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

The penultimate chapters of Army in the Obelisk launch today!

By

Part Eleven of Army in the Obelisk starts today on the Patreon page! The Army in the Obelisk is the beginning of the end of the story. Djuhuty’s warning to Loren comes to fruition and war arrives in Portents.

Head over to Patreon and start reading Army in the Obelisk today.

We’ve reached the penultimate lap on the twelve-part serial. I hope you’ve been enjoying it half as much as I did in putting the book together. This project was challenging on so many levels, yet I will always look fondly at it.

I can’t thank you enough for being on this journey with me. From the opening gambit with the Nehebkau, to the return of the Cult of Anubis, all the way through Soriya’s struggle with the Baku and Loren’s coffee meeting with Djuhuty, there are so many great moments in this book. I’d love to hear some of your favorites.

Part Eleven Begins.

Thutmose is back. His army approaches. He wants the world to remember him for the great leader he was.

Loren and Soriya must make a final stand against Djuhuty and his forces at the Heliopolis, but first…

Patricia Fleming needs to have her say with Loren.

That’s right, this week is the conclusion of the long-simmering romance between Loren and Patti.

I’m not a romance guy. Ask my wife. She’ll be the first to tell you how heartless I am when it comes to this stuff. But for Army in the Obelisk? To have a character like Fleming in the mix, helping Loren on multiple levels throughout the narrative? This was fun. I loved the tension when Fleming was in the scene, either through Loren’s discomfort in accepting a new love in his life after the loss of his wife, or through Soriya’s amazement that such a love was possible in her friend/partner.

It was a great foil to seed throughout the narrative and helped me stretch my writing skills in a new direction.

The End Approaches.

We’ll talk again when Part Twelve begins in a few weeks!

Read Army in the Obelisk Part Nine today

By

The final third of the epic serial starts today! Army in the Obelisk Part Nine brings the Loren-Standish conflict to a head.

Read Army in the Obelisk now.

I’ve always been a big fan of structure. When putting together a twelve-part serial, figuring out the proper pacing for not only the big reveals but all the major subplots being juggled throughout turned out to be quite the challenge.

Somehow–I refuse to take credit for how it happened–the Loren-Standish subplot worked out perfectly in the narrative. It opens with Part Three, escalates in Part Six, and closes out here in Part Nine. It still amazes me to think about that. Kudos, to those writing gods watching over me.

Bringing Standish back.

I love a good villain. Standish was never meant to be more than a foil for Loren in Tales from Portents. He certainly grew to be quite a bit more than some minor player in the first half of Greystone. Being able to explore how their relationship evolved from their first interaction in Gremlins was a real bonus when crafting Army in the Obelisk.

There were questions I felt should be answered somewhere in the series. Army served as the perfect vehicle for that exploration.

Part Nine is another tale that doesn’t rely on any of the fantasy elements that typically infuse Portents. This is a straight-up murder investigation that goes off the rails… quickly. I won’t give anything away here, but if you know Standish and his skill set, I think you’ll completely understand the actions taken in the story.

For those waiting for the big confrontation with Djuhuty, you’ll have to wait just a little bit longer. It’s coming and it is massive, but this part is dedicated to long-time readers of the series.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey so far. This book was an absolute dream to put together and I’m very proud of how it stands up after all the scrutiny I’ve put it under over the years.

Head over to Patreon now to start reading.

Army in the Obelisk Part Eight Starts Today

By

Army in the Obelisk continues this week with the launch of Part Eight! The Final Piece is a critical chapter of the serial, with returning foes and some great action scenes. The romantics out there get the chance to see Greg Loren in a new light as he enjoys a night out with Patricia Fleming. What more can you ask for?

Head over to Patreon and start reading today.

There are certain segments of the serial I struggled with. The Final Piece was one of them, not because of anything inherent in the plot. Everything was pretty nailed down before I started in. No, any conflicts I had were on the writing side. The opening action scene needed a lot of planning done ahead of time. There was the layout of the apartment to consider, the security measures in place, figuring out how Soriya inserted herself inside the scene, as well as the POV issue it caused. There were a lot of little obstacles that needed answering before drafting, and plenty more to iron out in the editing phase.

Not every scene is straightforward, and one of the things I’ve tried to do over my author career was embrace those difficult scenes. I want the challenge. I want to figure out solutions rather than run away in terror. It can be hard, it can cause some sleepless nights, but the final product always ends up stronger for the challenge.

Army in the Obelisk Part Eight

The first two chapters of The Final Piece are now available on Patreon. Follow the page and start reading now.

Part Seven of Army in the Obelisk starts today!

By

We’ve reached the halfway point of the tale! Army in the Obelisk Part Seven launches today on Patreon.

Army in the Obelisk Part Seven – Nightmare Scenario

This part was a blast to put together. It deals with Soriya, specifically, and delves into her past in a way that has never been done before. For as much as it is touched on in the main series, there was never a moment where Soriya spoke about the life she lost when she was four years old.

There’s a reason for that: Soriya has no memory of that life.

But even still, wouldn’t there be some lingering questions about who she was and who her parents were? Of course there would be. No kid cannot wonder about who their parents were or what happened to them. That was the impetus behind this part of the story.

How this is all revealed is where the fun came in. For me, at least. Probably less fun for Soriya.

Not only do we get a cool new villain (which will be revealed in next week’s installment) but a lot of the story hinges on Djuhuty’s involvement. Bringing him more into the forefront is very intentional and as the rest of the novel unfolds, you’ll understand why.

I love this part and hope you do as well.

Head over to the Patreon and start reading the first two chapters now!

Army in the Obelisk continues this month!

By

Welcome to Month 2 of Army in the Obelisk! I hope you’ve enjoyed the opening five installments of the story. Take a look below to see what is coming your way this June.

Army in the Obelisk in June

I wanted a strong start for both the Greystone serial and the Patreon page. The first month showcased what the page will have to offer with a good-sized chunk of Army in the Obelisk.

Going forward, releases will still be coming out on Wednesday, but they will no longer be entire parts every week. Part VI kicks off this week but will be split up over the course of three weeks and Part VII will launch at the end of the month.

Why the change? 

Mostly for my sanity, if I’m being honest. It was always meant to come out over the course of a whole year. I’ve truncated that by offering the first five parts in full right off the bat. This gives me some breathing room so I can have some great content ready to surprise and delight you at the end of this year and the start of 2025.

Army in the Obelisk Release Schedule

  • June 5th – Part VI Chapters 1 – 3
  • June 12th – Part VI Chapters 4 – 6
  • June 19th – Part VI Chapters 7 – 8
  • June 26th – Part VII Chapters 1 – 2

Part VI is called Stalked by Serket, which introduces another goddess from Egyptian mythology to trouble our heroes. This time, the focus is on Loren and Standish in the second section of three that explains their evolving relationship through the Greystone series. (Part IX closes this out with a bang.)

I’ll be talking about Part VII at the end of the month, but I will say it has one of my favorite villains in the piece.

Join the fun and start reading.

It’s been a great experience offering the Patreon to people. I find it is the best venue to showcase my work, and I hope you’ll follow along. I’ve said it in the past, but Army in the Obelisk is FREE for all followers of the page. No subscription necessary to enjoy this book.

Hope to see you over there. Happy reading.

The Cult of Anubis strikes this week

By

If you’ve read last week’s chapters of Army in the Obelisk, you know things aren’t looking so good for Soriya. This week continues the story with Part IV – The Cult of Anubis. Loren desperately searches for his missing partner and uncovers a deadly threat to the city.

The thought behind Part Four

This part is a little different than the rest. There are some ties to a previous story from the series – Connections – which can be found in Pathways in the Dark.

When I was putting together the series, my aim was to keep it standalone. And it is. Mostly. But if you’ve read the releases before this, you know there is more to the Cult of Anubis and their leader Osiris. You know where their story continues, so I took some time to make that definite connection to Pathways.

I love those connections to the larger narrative. As a reader, it pulls me in and as a writer, I think it helps with worldbuilding. Every story – big or small – should have a lasting impact, and that was my goal with this part of Army. That while the Cult of Anubis might not be the center of matters for this book, they will return to pose a danger to Portents and to our heroes.

Connections

As an added treat, subscribers to the Patreon will be able to read the Cult of Anubis’ first appearance this Friday! There’s a lot to love about this one, and I remember how fantastic some of the imagery throughout was when putting the story together. From the Onna Bugeisha to the pyramid buried beneath the city, this story showcased everything I love about Greystone.

I hope you enjoy both stories this week. Next Wednesday, Part Five arrives with a murder in the Courtyard and the arrival of some cool new characters.

Disclaimer: Links throughout this site may be affiliate links. All commission earned through these links go to Eleven Ten Publishing to produce more books for your reading pleasure.

You can view our privacy policy here.

Recent Posts