The next several months will bring author commentaries on all six stories contained within the Tales from Portents collection. My hope is to offer insight into the decisions made in putting the project together and the challenges therein. It’s also fun to point out the little Easter eggs throughout. (I love that crap.) So, SPOILER WARNING is in effect for the duration.
Gremlins – A new batch?
I like monsters. Is that weird? Probably. But really, I have a blast trying to pin down the threats faced by Soriya and Loren in the Greystone series. It can be nerve-racking but when something clicks into place it is the most satisfying feeling in the world.
For Gremlins, I knew I wanted a very creature based threat. Something that had history to play with and could easily fit into the narrative I was building around it.
Stumbling upon the old World War II stories about pilots blaming gremlins for their engine troubles was perfection. And yes, I know there have been films about the critters, but Warner Brothers doesn’t own a monopoly on the creatures!
Reading those old stories about the spanner in the works thanks to little unseen pests, I started thinking more about the meaning behind them. What if they weren’t trying to sabotage but were fixing instead? What if gremlins were the mechanics of a lost age, the general contractors of their time?
And what if they were super pissed off when they didn’t get the credit they deserved?
Soriya’s whole back and forth during the narrative over the gremlins’ motivations came from these thoughts and my own paranoia when I misplace something in my house (CONSTANTLY).
The unseen threat
With the vast majority of tales told in the series, Soriya and Loren typically confront the threat in some crazy, action packed climax with fisticuffs and bullets flying and all kinds of fun stuff.
I didn’t want that here.
Sure, there is an incredible climax and one of my favorite moments in the collection where Soriya wipes out the gremlins in a single blow from the mysterious Greystone.
BUT, that resolution only comes after the personal dilemma of the narrative is taken out of the equation. That was key for me. Keeping the focus on Loren and Soriya’s trust issues (mostly Loren but still) was the key to making the story succeed. To me, nothing is more important than the personal conflict between characters and that needed to be shown here in full.
Not only that, by taking the gremlins out of the forefront as this dark cloud devouring the officers in the precinct it really amped up the creepy factor for the story. That served the threat much better than having a single gremlin or small number of gremlins walking and talking on their quest for revenge.
Next time:
View from Above kicks off with a note about the dearly departed Vlad.
Thanks for reading.
