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.
