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

The Bridge Author Commentary 1

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Welcome to the author commentary for The Bridge. This book holds a special place in my heart, but might be the most devisive installment in the DSA’s opening season. SPOILER WARNING is in effect.

Let’s take a look at the process behind the book, shall we?

The Bridge

DSA has always been about connections, about second chances, and the decisions we regret in life always–ALWAYS–coming back to haunt us. The Bridge was a chance to spotlight those moments for the cast.

This book started as a character piece, which is how books should start, in my opinion. I knew I had a fantastic ensemble cast with multiple players able to take the lead on an adventure whenever the need arose.

The Bridge was my attempt to spotlight those characters, by splitting the team up along three separate tracks.

Using the ensemble cast

To me, there is no point in writing the book if the characters don’t contribute to the storyline. I wanted to pull apart each player and do a deep dive into how they arrived at the DSA and why. Be it Lincoln, Morgan, or Ben, all had a past that has brought them to the DSA, some trauma carried over that has molded these people into who they are.

Morgan and Ben are the main leads. I wanted to establish that in Promethean. This is their “show.” But they don’t stand alone in this.

Lincoln’s arc was a crucial element to explore in this season and The Bridge offered the perfect setup to bring that to life.

B Plot to A Plot

I love serialized storytelling. You know that about me at this point. Building subplots until they explode to the forefront is something I am always looking to do throughout this series, and everything I write.

Lincoln was relegated to the backburner in Promethean. Here, he is given the room to tell his story in a way that provides insight into his background, while also pushing the main narrative forward toward the end of the season.

Isolating the cast

Over the first two books, you followed these characters interacting with each other and building relationships. Morgan and Ben. Zac and Metcalf. Lincoln and Ruth. Even Lincoln and Metcalf to some extent. These are established dynamics.

My goal with The Bridge was to isolate the major players in the series and throw them into situations that push them to their limits. Ben is snatched by the NSA and confronted by Stallworth and Sullivan. Morgan is forced to deal with her brother, his family, and her past mistakes. Lincoln, alone on an unsanctioned mission, confronts the Witness and is forced to relive the worst day of his life.

I wanted to test the characters. Pushing them, forcing them to deal with the past in order to face their futures was something I thought was very important to connect readers with these characters.

The action issue

Here is where the divisiveness comes out. There are only a few moments in the book where action is at the forefront of the conflict. Lincoln’s past in the Middle East offers a taste, as do the other flashbacks dealing with the Engers’ tragedy, but for the most past the action comes at the climax of the book between Lincoln and Marcus.

That’s it.

I’ve heard complaints about it. Looking back, I totally understand those complaints.

But I also see conflict slightly different than most readers. Beating the hell out of someone is certainly one way to go. Setting up massive action set pieces is always a treat and a visual spectacle for the imagination.

Conflict, though, can also be internal. Morgan’s thread in The Bridge is rife with conflict. Her past mistakes, her dealing with her brother’s suicide attempt and the distance between Morgan and her brother’s family are full of tension and conflict.

Dialogue plays a huge part in conflict. Ben’s inability to trust anyone after the events of Promethean play a large role in his interactions with Kanigher, Martin, Stallworth, and Sullivan. I wanted those moments to be tense, to feed into Ben’s paranoia over his new life with the DSA. No fights were necessary, though the chase at the beginning was added in after the initial draft to build suspense.

Conflict comes in many forms. To readers here, though, The Bridge didn’t fulfill their hopes on that front.

Criticisms

I take them to heart. You won’t see another book like The Bridge again in the DSA. There will always be those tense scenes where dialogue plays the main role in adding to the conflict, but they won’t monopolize the entire book.

Personally, I love this book. It was incredibly challenging to write such personal stories about Lincoln and Morgan, and I thought they really helped connect them with readers.

What did you think of the book?

Promethean Author Commentary 6

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Welcome to the final installment of the Promethean Author Commentary. I hope you’ve enjoyed a look at the process behind the book, and the challenges it presented. I’m talking about Henry Reed this time around, so SPOILER WARNING is in effect.

Henry Reed

For me, monster of the week stories are so much fun to put together. I love figuring out the little details behind the situation, as well as the best way to connect with the main characters. Threats should always offer the reader a new facet of the character they’ve been following, whether it is a personal connection to the villain or some symbolic connection–a troubled past, broken home, type of job, etc..

Henry Reed wasn’t any of those things at first. His entire existence was as a blackmailed murderer, cleaning up loose ends for the Newton Group. He was the bad guy of the story.

I hated it.

There was no depth there with the first pass. There were clear lines in the sand when it came to good versus evil. I wanted to twist things around, and add some true complications to the story and to the players involved.

Who is Henry Reed?

That was the key to cracking the narrative. Who the hell was this kid?

Coming up with the mother angle was key to figuring out Henry. Once there was the sick mother, the person Henry needed to save more than anyone else in the world, I had a link to exploit. Everything fell into place from there.

He wasn’t a killer. He was a kid with a gift he couldn’t control.

Project Promethean was born.

Obviously, I had the project in mind first. The book was called Promethean for crying out loud, so there had to be something to it. What I didn’t have were the details. Explaining the government experiment brought more sympathy for Henry. It humanized his situation, and showed Ben. Morgan, and Zac just who they were dealing with and why.

I always tremble when it comes to exposition. Will it come across as stiff and forced? Does it flow naturally into the story and through the characters?

The first draft felt rough when it came to this moment. There was no Zac in the mix, which was the problem. I needed someone to offer up the info on a personal level, while also being able to give the scene a lighter touch than if it came from Ben or Morgan at this point. Their situation was deeply frayed because of Morgan’s resistance and Ben’s growing distrust of his situation.

Zac was the connection I needed to Henry to strengthen not only this moment but the story as a whole.

Bringing Zac into it

Zac allowed me to create a buffer for Morgan and Ben, but also added to the climax of the novel. When he’s abducted by Henry the stakes jump through the roof. Now there is someone on the line. Tensions rise and everything barrels toward the end of the novel because of Zac’s inclusion.

Changes made along the way

Henry as a killer. That was a big one to me. The first few drafts made it seem like Henry had killed in the past. Blackmail or no, that wouldn’t fly if I wanted readers sympathetic to the kid.

Reginald Kane forced his hand. That was something I played with multiple times. It was very difficult to stage the opening scene because Kane had to be the clear villain. Henry had to be defending himself, and then feel nothing but remorse at what he had done.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at Promethean. If you had any other questions about the book, feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to share the process behind these books.

Promethean Author Commentary 5

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The author commentary for Promethean continues with a look at Ben Riley’s subplot through the novel. SPOILER WARNING for those who haven’t read the book yet.

Ben’s Arc

I previously spoke about Morgan’s arc in the book. It was of a more personal nature and helped create a level of tension between her and Ben that I thought was more true to their characters (and most people, if I’m being honest).

Ben’s arc plays out in the subplot of Promethean. It opens with the mundane act of jogging, but once Ben settles at the mall to cooldown, the truth becomes clear.

He’s being watched.

Trust no one.

Again, the X-Files fan in me can’t help but drawing parallels between the two worlds. Ben is new to the DSA. He’s new to this life, so I wanted to make sure it felt that way.

The surveillance of Ben served three purposes.

  1. To isolate Ben. Who can he trust? He doesn’t know who is spying on him or why, only that it isn’t his imagination. Something is going on and he needs to figure it out. But where can he turn for both information and assistance?
  2. That led directly to his need to reconnect with Emily Wright, his former partner from Buffalo. She was the only person in his world to be there for him through thick and thin. Why wouldn’t he reach out to her? Why wouldn’t he let her know everything that is happening and then ask for her help? I wanted to show why that is no longer an option, and set up another thread that weaves through the series.
  3. To showcase Ben’s skills. He’s a cop. He should act like one… sometimes. Spotting his tail was the first step, then being able to pick out every member of the surveillance team thrown at him really proved that there was more to this guy than a disgraced beat cop.

Playing out the end

This was another scene that went through so many iterations it would make your head spin. Who was the mother that helps Ben escape from the two grunts intent on bringing him in? Why didn’t the desk sergeant in Buffalo remember Emily Wright? How does Ben break away and what intel does he have now?

These were questions that haunted me during the editing phase. Everything needed to make sense, to create a level of foreboding, that trapped Ben with the DSA while serving as a warning to him to watch his back.

Who the woman was is hinted at in Dark Impulses and fully revealed in The Wellspring.

Emily Wright

Her disappearance is one of the plotlines that weaves through the series. Ben’s subplot here was the beginning of that, and an important one. It leaves Ben completely powerless. He can’t go home to find her. He can’t reach out to her.

It is a major motivation for the choices he makes down the line, especially in Dark Impulses where his fear turns into a major threat for the team.

Planting seeds in the first season was always my goal. How they come to fruition is something I hope you’ll want to stick around to see.

Promethean Author Commentary 4

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Welcome back to the Promethean Author Commentary! SPOILER WARNING is in effect as I discuss the bonus scene that ended up making its way into the novel, and what an idiot I am for every thinking about leaving it out.

In the beginning…

Pretty dramatic, but cue the music and dim the lights. The year was 2015. I had no clue what I was doing and living off no sleep with two toddlers in the house. (Scary situation, right?)

In the fever dream that was my life back then, DSA Season One was conceived. Each installment was to be 12 parts with two or three sub-chapters per part. They would release weekly through a subscription service or newsletter. Each book would come with its own bonus material. The Clearing contained a short journal entry written by Morgan Dunleavy called Day One. It was her way of coping with what happened in Bellbrook as well as a way to better explain the circumstances of the missing population.

For Promethean, I went a step further and scripted a scene with Morgan and Coroner Diana Phelps.

But wait, that scene is in the book. What happened?

Well, me being an idiot thought the scene could easily be summarized by Morgan the next morning while Ben and Zac are rummaging through Henry Reed’s storage unit. Morgan explains how the body went up in flames before their eyes and they all realize the threat that they are facing.

See, back when I started, having a smaller beat sounded more reasonable. It felt like the way to go to keep readers engaged in the story and the scene itself could be offered as a bonus for those interested in what happened at the Coroner’s.

Bonus Scene, my #^@…

I love the scene. Every time I revisited the outline, every draft I wrote for Promethean, I kept coming back to that moment with Morgan, Phelps, and the burning body of Henry’s mother.

And every time I said, this has to be in the book.

It had to be.

Luckily, the format changed. With the novella size available to allow the story to breathe, I drafted a prose version of the bonus scene. Chapter Sixteen was born and it is the lynchpin for the entire book, in my opinion. It offers a clear look at what is happening, it gives a chance to showcase the true threat against the DSA when Hendricks’ team infiltrates the office to steal the body, and I really enjoyed writing the character of Phelps.

Side characters are the best.

Diana Phelps didn’t have to obey any rules when it came to putting together this scene. She has her part to play and then she is out for the rest of the book. No baggage. No backstory, except for what I slipped into her dialogue.

I love scenes with characters like these. They flesh out the world. Phelps curses up a storm, her enthusiasm is infectious, and she brought such a sense of wonder to the scene–a counter to Morgan who is really trying to piece this mystery together.

These are my favorite bits to write. If you look at other books I’ve written there is usually one scene where some random bit player shows up and spouts off about some aspect of the world. That’s pretty much me in a nutshell, and for Promethean, Phelps was my outlet.

Should she show up again? Let me know what you think.

Writing Update – May, 29, 2023

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Happy Memorial Day!! Welcome back to the never-ending adventure that is my writing update. Let’s get to it before those hot dogs and hamburgers are done on the grill.

Writing Update

I’m hip deep in the edits for Alpha and Omega. The last two weeks I’ve been picking the book apart and putting it back together to test out a few different versions of scenes. Needless to say, the edit is going much slower than I would like. I’ve been asking a lot more questions than usual with this one. It will be worth it in the end, and a much stronger narrative because of it, but yeah, I’m my own worst enemy with this edit.

My plan is to put this book to bed next month and bounce back to DSA Season Two for final, final, final, FINAL edits plus a fair share of formatting. (Fun stuff.)

I’m toying with the idea of scripting Greystone Book Seven at the same time. Not sure if my brain is capable of such a feat, but I’m willing to give it a try just to feel like I’m hitting my goals for the year.

DSA Season Two

Speaking of DSA, the wife finished her readthrough of the season last night. She was woefully unprepared for the twist at the end, and very excited for Season Three. (Phew. I was sweating that one for quite some time.)

If you want to join the DSA launch team, shoot me an email at lou@loupaduano.com. I’m happy to catch up new readers so you’re all set for The Wellspring this fall.

Reading Update

I’m not going to lie, it’s been all comics over here for the last month. I binged on a number of Image and Dark Horse titles.

Baltimore

For all my love of the Hellboy universe, I’ve rarely ventured away from the main title and BPRD. I wanted to change that, and started Baltimore Omnibus Volume 1. (because vampires…) I freaking loved it. Ben Stenbeck’s art throughout the book really brought the stories to life.

Paper Girls

I’m a big Brian K Vaughan fan. Y the Last Man was outstanding and so was Ex Machina. Hell, even the man’s Ultimate X-Men run is my favorite of the series. So jumping into Paper Girls was a no brainer. It started with a real Stranger Things vibe and immediately went above and beyond on the sci-fi level. All thirty issues are now in one massive volume. It’s a beautiful book too, with gorgeous Cliff Chiang art throughout.

Locke & Key

This has been on my list for years. Now, with the Netflix show finished, I thought I should dive in. Welcome to Lovecraft was a great introduction. The characters are so completely broken and everyone has a secret. Joe Hill does an incredible job bringing every player to life and seeding some major consequences for down the road. I’m very interested to see where this one goes.

I’ll

Sci-Fi Valley Con

I will be in Altoona, PA from June 9th through the 11th for Sci-Fi Valley Con. They have a ton of guests lined up including a huge Avatar: The Last Airbender reunion. If you’re in the area, be sure to stop on by and say hello!

Take care, happy reading, and enjoy the holiday!

Promethean Author Commentary 3

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The Promethean Author Commentary continues! This week is a look at the rocky start to the lead relationship in the series! SPOILER WARNING is in effect.

Ben and Morgan

It was clear when I was outlining the first season Ben and Morgan were the main leads for the series. DSA was shaped around them primarily, and everything flowed from their arcs throughout the narrative.

So, Promethean became the testing ground for their relationship. How would this work? Who would be in charge? How would they play off each other? What would irritate the living hell out of them?

This last question was what struck me as vital to writing their relationship. I found it fascinating to explore what would rub each of them the wrong way, and how that would impact their work. There are so many examples of partnerships formed out of circumstance, forced on one or both players. Most roll with that punch. Some don’t even bat an eye and the pair are totally in sync the whole time.

That never made sense to me. I wanted to play with the dysfunction of it all. But more than anything I wanted there to be a reason behind the distance between Ben and Morgan.

A Rocky Start

Morgan is at the epicenter of this. She pushes back on every advance in Ben’s arsenal. For every topic he tries to discuss with her, she puts up a defensive barrier rather than engage Ben on a personal level.

Sure, Ben is pretty irritating. I found it fun to make him so uncomfortable with silences that he becomes overly verbose, well past the point of annoyance.

To Ben, though, the mystery of Morgan’s resistance is almost as captivating as the main thread of the novel with Henry Reed. He’s new. He doesn’t understand the world of the DSA or any of the players behind the scenes. Being dropped into the thick of things has been overwhelming, but rather than throw him a lifeline, Morgan continues to play the “you’ll get used to it” card.

Having that level of tension in Promethean was crucial to making the story work for me. These two are complete strangers. Why on earth wouldn’t they butt heads over anything and everything?

Morgan’s Arc

Part of the reason I went back and showed Grissom’s “death” in The Clearing was to plant the seed for Morgan’s arc in Promethean. Losing Grissom was a huge blow to Morgan and one she has almost no time to consider before the team is sent to Bellbrook, where she then loses Ruth Heller.

Each loss staggers Morgan to the point of being absolutely unable to accept Ben into the fold. Not because he’s an outsider, not because he’s an idiot (though she certainly thinks he is), but because she is terrified to lose someone else.

Trauma is one of the themes of the series. Morgan’s here was one of the plot points I agonized over for weeks. Every draft, I went back to the moment outside the hospital where the pair have it out, wondering if I’ve earned that moment. That’s the thing about building an arc around someone. There has to be enough evidence throughout to actually earn the payoff at the end.

I think Morgan’s freak-out is one of the strongest moments in the novel, personally. It cemented their relationship in my mind and created the foundation for everything to follow. Without this moment, I don’t see why anyone would care what happened next.

Cover Tidbit

I don’t know if you pay attention to these things, but I always try to have MiblArt add some relevance with the background characters on the covers. For Promethean, I wanted to spotlight the rift between Ben and Morgan as they tackle this case, which is why they are turned away from each other on the cover.

Pretty cool, right?

What do you think about the rocky start for Ben and Morgan? I’d love to hear your comments.

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