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

The Great Divide Commentary Part 1

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The next several months will bring author commentaries on all six stories contained within the Tales from Portents collection. My hope is to offer insight into the decisions made in putting the project together and the challenges therein. It’s also fun to point out the little Easter eggs throughout. (I love that crap.) So, SPOILER WARNING is in effect for the duration.

The rise of Alejo Ruiz

Alejo RuizThere were a number of initial notes made when putting this project together. If you’ve read my previous posts on Tales from Portents you know the idea was to create a prequel for Signs to offer readers as an added incentive to bring them into the Greystone fold. One story and only one.

It kinda blew up from there. It happens.

From those initial notes I realized the chance to add depth to the major and minor players that exist within the city of Portents. The Great Divide served as a vehicle to showcase one of my favorite characters in the series; Alejo Ruiz.

The focus for Signs of Portents was strictly on the journey of Greg Loren and Soriya Greystone. Ruiz was involved, for sure, but kept to the side for a large chunk of the narrative. I wanted to give him some space to shine.

Why?

Two reasons (and very important ones at that).

  1. Building up the cast – Supporting characters should be strong and layered. They bolster the main leads and the world around them, so by offering some time to Ruiz I hoped to make him more integral to the story as a whole.
  2. The Medusa Coin – Plotting ahead is SO helpful sometimes. Ruiz plays a huge role in The Medusa Coin. Knowing the events coming up, his inclusion as the lead for The Great Divide was a no-brainer as well as some of the story beats that ended up in the final draft of the tale. EVERYTHING has a payoff down the line. That is the fun of writing a series.

A thematic bridge

There were a number of places this story could have gone. As a prequel the door was open for a tale from any time Alejo Ruizbefore Signs of Portents. No other restriction. I settled on two notions that get right to the heart of the character, both creating a thematic bridge between novels.

The first, and the initial thread, I wanted to pull was Ruiz’s hatred of the world Soriya represents. He is one of the few people that knows about the true city and what is out there in the darkness of Portents. That is a heavy load to carry and I wanted to play with that responsibility.

More than that, I wanted to play with his anger toward it. His reaction is so different than that of Soriya and Loren when it comes to the monsters lurking around every corner. He hates it and wants nothing to do with it.

Why? That was my jumping off point and how I landed at the beginning of his journey with The Great Divide.

The second thematic element ran in line with the title of the piece. The great divide is about Ruiz and his wife. Ruiz’s childhood is hinted at several times, including the trouble between his parents. He has done everything possible to avoid those missteps, but in learning the truth ends up falling into the same trap.

The great divide started in this tale plays out fully in The Medusa Coin. Knowing that blowup was coming and seeding it here, allows the end of his arc to be that much more powerful.

Tidbits

The monkey decoration adorning the nursery at the Ruiz home is taken from the nursery for my children – who might actually be monkeys the way they bounce through the house.

The story of the yellow eyed bird monster is not over. There is something coming I am very excited to share about this menacing figure and his relationship with Alejo Ruiz.

Next time

Mentor’s presence in The Great Divide. How it evolved as the story came together.

Thanks for reading.

Writing Update – March 30, 2017

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The end of March already?! Unbelievable. A crazy month here in the basement. Lots of fun stuff planned including a big birthday bash for the love of my life today – HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MELINDA! – so let’s get you a writing update STAT.

Writing Update

Pathways in the Dark is where most of my attention has been the last few weeks. I have three of the seven short stories drafted and hope to knock out the rest over the course of April, possibly dipping into May depending on the other sixteen priorities that seem to crop up every time I turn around.

I had some trouble maneuvering through the last tale I drafted. Part of it is a focus issue for sure. Part is the birthday mania known as March. I am happy to say I have stepped out of the wilderness stronger than ever and looking forward to tackling some really cool shorts about your favorite Greystone characters.

This is a much different book than Tales from Portents turned out to be. Where Tales offered background information and some nice asides for the cast of the series, Pathways is about pushing the characters toward their final destination. It really is about finding the light in all the shadows surrounding the city of Portents and working from that point has made it a stronger collection, in my opinion. We’ll see how it all shakes out!

The Medusa Coin is still with my favorite readers but the feedback so far has been very positive. I’ll be diving back into it in a few weeks to give it a once over. I’ve already noted a couple tweaks to tighten up some plot points that I don’t know why I didn’t see months ago.

Closing the circle

The final book in the first half of the Greystone series is starting to take shape. (Another distraction from drafting but a welcome one.) I woke up in the middle of the night last week with the answer to a question plaguing the series from the start.

I know what happened the day Beth died.

There were inklings before, little hints not only for myself but for you. Now I have the story behind the tragic events that opened the series.

It has really caused me to rethink much of my planning with the series but the resolution of the long running plot next year will make the work stronger in the long run.

Made me sad to realize the truth though… Loren is in for some tough days.

Promotion City

As if writing wasn’t enough I have set up quite the April festivity for the Greystone series.

Signs of Portents is currently free through Instafreebie and will be part of the SFF Mega Promo from April 10th – April 16th. The March promo books are still listed until April 1st. If you’re interested in some cool reads, snag them up before they are replaced this weekend. Signs will also be part of a Superhero/Fantasy themed promotion put together by Future House Publishing running the same dates. As soon as I have a link I will make it available through social media.

Very excited to be part of both of these promos. I really hope this builds steam for the series and the upcoming release of The Medusa Coin.

And remember, books listed are FREE!

Tales from Portents, not one to be left out of the fun, will be part of the sister promo to the SFF Mega Promo, this one spotlighting 99-cent releases. The SFF 99c Promo will be running from April 10th through the 16th but you can also snag a discounted copy today at the following:

            

And don’t forget the Goodreads giveaway is still going on. Enter today for a chance at a FREE SIGNED PAPERBACK of Tales from Portents!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Tales from Portents by Lou Paduano

Tales from Portents

by Lou Paduano

Giveaway ends April 20, 2017.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Dominion Rising:

Dominion Rising: 22 Brand New Novels from Top Fantasy and Science Fiction Authors by [White, Gwynn, Erin St Pierre, P.K. Tyler, S.M. Blooding, Samuel Peralta, K.J. Colt, Anthea Sharp, Daniel Arthur Smith, Lisa Blackwood, S.M. Schmitz, Melanie Karsak, Dean F. Wilson, Margo Bond Collins, D.K. Holmberg, Felix R. Savage, Tom Shutt, Pippa DaCosta, Timothy C. Ward, Tony Bertauski, Rebecca Rode, Cheri Lasota, Ann Christy, Becca Andre, Logan Thomas Snyder, Erin Hayes]For those looking to try out a whole slew of the best and brightest authors around in Science Fiction and Fantasy, check out the Dominion Rising box-set.

22 brand new novels are being offered in this set for only 99-Cents!!

From the back cover:

Find the Science Fiction and Fantasy reads you’ve been craving! Whether it’s alien invasion or dark fairytales, heart-pounding galactic adventures or cyberpunk romance, Dominion Rising will satisfy with a thrilling mix of 22 all-new full-length novels set in fantastical realms.

Sword and sorcery, far-flung galactic empires, alternative history, epic magic, slipstream futures: this collection of carefully selected, exclusive novels is sure to delight readers of speculative fiction.

Over five thousand pages packed with aliens, faeries, vampires, gargoyles, warriors, telepaths, space pirates, starship captains, hapless mercenaries, street urchins, robots, cyber-enhanced humans, badass heroines, and lost princesses.

These award-winning, New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling authors have left no stone unturned in the science fiction and epic fantasy universe to bring you the very best escape from planet Earth.

All the novels are available exclusively in the Dominion Rising collection.

The collection will be released on August 8th but you can pre-order your copy today!

I already purchased my copy. Can’t wait to dive into it this summer.

More on the promos in two weeks!

Thanks for reading.

Author Commentaries

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I don’t know about you but after I read something and thoroughly enjoy it I like to know as much about the project as possible. What choices were made in the background? How was the initial concept conceived? Thoughts about specific moments and the level of difficulty in pulling it together. I find author commentaries fascinating in this regard.

Tales from Portents Author Commentaries

The second installment of the Greystone series has been out for a little over a month now. You’ve read it and loved every freaking second of it, I am sure.

If not – for shame – some handy dandy links will take you to your favorite retailer to procure a copy.

               

Why should you snag it now and devour it eagerly? Besides the fact that it is currently only 99-cents digitally right this very minute????

Author commentaries are on the way next week!

I did this with Signs of Portents and really enjoyed digging into the process and where things changed from draft to final manuscript. Being the forward thinker I am – HA – I took some time during the editing process and the many readings therein to mark down what I thought were interesting nuggets about each and every entry in the Tales from Portents collection.

author commentaries

Every story had its trials, its changes and I wanted to share them with you. Like I said, I find author commentaries fascinating because they inform the writing process. Understanding how to think around obstacles in order to create a more satisfying reading experience.

Spoiler Warning

I will be talking about what happens in each story and I don’t want the experience ruined for you. You have been warned!

If there is a specific topic (plot point, scene, character, etc.) you would like mentioned please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to share. Unless it spoils future novels. If you want me to tell you how everyone dies in a fiery crash, I’m not going to do it. Oh, wait… Forget I wrote that.

Reviews

If you’ve read Tales from Portents and haven’t been able to write a review yet, they would be greatly appreciated. Reviews really are the only social proof authors have that they’ve written something halfway decent that people will enjoy. Thank you for taking the time to help spread the word about Tales and all the Greystone novels.

           

   

And 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.

Writing Update – March 16, 2017

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I’m buried under a foot of snow, I’m fighting a week long head cold, and the kids turned four and two last week. But enough about me, bring on the writing update!

Writing Update

The Medusa Coin IS DONE! I worked my proverbial tuchas off trying to button this bad boy up over the last four weeks. This one almost broke me, and probably led to the week long head cold. This is the first full-length novel I’ve put together since bringing the site live back in August. The first one I’ve written since the initial draft of Signs of Portents back in 2013.

I was worried to say the least.

After many revisions and quite a few late nights rejiggering different elements into place, I think I’m at a place to let this one go for a bit. I’ve sent it to my favorite first readers for their thoughts, hoping they will remember my fragile ego and go easy on me.

I’ve also opened up the opportunity for more beta readers on this one. If you are interested in reading a raw draft of The Medusa Coin, follow the link to learn more about what I’m looking for. My deadline is April 20th to have the draft read and notes sent back. I know it’s tight and hope to give more time for the next installment.

Speaking of which:

Pathways in the Dark

Book Four in the series is progressing. This one is another short story collection, taking place in the aftermath of The Medusa Coin. I finished the script level drafts of the six tales last month but it felt like something was missing.

There was and it came to me in the form of a little epilogue currently titled, The Gathering. What I loved most about Tales from Portents was the fact that when you finished The Consultant you knew where Soriya was headed and what followed with Signs of Portents. I wanted that feeling. That cliff jumping moment where the reader made it to the end of Pathways and screamed that they needed book five in their hands NOW.

The Gathering accomplishes this and I am so happy it came together. Time to sit down and start drafting the remaining five stories. (After the NyQuil wears off…)

Lots of promo stuff coming up for Signs and Tales starting April 1st so be on the lookout for some great opportunities to snag a copy on the cheap. I’ll be talking about them at length during the next update.

Thanks for reading.

Switching Gears From Editing to Drafting

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After two months of nit-picking and questioning every word choice, every story beat, perspective shift and every other piece of The Medusa Coin, it is time to switch gears from editing to drafting. Editing is very much based in problem solving. Critically thinking through each and every facet of the narrative from the macro to the micro and back again.

Writing is so much more freaking fun, isn’t it?

Letting go of the old for the new.

switch gearsIt’s tough. Four months of work on The Medusa Coin, living with the story day and night, can be extremely difficult to walk away from for a new project. Hell, for a break in general. Every fiber of your being wants to look over the draft ONE MORE TIME. Does it make enough sense? Is it all there? Did something get lost in translation from thought to action to final edit?

Let someone else decide that for you. When the bell rings and the draft is there, as clean as it can get (no scimping on your end) then it is time to hand it off to another reader.

Put it out for your coveted beta readers to shred and give yourself time to discover new worlds or the next phase of your current epic.

 

Putting pen to paper again.

After finishing a full-length novel of 85,000 beautifully constructed words (one hopes) where the hell do you start for the next thing?

Sure, a vacation might sound nice at this point. Maybe you never want to look at your computer again after wrestling with your last project for months on end. A break is deserved but eventually it is time to get back to it.

It might be said quite often on my end, but it always holds true. Start small. 

Write small notes. If the next novel isn’t there is there something in its place? Some itch to explore or thread to pull from a random thought or dream? Diversions can lead to great story moments or a great story to tell when you stumble on a completely new endeavor.

Write a short story. Or a poem. Or something different than a behemoth of a book. Not only does it feel like less of a climb to completion but it also stretches different muscles and allows you to practice your craft on a different level. When you only have 10,000 words to tell your tale how does that impact your thinking? What ends up on the cutting room floor? What works better and what doesn’t?

Experimentation leads to growth.

That, more than most anything, is why Greystone is formatted the way it is for the first cycle. Full-length novels are staggered with short story collections between them. It allows me to try new things and test the waters with new avenues of telling stories.

And why I am so looking forward to Pathways in the Dark. The seven stories within are plotted, scripted and ready to rock and roll.

But sometimes experimentation means heading out of your comfort zone completely. I have another project I am working on in the background. If everything works out you’ll hear more about it in about six months. If not there is always next year, but I know it is going to come through eventually.

Start small. Experiment.

But you damn well better get your work done too.

Thanks for reading.

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