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

Promethean Author Commentary 6

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Welcome to the final installment of the Promethean Author Commentary. I hope you’ve enjoyed a look at the process behind the book, and the challenges it presented. I’m talking about Henry Reed this time around, so SPOILER WARNING is in effect.

Henry Reed

For me, monster of the week stories are so much fun to put together. I love figuring out the little details behind the situation, as well as the best way to connect with the main characters. Threats should always offer the reader a new facet of the character they’ve been following, whether it is a personal connection to the villain or some symbolic connection–a troubled past, broken home, type of job, etc..

Henry Reed wasn’t any of those things at first. His entire existence was as a blackmailed murderer, cleaning up loose ends for the Newton Group. He was the bad guy of the story.

I hated it.

There was no depth there with the first pass. There were clear lines in the sand when it came to good versus evil. I wanted to twist things around, and add some true complications to the story and to the players involved.

Who is Henry Reed?

That was the key to cracking the narrative. Who the hell was this kid?

Coming up with the mother angle was key to figuring out Henry. Once there was the sick mother, the person Henry needed to save more than anyone else in the world, I had a link to exploit. Everything fell into place from there.

He wasn’t a killer. He was a kid with a gift he couldn’t control.

Project Promethean was born.

Obviously, I had the project in mind first. The book was called Promethean for crying out loud, so there had to be something to it. What I didn’t have were the details. Explaining the government experiment brought more sympathy for Henry. It humanized his situation, and showed Ben. Morgan, and Zac just who they were dealing with and why.

I always tremble when it comes to exposition. Will it come across as stiff and forced? Does it flow naturally into the story and through the characters?

The first draft felt rough when it came to this moment. There was no Zac in the mix, which was the problem. I needed someone to offer up the info on a personal level, while also being able to give the scene a lighter touch than if it came from Ben or Morgan at this point. Their situation was deeply frayed because of Morgan’s resistance and Ben’s growing distrust of his situation.

Zac was the connection I needed to Henry to strengthen not only this moment but the story as a whole.

Bringing Zac into it

Zac allowed me to create a buffer for Morgan and Ben, but also added to the climax of the novel. When he’s abducted by Henry the stakes jump through the roof. Now there is someone on the line. Tensions rise and everything barrels toward the end of the novel because of Zac’s inclusion.

Changes made along the way

Henry as a killer. That was a big one to me. The first few drafts made it seem like Henry had killed in the past. Blackmail or no, that wouldn’t fly if I wanted readers sympathetic to the kid.

Reginald Kane forced his hand. That was something I played with multiple times. It was very difficult to stage the opening scene because Kane had to be the clear villain. Henry had to be defending himself, and then feel nothing but remorse at what he had done.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at Promethean. If you had any other questions about the book, feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to share the process behind these books.

Promethean Author Commentary 5

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The author commentary for Promethean continues with a look at Ben Riley’s subplot through the novel. SPOILER WARNING for those who haven’t read the book yet.

Ben’s Arc

I previously spoke about Morgan’s arc in the book. It was of a more personal nature and helped create a level of tension between her and Ben that I thought was more true to their characters (and most people, if I’m being honest).

Ben’s arc plays out in the subplot of Promethean. It opens with the mundane act of jogging, but once Ben settles at the mall to cooldown, the truth becomes clear.

He’s being watched.

Trust no one.

Again, the X-Files fan in me can’t help but drawing parallels between the two worlds. Ben is new to the DSA. He’s new to this life, so I wanted to make sure it felt that way.

The surveillance of Ben served three purposes.

  1. To isolate Ben. Who can he trust? He doesn’t know who is spying on him or why, only that it isn’t his imagination. Something is going on and he needs to figure it out. But where can he turn for both information and assistance?
  2. That led directly to his need to reconnect with Emily Wright, his former partner from Buffalo. She was the only person in his world to be there for him through thick and thin. Why wouldn’t he reach out to her? Why wouldn’t he let her know everything that is happening and then ask for her help? I wanted to show why that is no longer an option, and set up another thread that weaves through the series.
  3. To showcase Ben’s skills. He’s a cop. He should act like one… sometimes. Spotting his tail was the first step, then being able to pick out every member of the surveillance team thrown at him really proved that there was more to this guy than a disgraced beat cop.

Playing out the end

This was another scene that went through so many iterations it would make your head spin. Who was the mother that helps Ben escape from the two grunts intent on bringing him in? Why didn’t the desk sergeant in Buffalo remember Emily Wright? How does Ben break away and what intel does he have now?

These were questions that haunted me during the editing phase. Everything needed to make sense, to create a level of foreboding, that trapped Ben with the DSA while serving as a warning to him to watch his back.

Who the woman was is hinted at in Dark Impulses and fully revealed in The Wellspring.

Emily Wright

Her disappearance is one of the plotlines that weaves through the series. Ben’s subplot here was the beginning of that, and an important one. It leaves Ben completely powerless. He can’t go home to find her. He can’t reach out to her.

It is a major motivation for the choices he makes down the line, especially in Dark Impulses where his fear turns into a major threat for the team.

Planting seeds in the first season was always my goal. How they come to fruition is something I hope you’ll want to stick around to see.

Promethean Author Commentary 4

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Welcome back to the Promethean Author Commentary! SPOILER WARNING is in effect as I discuss the bonus scene that ended up making its way into the novel, and what an idiot I am for every thinking about leaving it out.

In the beginning…

Pretty dramatic, but cue the music and dim the lights. The year was 2015. I had no clue what I was doing and living off no sleep with two toddlers in the house. (Scary situation, right?)

In the fever dream that was my life back then, DSA Season One was conceived. Each installment was to be 12 parts with two or three sub-chapters per part. They would release weekly through a subscription service or newsletter. Each book would come with its own bonus material. The Clearing contained a short journal entry written by Morgan Dunleavy called Day One. It was her way of coping with what happened in Bellbrook as well as a way to better explain the circumstances of the missing population.

For Promethean, I went a step further and scripted a scene with Morgan and Coroner Diana Phelps.

But wait, that scene is in the book. What happened?

Well, me being an idiot thought the scene could easily be summarized by Morgan the next morning while Ben and Zac are rummaging through Henry Reed’s storage unit. Morgan explains how the body went up in flames before their eyes and they all realize the threat that they are facing.

See, back when I started, having a smaller beat sounded more reasonable. It felt like the way to go to keep readers engaged in the story and the scene itself could be offered as a bonus for those interested in what happened at the Coroner’s.

Bonus Scene, my #^@…

I love the scene. Every time I revisited the outline, every draft I wrote for Promethean, I kept coming back to that moment with Morgan, Phelps, and the burning body of Henry’s mother.

And every time I said, this has to be in the book.

It had to be.

Luckily, the format changed. With the novella size available to allow the story to breathe, I drafted a prose version of the bonus scene. Chapter Sixteen was born and it is the lynchpin for the entire book, in my opinion. It offers a clear look at what is happening, it gives a chance to showcase the true threat against the DSA when Hendricks’ team infiltrates the office to steal the body, and I really enjoyed writing the character of Phelps.

Side characters are the best.

Diana Phelps didn’t have to obey any rules when it came to putting together this scene. She has her part to play and then she is out for the rest of the book. No baggage. No backstory, except for what I slipped into her dialogue.

I love scenes with characters like these. They flesh out the world. Phelps curses up a storm, her enthusiasm is infectious, and she brought such a sense of wonder to the scene–a counter to Morgan who is really trying to piece this mystery together.

These are my favorite bits to write. If you look at other books I’ve written there is usually one scene where some random bit player shows up and spouts off about some aspect of the world. That’s pretty much me in a nutshell, and for Promethean, Phelps was my outlet.

Should she show up again? Let me know what you think.

Promethean Author Commentary 3

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The Promethean Author Commentary continues! This week is a look at the rocky start to the lead relationship in the series! SPOILER WARNING is in effect.

Ben and Morgan

It was clear when I was outlining the first season Ben and Morgan were the main leads for the series. DSA was shaped around them primarily, and everything flowed from their arcs throughout the narrative.

So, Promethean became the testing ground for their relationship. How would this work? Who would be in charge? How would they play off each other? What would irritate the living hell out of them?

This last question was what struck me as vital to writing their relationship. I found it fascinating to explore what would rub each of them the wrong way, and how that would impact their work. There are so many examples of partnerships formed out of circumstance, forced on one or both players. Most roll with that punch. Some don’t even bat an eye and the pair are totally in sync the whole time.

That never made sense to me. I wanted to play with the dysfunction of it all. But more than anything I wanted there to be a reason behind the distance between Ben and Morgan.

A Rocky Start

Morgan is at the epicenter of this. She pushes back on every advance in Ben’s arsenal. For every topic he tries to discuss with her, she puts up a defensive barrier rather than engage Ben on a personal level.

Sure, Ben is pretty irritating. I found it fun to make him so uncomfortable with silences that he becomes overly verbose, well past the point of annoyance.

To Ben, though, the mystery of Morgan’s resistance is almost as captivating as the main thread of the novel with Henry Reed. He’s new. He doesn’t understand the world of the DSA or any of the players behind the scenes. Being dropped into the thick of things has been overwhelming, but rather than throw him a lifeline, Morgan continues to play the “you’ll get used to it” card.

Having that level of tension in Promethean was crucial to making the story work for me. These two are complete strangers. Why on earth wouldn’t they butt heads over anything and everything?

Morgan’s Arc

Part of the reason I went back and showed Grissom’s “death” in The Clearing was to plant the seed for Morgan’s arc in Promethean. Losing Grissom was a huge blow to Morgan and one she has almost no time to consider before the team is sent to Bellbrook, where she then loses Ruth Heller.

Each loss staggers Morgan to the point of being absolutely unable to accept Ben into the fold. Not because he’s an outsider, not because he’s an idiot (though she certainly thinks he is), but because she is terrified to lose someone else.

Trauma is one of the themes of the series. Morgan’s here was one of the plot points I agonized over for weeks. Every draft, I went back to the moment outside the hospital where the pair have it out, wondering if I’ve earned that moment. That’s the thing about building an arc around someone. There has to be enough evidence throughout to actually earn the payoff at the end.

I think Morgan’s freak-out is one of the strongest moments in the novel, personally. It cemented their relationship in my mind and created the foundation for everything to follow. Without this moment, I don’t see why anyone would care what happened next.

Cover Tidbit

I don’t know if you pay attention to these things, but I always try to have MiblArt add some relevance with the background characters on the covers. For Promethean, I wanted to spotlight the rift between Ben and Morgan as they tackle this case, which is why they are turned away from each other on the cover.

Pretty cool, right?

What do you think about the rocky start for Ben and Morgan? I’d love to hear your comments.

Promethean Author Commentary 2

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The author commentary of Promethean continues! Lincoln MacKenzie starts a journey here that carries through the rest of Season One. Keep reading to find out where Lincoln’s path came about. SPOILERS AHEAD!

Splitting the team

I am a big fan of juggling plotlines. I love subplots and how they evolve through series into much larger events. That was one of the appeals of working on the DSA. The size of the cast allowed for the team to be split apart depending on the needs of the story. Not only did this allow me, as the writer, to jam more action/exposition/backstory into the mix, but it gave the reader (hopefully) a new dynamic to explore while the main plot fleshed out over the course of each installment.

If you look back at The Clearing‘s author commentary, you’ll know how stressed I was putting the enter field team into play. Four strong personalities pulled for attention with each scene, and staging everything was a real challenge. Maybe it was a cop-out to go the so-called easy route with Promethean, but I wanted to give the cast more time in the spotlight.

Lincoln’s injury in The Clearing opened the door to splitting the team. Because he is still recovering and can’t join Morgan and Ben in Chicago, Metcalf offers up a new assignment: tracking down the Witness.

With that simple introduction, all of a sudden there is a clear connection with the opening novel and a path for Lincoln to follow for the rest of the season.

Lincoln’s Path

Lincoln was one of my favorite elements in Season One. I loved his dedication to doing the job, from his time as a soldier to now, all in the cause of what is right. The Clearing introduced a new element of doubt to his life, though, and I felt that was compelling to follow. Not only did it create a real conflict–both internal and external–but that initial doubt allowed me to play with the concept of loyalty when it comes to a secret organization like the DSA.

Promethean is very much the first step of Lincoln’s path through Season One. The first draft offered little in terms of screen time for his journey. There was no library scene, no Stephanie Atwater briefing, no Sullivan interaction, just that initial conversation with Metcalf and the final scene where he goes off the grid to hunt down the Witness.

I wanted to flesh it out. Using the novel format helped in this regard. I had space to play with. I love how the Atwater scene came together, where Lincoln calls out the fact that the secretary is the only one giving him his intel. His animosity toward Sullivan felt genuine and clued the reader in on Lincoln’s loathing of stuffed shirts. That comes into play in Book 3 with his love for Morrison Engers and the devastation he went through with that loss.

The Library Scene

I’m proud of this addition. It was fun to give that little glimpse of the Witness and the power of his manipulation of Lincoln from start to finish. Lincoln’s interactions at the library were also something I felt were important to his overall arc as a character.

My editor wanted me to remove the subtle racism included in this section. I don’t know if you picked up on it, or if I’m confusing subtle for blatant, but I wanted to keep that moment. Lincoln is African American and his experiences would obviously be different than Ben or Zac, so offering that candid reflection on how not one single person offered to help him find what he needed, yet trailed his every move through the building, was a clear indicator as to what he endured in his life just because of the color of his skin.

I’m not a social commenter. I’m not attempting to stir up trouble politically on one end of the spectrum or another. I hate the level of discourse that floods social media these days. There is a time and place for such things, and a better way to express one’s opinion on, well, everything.

But I felt this was important to keep. Lincoln is the odd-man out in the DSA, and I wanted that expressed in his experiences with the world.

I will be talking more about where Lincoln’s path took him, and how that came to be, in future installments.

Next up: Morgan’s Arc with Ben

Promethean Author Commentary 1

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Welcome to the author commentary for Book 2 of the DSA’s inaugural season. Promethean was one of the absolute toughest books to crack. The concept started out very basic, but ballooned into a chance to showcase the growing conspiracy of the series as a whole.

SPOILER WARNING is in effect!

Initial Intentions

With every series I write, my goal is to tell a complete story within the confines of a single book. There is always some bleed-through to other installments, the natural evolution of subplots into main plots and such.

Promethean was very much a standalone adventure during the outlining/drafting phase. Henry Reed was the central figure in the tale, one who went too far when pushed. He was the threat in the original version, if you can believe that.

The FBI was involved, without a key Hendricks-type character in the mix, but their role was more competitive with the DSA than anything else. They were investigating on a secondary front and the DSA was obstructing their efforts. I still remember the handwritten outline for the book contained a massive car chase with the FBI near the climax.

One line on paper. “FBI chases DSA through the Chicago streets.”

That was where the story built from. It’s insane how the book evolved over time.

Growing Conspiracy

I’d like to think it was the development of Connor Hendricks into the story that changed the dynamic of the whole book for me. Having that type of character, playing both sides against the middle, really helped flesh out the true threat and create sympathy for Henry Reed’s situation.

Hendricks came about by way of Alex Krycek from X-Files. (Shocker, I know…)

I wanted Ben to have a foe he just loathed from start to finish. One of my favorite moments from X-Files is when Mulder sees Krycek show up and he just runs up and decks him. That’s the visceral reaction I wanted Ben to have for this guy–especially when things escalate at the end of the season.

Hendricks also allowed the birth of the Newton Group, a splinter-cell of the Trust that readers are just starting to learn about. Between Hendricks and Kane and Sullivan and Stallworth, there is a sense of the expanding conspiracy growing against the DSA. That wider scope was something I wanted to bring into the background of the series. It added a level of danger beyond the monster of the week elements, in my opinion.

Let the rewrites begin

The problem with a growing conspiracy, especially one that needs to evolve organically and feel like it’s been there the whole time, is the details! Lord, the details!

I wrote entire scenes of backstory connecting each player to the next in the hopes of having it make sense. Chapters were restructured and rebuilt to conform to the new dynamic between Hendricks and the DSA, between Sullivan and Hendricks, between Reginald Kane and basically everyone.

Promethean was, without a doubt, the most complicated book I’ve put together so far. A ton of elements were thrown into the mix, from the Ark at the end to the symbol for the Newton Group to Henry Reed’s mother’s role with the Trust. Everything had to make sense and fall in line with where the series was headed and what it meant for Ben, Morgan and the rest of the DSA.

For all the headaches this book brought me, Promethean remains one of my favorites. I loved playing with the spontaneous combustion lore, building the mystery, and putting together the climax which remains one of the strongest for the series (to me).

Next up: Lincoln’s Path

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