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

Greystone Box Set One – On Sale Now!

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The Greystone Saga Volume OneThe Greystone Saga Volume One is on sale NOW!

To celebrate the launch and really make it appealing to new and old readers alike I am offering the set for 99-cents until June 22nd!!

WHAT?

The first two entries into the Greystone series PLUS the sneak peek at The Medusa Coin all for under a buck! Only have Signs of Portents or Tales from Portents in your digital collection? Get the other AND a peek at book three for only $0.99!!!

Order your copy today!

 

           

The Saga Begins…

Catch up on the Greystone series before the release of The Medusa Coin on September 8th!

Reviews for Signs of Portents:

http://signs of portents”Deeply immersive and imaginative — very strong debut novel.”

“Dark ,engaging, gripping story.”

“This paranormal thriller was pretty intense…”

“The characters in the book were well developed and the story line was intriguing and definitely a page turner.”

Reviews for Tales from Portents and Resurrectionists:

“Excellent Collection of Stories”

“Pick up this book it is unique. None of the same old same old. What a strange city.”

“Very well written…enjoyed every minute…it was a real page turner.”

PLUS enjoy a preview of The Medusa Coin, a game changer for the series:

Death has come to the city of Portents.

Dozens have fallen before a mysterious menace hiding among them. Their only connection is the grisly condition of their bodies—hollowed-out chasms where their eyes used to be.

Setting aside the aging case on his wife’s murder, Detective Greg Loren has returned to the city with the task of stopping the bearer of the Medusa coin—an artifact with power over Death himself—from continuing to slaughter the people of Portents.

Soriya, no longer able to control the enigmatic Greystone, grapples with the decision to forge ahead in the case on her own, leaving Loren behind. But without the two counterbalancing each other, Death may be the force that levels them both.

 

Order Your Copy of The Greystone Saga Volume One TODAY!

           

 

June Promotions

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The Medusa Coin Advance Reader Copies

Advance reader copies of The Medusa Coin will be available starting July 1st. Interested in receiving a FREE digital copy of the book before the release date of September 8th?

Sign up to the Advance Team List today.

I want to thank everyone that has already signed up. I’m extremely excited to share this book with you and I hope you enjoy it.

I’ve received some incredible emails over the last couple months. I could not ask for better readers and I truly appreciate you being here for this journey.

The Greystone Saga Volume One

The first box set on sale ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! Crazy how time has been blitzing through the hourglass this year.

The first two books of the Greystone series are only $0.99 until June 22nd so order your copy today at the following:

           

Over 500 pages of monsters, myths and murder! Can’t find a better deal this month!

Promotions

The Ultimate Paperback Giveaway is going on right now!! For a chance to win 52 of the best and brightest in the science fiction/fantasy genre enter today! Offer ends July 31st.

 

Looking for a new release to dive into this month? Look no further than SFF Book Bonanza for a list of the latest in science fiction and fantasy fiction.

Need more books but are strapped for cash after so many delicious new releases this month?

Enter for a chance to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card! A big thanks to Dean Wilson over at SFF Book Bonanza for putting this together.

Looking for the best place for free books? Check out The Prolific Reader today! Over 450 free books, organized by genre. Perfect for finding that next favorite author or if you want to send a friend a copy of Resurrectionists…

Hoping to have some kick ass reading recommendations for you in a few weeks. Most from these amazing promotions and freebies. Check them out and enjoy!

Thanks for reading.

Greystone Saga Volume One

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This is something I always wanted to put together. When I thought about the publishing schedule for Greystone I knew there was an opportunity to fit in a special box set of the previous releases in preparation of the next installment in the series.

With The Medusa Coin set to hit shelves in September now is the time to catch up on the series with The Greystone Saga Volume One.

Volume One contains both Signs of Portents and Tales from Portents for your reading pleasure. I also contains a sneak peek at the upcoming release, The Medusa Coin.

The downside.

This is a digital only release. I toyed with the idea of a physical copy but the cost was too extravagant for the casual reader. This is meant to be a gateway into the series at a lower price point, to allow readers an easy entry to prepare themselves for the release of book three in September.

The cover.

greystone saga volume oneI can’t get enough of the cover. Kit Foster Designs does a damn fine job making me look way better than I have any right to be. I absolutely love new cover day.

Thanks are also due my lovely wife, who assisted me greatly with choosing this image. I spend way too much time in my own head so internal strife is rampant, even about the smallest of details. Thankfully, I have someone willing to listen to my non-stop mutterings and rants, who is also willing to tell me to shut the hell up and go with it when it is the definition of perfection.

(Like her.)

 

The bright side.

The Greystone Saga Volume One is out on June 15th.

To celebrate the launch and really make it appealing to new and old readers alike I am offering the set for 99-cents until June 22nd!!

You heard me. The first two entries into the Greystone series PLUS the sneak peek at The Medusa Coin all for under a buck! Only have Signs of Portents or Tales from Portents in your digital collection? Get the other AND a peek at book three for only $0.99!!!

And the best part? You don’t have to wait until June 15th to order your copy. The Greystone Saga Volume One is available now for pre-order!

           

Now is the time to catch up on the series and stare at that incredible cover the way I have been while typing this missive.

Thanks for reading.

Researching Threats

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This is a question that comes up regularly, mostly from my old man in the form of “What the hell is wrong with you?” Researching threats faced within the world of Greystone can be painstaking in some cases, but on the whole it is a blast.

Finding out the perfect villain for the piece, the single voice that opposes Loren and Soriya, is almost always a tough nut to crack. I go about it in a few different ways:

Researching threats

The Process

For me the antagonist of the story, be it short tale or full-length novel, comes after figuring out the main dilemma of the leads. Who is telling this story and where are they coming from? What emotional hook is there in the background before the first sentence?

Knowing the personal stakes gives the reader something to invest in. Friends find this funny about me, but as a comic book reader I could care less about the villain of the story. I read for the drama, the personal conflict behind the fisticuffs. I care if Peter Parker can get home in time to give poor Aunt May her meds and less about if Doc Ock ends up behind bars yet again.

researching threats
This should always be more important…

That’s my methodology with developing my outlines for Greystone. Internal strife and personal conflict for a satisfying character arc come first and the punchy kicky stuff gets added in for effect.

The importance of a great threat

That isn’t to say the threat should be throwaway or shallow in depth. The reader needs to feel the main character’s are in constant danger. Who knows when one might meet their end or by what monster roaming the streets of Portents?

When it comes to researching threats I try to look at two ways:

  1. Do they directly impact the internal conflict? For example, if Soriya is in turmoil over the loss of a dear friend does the threat come from someone connected to that loss? Mentor’s long lost brother comes for a visit and turns out to a Chupacabra. (Meh. It could happen…)
  2. Is the threat more symbolic? Going back to the loss angle. Reeling from the death of someone close to Soriya, our hero struggles to save the life of a young woman (surrogate for dear friend) caught in a situation that is similar yet completely unique to the one that caused her internal conflict in the first place.

The obvious threats

The easy gets, as I say. When, during the outline phase, there is only one threat that could possibly be used to tell this story.

  1. The antithesis of the protagonist in every way. (Standish in Tales from Portents. He is everything Loren is not.)
  2. Plays off the setting/situation the main character finds themselves in. (View from Above – Soriya is mired by responsibility and tries to find a lighter side with Vlad. Enter the Kitsune, a trickster getting kicks from stealing from little old ladies. No responsibility and all lighter side.)

The less than obvious threats

Like pulling teeth, it takes three or four days of heavy thought to find the perfect face for villainy in the story.

This happened recently with the upcoming Pathways in the Dark. I knew the character’s arcs. Knew where they were coming from and the building blocks of an external threat. Just not the threat itself. Having that background with the characters, using them as the basis for telling the story instead of winging it, allowed me to find possibilities until I was left with the perfect threat that spoke to both the internal and external conflict of the story.

Resources for researching threats

I was going to go into depth on the wonderful world of Wikipedia but I thought better of it. Suffice it to say I use the internet and different directories that list classic myths and legends as a starting point before building a short list of finalists for the story in question.

Then it is all about research, research, research and tying it to the protagonist’s journey in the narrative. Nothing is more important than that to me.

Thanks for reading.

Beta Readers Needed for The Medusa Coin

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Calling all beta readers! Calling all beta readers! The Medusa Coin is DONE.

beta readersQuite possibly the most difficult couple of months since launching the series but completely worth the time and aggravation. When I sat down with my initial outline everything appeared to be very straightforward with a clear path from beginning to end.

WRONG.

Quite a few additions and deletions have been made to this manuscript over the last two and a half months. At one point I thought the whole draft would need rewriting – not my best day. I’m glad to be out the other side of this one and happy to share it with a few select readers willing to offer their thoughts on the draft.

The importance of beta readers.

I’ve spoken to this before and I stand by my earlier statements on the subject. Beta readers are a crucial part of the editing process. Much as I love keeping all the secrets and holding back the surprises of a new novel until launch day, it doesn’t quite work if the final product doesn’t live up to the hype.

Suffice it say, I’d love to hear your thoughts on The Medusa Coin. This story has been with me for a LONG time and I have definitely felt the weight of my own expectations bearing down on me. I want this book to be top notch and you can help.

How to become a beta reader?

E-mail me at lou@loupaduano.com or through the oft-mentioned contact page. Or message me directly on social media. Let me know the best way to send you the file for your review.

What am I looking for exactly?

There are a number of areas actually but all feedback is welcome. Some specific areas of interest are:

  1. Pace – Does each chapter go at a good clip? Do you feel like you’re wading through a swamp or rushing through the rapids?
  2. Dialogue – Too much? Too little? Do you ever lose track of who is speaking?
  3. Story Logic – THE BIG ONE. Does the book make sense? Do connections come out of left field or is there enough information laid throughout to understand the chain of events that lead the main characters through the narrative?
  4. Flow – Not only chapter to chapter but paragraph to paragraph. Is a better transition needed?
  5. Perspective – Is there a random shift of perspective in the middle of the chapter that isn’t noted by a break? Do you ever feel like one character is lost in the mix at any time in the narrative?
  6. The villain – This was definitely an area I wanted to improve upon after Signs of Portents. Is the antagonist developed enough? Do they get enough time to shine?
  7. Repetition – Another area of concern from Signs. Character arcs are very important to me and background thoughts tend to string their main conflict along throughout the narrative. Does it ever become too repetitive in the story? Does it need to back off during certain scenes and allow the action to progress?
  8. Awkward sentences/descriptions – Are there points in the novel that tripped you up? Sentences you had to read several times over in order to understand an action occurring?

What am I not looking for?

  1. Grammar lessons. I suck at it, I know. It’s a fact of life. If you want to mark up the entire piece and save my wonderful editor the hassle later on, have at it. Telling me my grammar skills blow will not help and brings me to my final note –
  2. Vague assistance. Specifics are needed to improve the work. Telling me something doesn’t work in Chapter Forty-Three is great but I need to know what it is in detail. Not enough dialogue? A slow paragraph that didn’t add anything to the scene? Be as specific as you can, please!

Beta Readers Deadline – April 20th.

It’s not as far off as you think and it gives me ten days to work through everyone’s notes before I pass it off to my editor.

How to mark it up:

The easiest way to mark up the text is to highlight and make notes on your computer but typing up a separate document/e-mail with a list of your notes for me to go through when you are set also works.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.

I greatly appreciate all of your help in this process. My goal is to make the best book possible and I can’t do that alone. Thanks to all of you in advance.

And thanks for reading!

A Look Ahead at Greystone

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Every once in awhile there comes a point when the mental conversation that continuously swims in my brain needs to spill out on the page. Or in this case, the blog. I can keep things pretty straight most of the time, tucking little nuggets of information into posts and then keeping the sweet revelations for a later date.

This time I wanted to share what was ahead in the coming year and beyond.

Not only is my hope to whet your appetite so you’re as excited as I am for the upcoming collection, Tales from Portents, but also to add some accountability for myself. A little extra motivation to hit my deadlines (the earlier the better) won’t hurt and give me a roadmap to follow.

2017

February 17th – Tales from Portents. The first short story collection in the Greystone series. A prelude to the events of Signs of Portents, Tales was originally meant to serve one purpose: set up the events already depicted in Signs. As I plotted out the stories I wanted in the collection I realized that it could do much more than that.

It could act as a bridge between novels. Both thematically and in action. A project I was very nervous about publishing has become one of the most influential pieces of the puzzle for what is to come in the first cycle. Trust me, each story plays a part in what is coming.

September 8th – The Medusa Coin. The second full-length novel of the series and a story I have had kicking around my head since 2009. New characters are introduced and a great new threat as well. A few of them actually. When I originally wrote the outline there was a little trepidation.

The Medusa Coin stands as the midpoint for the first cycle of the series. Not only did it need to build on the first novel, there also had to be a path to the final chapter as well. Subplots from seeds planted in Signs start to form a bigger picture without losing sight of the main thrust of this standalone novel.

A tightrope act to be sure, but I think it will work out.

December 1st – Founder’s Day. Much like Resurrectionists, Founder’s Day is a novella offered ahead of the second short story collection. When developing the lineup for the next collection I thought back to Tales for inspiration and realized there were plenty of threads left to pull.

Including a direct sequel to Resurrectionists itself. If you haven’t read it yet, I won’t spoil it here. Suffice it say, Founder’s Day plays off the events witnessed in the novella with a heavy nod to the history of Portents laid out in Signs. The script came together beautifully and I am looking forward to drafting it once The Medusa Coin is set.

2018

February 9th – Pathways in the Dark. The second short story collection plays off the events of The Medusa Coin. It follows our leads directly from the threat posed and builds on the decisions made at the end. Each story stands alone but all connect to the larger framework of the first cycle.

Elements from all the previous books play a role in Pathways. Some of the tales within have been kicking around the old noodle for years so to finally see them come to life is a great feeling.

September 14th – A Circle of Shadows. I’ve been holding back this title for months, waiting to see if someone would ask me about its mention in Signs of Portents. Wondering if people noticed it sitting in the background when they read early iterations of Tales from Portents. This is the big finale to the first cycle.

Every time I close my eyes I see the pieces taking shape. I see each side of the conflict becoming more and more complex and developed. This won’t be like the first two full-length novels. This is bigger in scope and in cast.

There have been threats loose in Portents for longer than anyone has known.

And they are about to come to light.

Get ready.

Get excited. I know I am. Putting this series together (and laying the seeds for the next trilogy) has been one of the best things about the last year. (Don’t tell my kids that though…)

Thanks for reading.

Resurrectionists

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