In March 2016, I sat down with a plan in mind. The Greystone Saga. Five books telling the sprawling tale of Soriya Greystone and Detective Greg Loren. The mystery of Bethany Loren’s death at the center of it, the pair faced the mysterious threats hidden under the surface of the city of Portents.

This week I put the final touches on book five. For the first time since this crazy journey began, I was able to put the words – The End – on the page. To say goodbye to old friends that have been with my every thought for the last two years is something I never imagined would be possible. Let alone bittersweet.

The Road Taken…

When I first pitched the series (to an audience of me, myself and I) Soriya was a stay-at-home mother who fought crime with her pal, Loren, while the kids were at school.

Portents existed but it held none of the mystery, none of the secrets, it would eventually come to know.

How it grew, how it changed, is the best part of this wonderful process. I don’t have the answers, I don’t know where my sense of direction stopped and the characters took the wheel. I am damn lucky they did, though.

Soriya has been my strength, my guiding light. Loren has been my resolve, my need for answers. Ruiz, my truth and the parent needed to keep the children in line. Without these three watching over me, driving the story forward, Greystone would never have existed.

As edits wind down on A Circle of Shadows, I find their voices quieting. Never leaving, not completely, because I will never be able to leave Portents for long. There is another story to tell, a larger one yet to be explored with questions that have barely been posed let alone answered.

For now, though, it is time to say goodbye to my old friends.

I am incredibly grateful they have allowed me to tell their story for as long as they have and if I never do get back to Portents, I know I’ve told the best story possible because of who they are as characters, because of the challenges they faced.

The lessons learned during the last two years have made me a better writer. They’ve opened the door to new ways of crafting stories. Character over plot. Not being afraid to upend a scene to find a better way. Questioning everything until the answers speak for themselves in the narrative.

Greystone made all of that possible.

The end for now…

Tom DeFalco was the master of ending his stories like this. Nothing truly ends. There are threads that remain, lives that continue even after we close the book.

That is certainly true for Greystone. Loren, Soriya, Ruiz and all the other players that have grown from that initial pitch have more stories to tell.

As I write this, there are no less than four short stories I’ve added to my schedule that take place in Portents. Some flashbacks, others a bridge to where things are headed in the second half of the series.

Like I said, their voices will never truly leave me. I wouldn’t want them to.

For now, there are new stories to tell. A new series to plot. Another to edit. New worlds and new dramas. But none would be possible without Greystone.

Goodbye old friends. See you soon.