This month marks the beginning of a new adventure. The DSA launches on October 9th with The Clearing. It has been one of the most challenging projects of my life. There have been times when I’ve thought about shelving it indefinitely and times when I’ve been so excited about where the series is heading that I couldn’t sleep for days.
What is the DSA?
The DSA is a covert agency within our government. They are known as the Department of Special Assignments in government circles but once upon a time, agents who worked outside the law on their own time took to calling it the Department of Scientific Anomalies.
They deal in science gone wrong, in the strange and bizarre.
More than that, hidden beneath the surface, they are looking at something that has infiltrated the very fabric of our existence. Something that will come to light by the end of the first season of the series. There is a larger game afoot, more than the everyday leaps and bounds humanity appears to be making technologically.
There is a reason behind it all and the DSA finds itself at the heart of the mystery. Why has humanity made such advancements in the last century? What changed and how did it truly come to pass? These are only a few of the questions being asked with each book in the series.
Serial storytelling
Each book is standalone. I made a promise to myself when I was putting together the plot outline to make each book stand on its own in terms of a main plot. It always bothered me to read other serialized stories and have it clearly intended to be part of a larger work.
I don’t like telling half-stories. I want there to be a sense of completion with each installment. Very much like the television shows I used to enjoy, there will be subplots that string the books together. You’ll see that more with Book 2, Promethean, where certain cast members head in one direction and others in another, more subdued role until the next book when they break out into the main plot.
Dangling mysteries
That’s the fun of a series like this, isn’t it? Well, fun for me at any rate.
The Clearing introduces a certain mystery but it doesn’t provide every answer. It is one piece of a larger puzzle and I’ve been very careful about making sure every potential mystery, every conceivable threat to our heroes, gets some face time each season. I don’t want to leave anything hanging, but I also want to explore more through these characters.
Episodic
I love breaking down a series on television. I love the ebb and flow the medium creates with each episode. I’ve tried to bring that to the DSA. It opens with a larger plot for the pilot, introducing all the major players to the reader. From there, the stories get more intimate, focusing in on the characters. It circles back for the season finale where all kinds of things go kablooey and sets up the second season.
You can read it in a chunk. You can read it as they release. I want it to feel big, with larger than life stakes, but also a real study of these flawed characters.
October 9th
The Clearing arrives in ebook. It’s only $0.99 for a limited time!
Paperback fans will be surprised to know the book is out now! It’s only $9.99 and it looks gorgeous.
I really hope you like the series. It’s been a labor of love and I can’t wait for you to see where things are heading.
