I saved one of my favorite subjects from Signs of Portents for last. The villain of the story.
(Spoilers ahead.)
Villain Building.
Villain building is always a tough nut to crack. On some level there is a purity to just being evil. To being the killer. But there has to be a reason for it. Some layered discontent, some mental instability, something there to connect to the reader.
Villainous motivations.
Nathaniel Evans was a one note player in the drama. During the first draft he was the killer but there was nothing to his story other than the destruction of the city. As I went along, as pieces fell into place and the “signs” portion of the title made more sense to me on every level, I realized the why of it all.
Why Evans was the right choice for the villain in this novel. Why he was after what he was after. And even why each victim came into focus, giving me a little tease for what was coming in future books. (Did you wonder about that too? How a man dead for over one hundred years could stumble on the exact people he needed at the right time? Think about that.)
The tools at his disposal.
The question of the specific victims aside, their role in Evans rebuilding throughout the novel was something I went back and forth on. Did he take both of Decker’s hands or only one? What about Abigail Fortune’s eyes? Early drafts had it as both but as I went back and tweaked little details I realized how much more creepy the man could be with one mangled hand and one pristine.
The same was true for the eyes. Two crimson was on the nose. (Even my three year old daughter knows people with red eyes are evil. And if they have sharp teeth? Totally evil.) Having both eyes blue didn’t work either. Too mundane. But one of each?
The cover alone sold me on that idea.
Origin stories
The true history of Portents wasn’t fleshed out in the first draft and became confusing to the reader. It was a slow evolution through the editing process. But once it came it clicked into place nicely to help in my villain building. The William Rath story. The flashbacks to the Town Square. All of that came after the initial draft to help flesh out Evans. Each element was carefully placed. My fear for a long time was in over-complicating the plot. It is a fear I carry into every project because it takes away clarity and momentum in the climb to the climax.
And yes, the William Rath “story” wiping out the truth about Evans may have been a play on Jebediah Springfield from The Simpsons. It did occur to me when I went into revision mode. Who hasn’t been influenced by The Simpsons at this point?
Questions?
I think I’ve come to the end of my commentary on Signs of Portents. I love doing this kind of thing and can’t wait to share some of the craziness behind Tales from Portents in a few months. Until then, if you have any questions on Signs that I didn’t cover or that you were interested in learning more about feel free to contact me directly here. There is also the Facebook and Twitter pages that I stalk frequently as well. Goodreads also has a really cool Ask the Author feature that would be a great place to keep the conversation going.
Thanks for reading.
