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

The Last King Cover Reveal

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Back in May, a new Greystone adventure was included in a cool anthology called Fates of Magic and Myth. The Last King brought Soriya and Loren face to face with Ur, a god of darkness in his quest to overtake the light of the world. It might be my favorite Greystone story to date.

With the anthology in the rearview, I wanted a place for people to find the story. It’s a true standalone and a great entry point to the series. So, coming January 29th, The Last King will be available digitally, in paperback, and in hardcover!

Feast your eyes on the cover from Getcovers.com.

What a beaut, right? The designers did an amazing job with this one.

What is The Last King all about?

A dying king, a guardian lion, and a shadowy demon spell disaster for Portents.

The skandola—an ancient talisman with the power to ward off evil—is in danger. When its protection fails, one of the great demons from the underworld escapes to walk the Earth once more.

Ur has returned and with him comes eternal darkness.

Greg Loren, reassigned from the Central Precinct to a cold case warehouse, finds himself pulled into the conflict when a Shishi lion—a guardian to the last king of men—dies in front of him. Unsure how to proceed, Loren turns to the only person he trusts when the city turns bizarre: Soriya Greystone.

Together, with the help of the king’s final guardian, Idris, Loren and Soriya must keep the king safe long enough to banish Ur’s evil from the city of Portents forever.

You can pre-order your digital copy today!

The pre-order is live for The Last King on Amazon. More links are coming together and should be live any day now.

Physical copies will arrive in early January through the online store.

You can also read the story through the Patreon page this January. 

I hope you enjoy this one. The way the whole project came together was a dream for me. I even dedicated the book to Soriya and Loren for making the story so much fun to write.

The Year of the Greystone starts early!

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Greystone is coming back in a big way for 2025. Multiple releases are heading your way. I’m beyond excited to head back to Portents and close out Soriya and Loren’s journey, one that has been living in my head in one form or another since 2007.

While we’re a couple months away from a fresh year, I just couldn’t wait. I’ve spent the last few months working on the details, tweaking the previous novels, and paving the way for some really cool stuff.

Greystone: The Complete First Cycle

To celebrate the return of Greystone, I’m putting the first half of the series on sale this week. The box set containing all five books in the main series is now only $4.99! That’s over 1,500 pages of myths, legends, and monsters to sink your teeth into. This is the time to binge the series.

 

Army in the Obelisk

The penultimate part of the serial wraps up today over on the Patreon. That leaves only 8 chapters left to share over the next four weeks. Army in the Obelisk was an incredible challenge to put together. There were so many little pieces to track, to seed, and then grow to fruition, while also keeping the story as a whole more or less self-contained.

I did try to keep from connecting too overtly to the rest of the series, but some connections still exist. That’s half the fun for me, to find these small threads that tie to larger events or make sense of backstory you didn’t even know you wanted to learn about.

Army is something I will also be proud of. The project was all-consuming (even this week as I’m reading through the printed proof) but I wouldn’t have traded this journey for anything. It was a treat to bring this story to life. The research alone made the entire endeavor worthwhile. Studying Egyptian lore and history brought a richer tapestry to the serial, one I hoped you enjoyed as well.

I mentioned the printed proof before. The original plan was to keep this a digital exclusive to the Patreon page. Limiting the project to that venue, however, would have been a shame to everyone else who wanted to enjoy the book. So, I’ve gone ahead and ordered a batch of paperbacks to share at local events or through my website for those wanting to read Army in the Obelisk.

I didn’t stop at paperbacks, though. Hardcovers are coming for the book as well! My first hardcover. I’m over the moon about the idea and can’t wait to see how they turn out.

Army in the Obelisk ends December 4th on the Patreon. Supporters can enjoy the entire serial.

Paperback and hardcovers will be available at the same time. I’ll be sure to send a link here and everywhere.

Thank you to everyone who joined the Patreon for this project. I hope you’ve enjoyed every second of it. I know I have.

More Greystone news is coming!

When? How’s next week sound? Talk to you then!

The penultimate chapters of Army in the Obelisk launch today!

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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

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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.

Greystone Sale Ends Today

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The Greystone sale ENDS TODAY! Be sure to grab your copies of every book in the series to date before the sale ends tonight. The sale includes heavily discounted individual titles and box set deals you won’t find at any other time this year.

Greystone Sale

Every book in the First Cycle of Greystone (Books 1 – 5) is on sale for $0.99 each! Click on the banners below to grab your copies now!

Greystone: The Complete First Cycle

With every book in the series on sale, it only makes sense to discount Greystone: The Complete First Cycle box set as well. The set is only $3.99! Over 1,500 pages of dangerous myths and legends. Click on the banner below for your copy.

Greystone-in-Training Trilogy

You can get all three books for $0.99 each. Start reading Soriya’s earliest adventures with the banners below:

Thank you for your support!

A big thank you to everyone who has supported Greystone over the years. If you’re just joining the party with the Greystone sale, I can’t wait for you to see where things are heading.

Next year is a big year for the series. Army in the Obelisk arrives in paperback. So will The Last King. And the beginning of the end for the series will be launching Summer 2025 with Alpha and Omega.

And then?

  • Greystone Book 6 – Alpha and Omega
  • Greystone Book 7 – Errant Knight
  • Greystone Book 8 – Legends and Legacies
  • Greystone Book 9 – Secret of the Stone
  • Greystone Book 10 – Heart of Forever

I shouldn’t be sharing that. There are some things I should be holding back, locking away to surprise you later, right? Nay. Get excited. I know I am. It’s going to be a wild ride in Portents.

Get ready.

Army in the Obelisk Part Eight Starts Today

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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.

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