everything changes with this one and you don’t want to miss what’s coming.

A Circle of Shadows arrives on September 11, 2018!!!

The Greystone Saga Volume Two

The box set arrives next week and contains your exclusive sneak peek at the finale. Six chapters from A Circle of Shadows to pull you in and tease at the revelations to come.

Pre-order your copy today!

            

I love the way it came together and can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the series as a whole once it arrives in September.

Thanks for reading.

Connecting Factors – The Power in a Single Choice

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The author commentary of Pathways in the Dark continues with this look at the connecting factors in the stories contained in the collection! SPOILER WARNING is in full effect!

The power of a choice

That’s what it comes down to in the collection. Each character is tested, each of our cast is pushed to make a decision that will impact where they land as we head into the finale this fall.

The question at the heart of the narrative is simple:

Do we stand together or go it alone?

Each story puts this question into play. With Collateral, it is the driving force for how Soriya and Loren react to the arrival of the Phoenix. For Trustfall, Ruiz is forced to accept his daughter’s maturity as well as the growth of Dobson over the last two decades.

Using this question for each character, forcing them to face their concerns or run away from them is a central theme to Pathways in the Dark.

How they answer it was important to me and more crucial to the direction of the series.

Loren

He can’t face certain secrets that have come to light thanks to a certain photo. His inability to work with Soriya, his lack of trust, pulls him away from his one true partner. This distrust forces him to go it alone.

It will cost him greatly…

Soriya

This question was central to her character in The Medusa Coin and this collection served as a extension of that internal argument. She needs others, her need for connection constantly pushing her forward. Her decision to move out of the Bypass Chamber comes from this need. She reaches out to Gilgamesh for friendship. Trust is essential to her.

Especially when it comes to Loren. His decision, however, has put their partnership in jeopardy. The repercussions for this are coming this fall.

Myers

We haven’t discussed Samantha Myers’ solo feature yet but this question is the core of her struggle as well. She is being blackmailed. To what end? We don’t know… yet.

The fact that she internalizes it, that she refuses to come forward and trust anyone in this matter is her choice.

And one that puts them all at risk.

Ruiz

This question jumped out at me from looking at Trustfall. Ruiz’s struggle with sharing with his family, the constant conflict with keeping his family safe or telling them the truth of what is really out there is a fun one to explore.

He learned to trust in his wife but does that extend to his eldest daughter? Zoe is 18 and about to embark on her own life. She has to know but he holds back. That choice puts her at risk, something he swore would never happen.

It’s an eye-opening event in his life and one he takes to heart. Standing together, in Ruiz’s eyes, is the only option going forward.

What that means down the line will be revealed in…

September!

A Circle of Shadows is coming. Everything changes. The ultimate cost for their decisions comes to pass.

I can’t wait to share more about the book this summer!

Thanks for reading.

Writing Update – May 28, 2018

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A busy month over here. Lots of projects coming together so let’s get to it!

Writing Update

Welcome to the D.S.A.

So excited to announce the new series next year!! The D.S.A is something I’ve been tinkering with since 2015, an episodic series with a seasonal structure.

I am two books in on this science-fiction conspiracy thriller. It mashes my love of The X-Files with big question mysteries like The Atlantis Gene.

Because of the structure each book will be delivered rapid fire from the last. Every other month or even monthly depending on a few other variables, so that the action is front and center on your Kindle.

The first season is six books with a free prequel only available for newsletter subscribers!

The D.S.A. Season One launches next summer.

Greystone

The Greystone Saga Volume Two comes out June 12th!! Have you ordered your copy yet?

            

This box set contains The Medusa Coin and Pathways in the Dark, as well as a sneak peek at the climactic finale coming your way this September, A Circle of Shadows.

I spent most of the week putting the manuscript together and was immediately pulled back into the world. I am missing Portents something fierce. I can’t wait to dive back into the world at the end of this year with some cool short stories revolving around Soriya’s training and a fun Loren story dealing with his prophetic dreams. (Fun might be a stretch when it comes to Loren…you get the idea.)

Reading

Bravo by Greg Rucka – I had some difficulty getting into this one. The fault is mine though as drafting seems to pull me out of the world more and more often. This follow up to Alpha was an incredible thrill ride. Fast paced, action packed, Jad Bell’s story grabs you and refuses to let up until the last page. Rucka jams this book with detail and his character work is flawless. Loved it.

Sci-Fi Valley Con is in less than 2 weeks!

I assume you’ll be there. Of course you will. Who would want to miss out on the insane line up of guests at this show?

Grab your ticket today and I’ll see you in Altoona!

Stop by my booth at the show and say hello!

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Trustfall – Standalone or a Part of the Whole?

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The Pathways in the Dark commentary continues! SPOILER WARNING ahead!!! One last look at the short story Trustfall from the collection…

The Return of the Kitsune

Last time I discussed bringing elements of The Great Divide back to explore how things have changed for Ruiz and his world in almost two decades.

Having Dobson and Harvey return allowed Ruiz to see this change and second guess his choices on all fronts. It was a fun exploration, one that challenged Ruiz’s conception of trust as well as the idea of good and evil as it related to these two forces from his past.

But what about the threat for the story? Who was committing these crimes?

This question led me back to Tales from Portents and another open-ended menace from the collection: The Kitsune.

When she showed up in The View from Above, she was using teens to commit petty theft for the thrill of it. I wanted to see the next step of that, where this ancient creature would go when she had nowhere else to turn.

I also thought it would be a nice nod to readers who had been there from the start. As I’ve often stated, I feel short stories tend to feel unimportant so bringing back past dangers, past relationships and expounding on them gives that sense of connective tissue I love with series writing.

Which brings me to my final point on the tale…

Standalone or a crucial piece to a larger puzzle?

This is something I struggle with constantly. Even as I write this I am working on the second book in a new series where this concept is coming into play.

My thoughts go back and forth on how best to handle individual books in a series. I believe in the standalone novel. I love the ability of picking up one story and having a beginning, middle and end.

Yet I also believe there should be connective tissue when it comes to a series. Subplots, overarching themes, history between characters, etc. All are crucial to make the journey feel more real for the reader.

When it came to Pathways in the Dark, my goal was simple. Six stories bridging the series from The Medusa Coin to where the characters need to be at the start of A Circle of Shadows. Each piece needed to stand on its own but I wanted each to feel like it was part of something bigger.

Some readers mentioned this as a fault. I totally accept that assessment. If you’ve come into the series at book four I completely take the blame for not making this collection stand on its own. There is more baggage with each new book and this one had its fair share to be sure.

My own thoughts are mixed…

I do, however, think with tales like Trustfall, The Apartment and Blackmail that there is a sense that you can read just this story and enjoy it on its own.

Are there elements of the wider story being told? Absolutely. Especially for Trustfall. Harvey’s inclusion, as I’ve hinted, is crucial to where the narrative is heading this fall. The Kitsune alludes to the growing shadows as well.

Looking at Trustfall on its own though, there is a beginning, middle and end. Ruiz is a father trying to protect his daughter from the outside world, something he can no longer do now that she’s heading to college. That’s the standalone story and if you read it as such it is a complete work.

If you’re looking at it from a Greystone Saga perspective there is enough connective tissue to the other stories to keep you moving for the next piece of the puzzle.

So in the eternal debate of standalone vs series I prefer to skirt the line right down the center…

Where do you fall on this debate? Email me at lou@loupaduano.com

Thanks for reading.

Trustfall – Old Friends and Old Enemies

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The author commentary on Pathways in the Dark continues here! SPOILER WARNING is in effect!!! Today focuses on the tale, Trustfall.

Bringing back some old friends…

The absolute best part of the short story collections in the series is the ability to have recurring threats. There were so many incredible tidbits layered in Tales from Portents, threats and supporting cast members with rich histories and their own stories to tell. It was impossible to let them slip away when the opportunity arose to write Pathways.

Trustfall proved that top to bottom.

Last time I discussed starting out the story and where the idea came from. The conceit that Ruiz may be trying to trust his wife more about their lives in Portents, but how does that reflect the rest of his world? How does he put that into practice?

And how far does that trust extend when it comes to his college bound daughter, Zoe?

The Great Divide Redux

The story in Tales from Portents focusing on Ruiz introduced the young officer to the world of Portents. The true city as Mentor called it. It was in this moment Ruiz realizes he can’t share things with his wife. That he has to protect her and his growing family.

So why not bring that around full circle?

Erik Dobson, or Yellow Eyes as he is known in The Great Divide, was a natural choice to test Ruiz’s resolve. This boy almost ended Ruiz’s life and showed him the terrors hiding in the shadows of the city. Bringing him into the fold and making him a foil to Ruiz’s inability to trust kept the conflict front and center.

It also brought an element of tension for the reader. Is Dobson the threat here? Is he actually a decent person now? That was another point I wanted to hit here. Can people change? If Dobson can, does that mean Ruiz can as well?

There was a lot of interesting elements to weave into the story because of his inclusion. Humor, for one. Dobson’s bird references. His office decorations. Each was meant to pull you from one side to the other and never make it clear where he fell until the very last moment.

Julian Harvey

This was a calculated inclusion. I didn’t want the story to simply be a return to The Great Divide. However, Dobson’s inclusion opened the door for Harvey entering the scene. Harvey worked with Ruiz on the case originally so it made sense he would be keeping tabs on ol’ Yellow Eyes.

Was there more to his presence here? Absolutely. Harvey showing up at this particular moment is one of the most important elements of the collection.

Why? I can’t tell you yet.

But I will definitely be hinting at it more next time!

Next time –

The Kitsune’s return and the delicate balance of a standalone tale versus connecting to a wider arc.

Thanks for reading.

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