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

Blackmail Commentary – Starting Points

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Feels like it has been awhile since we’ve chatted about Pathways in the Dark, so welcome back to the author commentary on book four of the Greystone series! SPOILER WARNING is in place, though by now I’m sure you’ve read and enjoyed the collection.

Right?

Blackmail and the journey of Samantha Myers

When putting together each piece of the collection, I realized the opportunities available. This included glimpses into the lives of some of the supporting cast. With Trustfall, Ruiz was given the spotlight. For Blackmail, it was time to dig into Samantha Myers and her story.

Keeping readers in the dark about a mysterious character is a double edge sword. You want to keep them interesting but also want to hold back on all the answers. It’s a fine line and can work against a narrative if utilized incorrectly.

I didn’t want that to be the case with Samantha Myers.

Having a working outline for A Circle of Shadows helped in this regard. Knowing where her journey was heading allowed me some wiggle room to showcase a case personal to her, while allowing the reader a glimpse at her life.

As in the case of most of the collection, the driving force of Blackmail stemmed from The Medusa Coin. At the end of the novel, Myers calls a mysterious benefactor and we learn her motivations aren’t exactly as pure as we hoped.

But what did that mean for her? Why was she working against Loren and Soriya?

Those were questions I wanted to explore without giving away the whole mystery.

Who is Samantha Myers?

I love writing the character. Her comments, her snark, comes from a place near and dear to my heart. I love her attitude in The Medusa Coin and the down to earth nature of bringing her into the fold in this crazy series. Yet for every interaction in the novel there was little time to really delve into her story. A narrative choice and one that worked for the book but also one I wanted to rectify slightly through Pathways in the Dark.

For Blackmail, I wanted to provide an outlet for her to explore Portents without being confined to the role of a supporting player in Loren’s drama. I needed Myers to break away from the world and come into her own. In order to do that I needed a reason for her to fly solo.

Two cases of blackmail…

It wasn’t just a clever title. It was always meant to explain her situation without explicitly laying it out for the reader. Being pulled into the case, having to steal from her colleagues to pay off a blackmailer was always meant to bring to light the truth of her situation.

Her mysterious benefactor, the figure in the shadows that has placed her as Loren’s partner, is also manipulating her against her will.

Putting that personal spin on events raised the stakes in my eyes and forced Myers to come to grips with her situation.

I loved writing this story. It was definitely a challenge, something outside the norm for Greystone, but I thought it was a breath of fresh air in terms of a character piece. I’ll be discussing those challenges more next time.

Thanks for reading.

The Apartment Commentary – Walter Schriff

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The Apartment author commentary concludes! SPOILER WARNING ahead. Big time for this one!

Figuring out the threat…

When it came time to figure out who these ghosts were hassling people in Portents, the first two or three drafts never named them.

Yes – them.

Three were present in the first drafts. I made their appearances vague, their motivations even more nebulous. I had no idea how they connected to the story or how to raise the stakes. At one point I was researching things like Blackbeard and Napoleon in an effort to connect with some legendary aspect.

They didn’t fit. None of it fit with the narrative.

Enter the Kindly Killer

It was during the self-editing phase when I stumbled on this notion of the Kindly Killer. He is the first connection between Loren and Soriya, a vital part of their so-called origin story and when I remembered him he fit so perfectly I couldn’t stop writing until the story was completed.

Having that personal connection with Soriya at the climax of the tale raised the stakes. She knows how dangerous Walter can be and can’t risk his return to the mortal plane. Making it personal, looking for that deeper meaning in terms of the overall narrative of Greystone, builds a better story in my mind.

I hope you agree.

Why care so much about the Kindly Killer?

Walter Schriff has been around since Signs of Portents. Always a background mention, never anything more. I did that purposely. (I try to do everything purposely…)

Some people believe his inclusion in the first novel is a distraction. I look at it differently.

His presence is a seed for something to come.

The Kindly Killer serves as a point of origin for Loren and Soriya’s relationship. His suddenly viciousness in slaughtering people, his arrest and the subsequent events that locked Loren and Soriya into this incredible journey lies at the heart of the story that will serve as Book Six of the series.

Say what?

Yeah. I’m a couple years away from putting it together. Having A Circle of Shadows back on my desk has sparked a few notions about what’s to come for the back half of the series.

But Walter Schriff plays a huge role in Book Six.

Get ready.

Red eyes…

Did you notice another old friend within the Bypass at the end of our story? Talking about raising stakes, having Soriya peer into the Bypass at the climax of the story served two purposes.

The first was to seed an event to come in A Circle of Shadows. (Shhh, it’s a secret…)

The second was to bring back old red eyes, Nathaniel Evans, for a cool cameo. I missed our old villain from Signs of Portents and once I realized Schriff played a role in the story I thought it would be cool to bring back more past threats as a nod for where we’ve been in the series.

And where we’re heading…

Did you enjoy the story? Did you like the nods to the past? Shoot me an email at lou@loupaduano.com to let me know.

Thanks for reading.

The Apartment Commentary – Bypass Thread

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The Apartment author commentary continues and your mandatory SPOILER WARNING is still in effect! Strap in kiddos cause here we go!!

Logic rules all

Logic, especially story logic, is and always will be my number one rule when it comes to writing. Things need to happen for a reason. If there is a way to make a story element fit within the massive structure already being built over the first three novels of the series then it needs to happen.

As long as it makes complete and total sense.

I’ve spoke about this before. Certain elements of the series have to carry over, character traits that would never disappear (unless mind control is in the mix, which DOES happen…), and other rules that each writer creates for their world.

So how do ghosts fit into the Greystone mythos?

I wanted a ghost story. I knew I had the perfect trappings of one. An abandoned apartment, kids trapped inside and Soriya playing the hero.

But where do ghosts come from when dealing with a city like Portents? With mythical creatures and legends becoming real, how do these specters play into it?

I wracked my brain on this one. It took WAY too long to figure it out, if I’m being honest, and I always am with you, dear reader.

The truth was I had no clue until I was going through the proofreading phase of The Medusa Coin.

The Bypass.

I wrote my answer months earlier. The Greystone was freaking out and, by extension, the Bypass was changing. Evolving. Fluctuating.

The Bypass stands as the center of existence, the crossroads of reality, as we know it. It holds every past, present and all futures within its orbit. So what happens to the dead? Are they floating inside?

And what happens when the Bypass shudders, when it shifts, and a flick of light escapes the chamber tucked under the city?

Taking the thread left by The Medusa Coin and being able to use it here, dove-tailed perfectly with where things were heading in the series. The threat of something happening to the Bypass needed to be explored and with its presence in the apartment as a means of transportation for the ghosts haunting our heroine, it created the story logic I needed to explain their presence.

Our friendly neighborhood ghosts…

I’m saving this one for next time. I’ll be talking about our friend, the Kindly Killer, who seems to continually pop into these pages and why that might be, as well as another friend tucked in the background of the tale.

But I’m sure you know who I’m talking about already, don’t you?

Thanks for reading!

The Apartment Commentary – Starting Points

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It’s been a couple weeks but the Pathways in the Dark author commentary continues!!! SPOILER WARNING ahead for The Apartment tale in the collection…

Starting Points

Truth be told, The Apartment was the very first idea I had coming out of Signs of Portents. At one point it was going to be a story tucked in Tales from Portents but then that collection turned out to be full of prequel stories and it didn’t fit.

From there, the concept of Soriya leaving the nest stuck with me. I thought it was a nice progression of her arc in the series, always looking for connections; always resenting Mentor’s stance of isolation for the betterment of the work.

When it came to The Medusa Coin, the initial outline had Soriya seeking out a new place to live. It was ancillary and really pulled people out of the story. Frankly, it didn’t interest me when looking at the overall narrative of the novel and it was quickly cut from further outlines.

However, I couldn’t let it go. I had been drawn to that moment for almost a year. In my head, it played more comedic as Soriya is forced to learn how to live a “normal” life amid the insanity that plagues her. A real super-hero dilemma compared to the nightmares she usually faces.

That wasn’t enough to sustain the story, though. Doing it for giggles, while tempting, offered no drama; no stakes and the initial concept petered out pretty quickly from there.

Telling a ghost story

I scare pretty easily. I don’t enjoy the feeling, the terror that comes with the horror genre. Yet, something always pulls me in that direction; some unnatural predilection to scaring the crap out of myself that made writing The Apartment so exciting.

When it came to finding a reason for why Soriya would pick a certain place to live, without relying a simple need to connect with people, I kept coming back to her work. Her commitment to Portents.

So what would draw her to this apartment at the Golden Palisades?

A ghost.

Something simple, yet mythic in how we’ve created lore around the idea of ghosts in the world. Those unwilling or unable to head to their natural end and remain stuck. What would they do? What would they want? These questions fascinate me as much as they terrify me and I wanted to figure it out.

The Apartment allowed that aspect. It opened Soriya to a new experience, multiple new experiences especially when taking into account the arrival of the kids – Davis and Kevin – to the story.

That was what Pathways was about; pushing this cast of characters into new situations to see where they would go. How they handle tragedy, violence, horror and even the mundane on their own…

Holding onto an idea

This one stuck with me longer than most and I was so glad it did. Soriya’s move fit perfectly with the themes being explored in the collection and it let me tell this haunting tale as a bonus.

Thanks for reading.

Connecting Factors – The Power in a Single Choice

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The author commentary of Pathways in the Dark continues with this look at the connecting factors in the stories contained in the collection! SPOILER WARNING is in full effect!

The power of a choice

That’s what it comes down to in the collection. Each character is tested, each of our cast is pushed to make a decision that will impact where they land as we head into the finale this fall.

The question at the heart of the narrative is simple:

Do we stand together or go it alone?

Each story puts this question into play. With Collateral, it is the driving force for how Soriya and Loren react to the arrival of the Phoenix. For Trustfall, Ruiz is forced to accept his daughter’s maturity as well as the growth of Dobson over the last two decades.

Using this question for each character, forcing them to face their concerns or run away from them is a central theme to Pathways in the Dark.

How they answer it was important to me and more crucial to the direction of the series.

Loren

He can’t face certain secrets that have come to light thanks to a certain photo. His inability to work with Soriya, his lack of trust, pulls him away from his one true partner. This distrust forces him to go it alone.

It will cost him greatly…

Soriya

This question was central to her character in The Medusa Coin and this collection served as a extension of that internal argument. She needs others, her need for connection constantly pushing her forward. Her decision to move out of the Bypass Chamber comes from this need. She reaches out to Gilgamesh for friendship. Trust is essential to her.

Especially when it comes to Loren. His decision, however, has put their partnership in jeopardy. The repercussions for this are coming this fall.

Myers

We haven’t discussed Samantha Myers’ solo feature yet but this question is the core of her struggle as well. She is being blackmailed. To what end? We don’t know… yet.

The fact that she internalizes it, that she refuses to come forward and trust anyone in this matter is her choice.

And one that puts them all at risk.

Ruiz

This question jumped out at me from looking at Trustfall. Ruiz’s struggle with sharing with his family, the constant conflict with keeping his family safe or telling them the truth of what is really out there is a fun one to explore.

He learned to trust in his wife but does that extend to his eldest daughter? Zoe is 18 and about to embark on her own life. She has to know but he holds back. That choice puts her at risk, something he swore would never happen.

It’s an eye-opening event in his life and one he takes to heart. Standing together, in Ruiz’s eyes, is the only option going forward.

What that means down the line will be revealed in…

September!

A Circle of Shadows is coming. Everything changes. The ultimate cost for their decisions comes to pass.

I can’t wait to share more about the book this summer!

Thanks for reading.

Trustfall – Standalone or a Part of the Whole?

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The Pathways in the Dark commentary continues! SPOILER WARNING ahead!!! One last look at the short story Trustfall from the collection…

The Return of the Kitsune

Last time I discussed bringing elements of The Great Divide back to explore how things have changed for Ruiz and his world in almost two decades.

Having Dobson and Harvey return allowed Ruiz to see this change and second guess his choices on all fronts. It was a fun exploration, one that challenged Ruiz’s conception of trust as well as the idea of good and evil as it related to these two forces from his past.

But what about the threat for the story? Who was committing these crimes?

This question led me back to Tales from Portents and another open-ended menace from the collection: The Kitsune.

When she showed up in The View from Above, she was using teens to commit petty theft for the thrill of it. I wanted to see the next step of that, where this ancient creature would go when she had nowhere else to turn.

I also thought it would be a nice nod to readers who had been there from the start. As I’ve often stated, I feel short stories tend to feel unimportant so bringing back past dangers, past relationships and expounding on them gives that sense of connective tissue I love with series writing.

Which brings me to my final point on the tale…

Standalone or a crucial piece to a larger puzzle?

This is something I struggle with constantly. Even as I write this I am working on the second book in a new series where this concept is coming into play.

My thoughts go back and forth on how best to handle individual books in a series. I believe in the standalone novel. I love the ability of picking up one story and having a beginning, middle and end.

Yet I also believe there should be connective tissue when it comes to a series. Subplots, overarching themes, history between characters, etc. All are crucial to make the journey feel more real for the reader.

When it came to Pathways in the Dark, my goal was simple. Six stories bridging the series from The Medusa Coin to where the characters need to be at the start of A Circle of Shadows. Each piece needed to stand on its own but I wanted each to feel like it was part of something bigger.

Some readers mentioned this as a fault. I totally accept that assessment. If you’ve come into the series at book four I completely take the blame for not making this collection stand on its own. There is more baggage with each new book and this one had its fair share to be sure.

My own thoughts are mixed…

I do, however, think with tales like Trustfall, The Apartment and Blackmail that there is a sense that you can read just this story and enjoy it on its own.

Are there elements of the wider story being told? Absolutely. Especially for Trustfall. Harvey’s inclusion, as I’ve hinted, is crucial to where the narrative is heading this fall. The Kitsune alludes to the growing shadows as well.

Looking at Trustfall on its own though, there is a beginning, middle and end. Ruiz is a father trying to protect his daughter from the outside world, something he can no longer do now that she’s heading to college. That’s the standalone story and if you read it as such it is a complete work.

If you’re looking at it from a Greystone Saga perspective there is enough connective tissue to the other stories to keep you moving for the next piece of the puzzle.

So in the eternal debate of standalone vs series I prefer to skirt the line right down the center…

Where do you fall on this debate? Email me at lou@loupaduano.com

Thanks for reading.

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