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

Writing Update – June 25, 2018

By

Sometimes you can think you’re unstoppable, that when push comes to shove you can move heaven and earth to get the work done.

Then June rolls around…

Writing Update

It’s almost a misnomer. I’m plugging away at DSA Season One and will be for quite some time. The truth of the matter, however, is that the family has come first for the last month. And it should.

I started pouring every waking hour into Greystone back in March 2016. For over two years every nap, every evening and every weekend went into crafting the five novels in the series. It went into marketing. It went into promotion, newsletters, blogs, and every other crazy facet of this world.

Away from my kiddos. Away from my wife.

It hasn’t been fun for them.

This past month showed me that big time.

This summer, I’m restructuring some goals and working on a new way to build what is coming for the next few years. And I’m taking some time to be with my family.

So what’s coming your way?

A Circle of Shadows just arrived in my mailbox this week. I’m reading through it and closing the last minute issues. I think it is the perfect send-off for the series for now. I hope you’ll agree.

The pre-order is live on Amazon for the ebook! Check it out today.

Lots more story to tell in the city of Portents but for now this is goodbye.

I’m buckling down to complete edits on DSA Season One, Book Two entitled Promethean. I love the story involved and the character interactions and hope I can pull it together in the self-editing phase. It’s been a bear of a time working on the details and fleshing out story logic for some long term plans in the series, however, I think you’ll find it all worthwhile when you see the results down the line.

To break away from editing, I’m finally putting an outline together for a new sci-fi, space opera series called Red Epsilon. Five books are planned with more in the offering down the line. It’s a love letter to Star Trek and Babylon 5 about a reluctant crew forced to stand against a growing darkness in the universe. Book One is called Ancient Weapons and I’m hoping to script it out this summer so it is ready to draft during NaNoWriMo this November.

Sci-Fi Valley Con

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my table in Altoona a couple weeks back. It was a fun time meeting new readers and showing them how awesome the Greystone series can be. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the books!

Time to hunker down and get this book DONE!

Thanks for reading.

The Greystone Saga Volume Two – OUT NOW!

By

OUT TODAY!! The Greystone Saga Volume Two is available for purchase at any and all greater retailers!!!

            

The shadows are growing…

Over 600 pages of monsters, myths and murder as Soriya and Loren struggle against the growing menace surrounding the city of Portents. This box set contains books 3 and 4 of the series and offers an EXCLUSIVE sneak peek at the gripping finale coming your way this September, A Circle of Shadows!!!

Nothing will ever be the same again.

The seeds are planted here. Follow one man’s desperate quest for immortality in The Medusa Coin and then continue the journey of our principal characters in Pathways in the Dark as each must face a dark choice.

Not everyone will make the right one.

Partnerships crack while others cement. Dangers from the past return.

Can Soriya and Loren survive the growing threats in Portents?

Find out in this box set!! Only $2.99 for 2 books during the limited time launch sale!

Grab your digital copy of The Greystone Saga Volume Two now…

            

A Circle of Shadows Sneak Peek

By

There is more to be unveiled come Tuesday with the release of The Greystone Saga Volume Two, however, I couldn’t resist sharing some tidbits about the climactic finale of the first arc of the series!!!

A Circle of Shadows

The war for Portents has begun.

The mayor is dead, his cause of death: a Greystone. Soriya flees into the shadows of the night, accused of a heinous murder. She is alone; those who trusted her, including Greg Loren, now stand against her. But even Detective Loren doesn’t see what this truly is: a distraction.

From the shadows rises a new threat, one that has lain in wait from the beginning. She ushers in the return of the Heads of Cerberus—and with it, the promise of Portents’ last sunrise. Meanwhile, Loren inches closer to finding the truth about Beth’s murder. But can his shattered heart face the truth of his late wife’s killer—or about the secrets she harbored from him in the months before her death?

The climactic finale of the Greystone Saga’s first massive storyline will leave readers breathless and stunned, desolately questioning the motives of once-trusted characters.

The culmination of two years of work.

The series has been building to this moment since Signs of Portents was published back in August 2016. Every short story, every installment, has fleshed out the drama contained within these pages. Everything was set for a purpose and that purpose is about to be revealed.

Everything changes with this one and you don’t want to miss what’s coming.

A Circle of Shadows arrives on September 11, 2018!!!

The Greystone Saga Volume Two

The box set arrives next week and contains your exclusive sneak peek at the finale. Six chapters from A Circle of Shadows to pull you in and tease at the revelations to come.

Pre-order your copy today!

            

I love the way it came together and can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the series as a whole once it arrives in September.

Thanks for reading.

Writing Update – May 28, 2018

By

A busy month over here. Lots of projects coming together so let’s get to it!

Writing Update

Welcome to the D.S.A.

So excited to announce the new series next year!! The D.S.A is something I’ve been tinkering with since 2015, an episodic series with a seasonal structure.

I am two books in on this science-fiction conspiracy thriller. It mashes my love of The X-Files with big question mysteries like The Atlantis Gene.

Because of the structure each book will be delivered rapid fire from the last. Every other month or even monthly depending on a few other variables, so that the action is front and center on your Kindle.

The first season is six books with a free prequel only available for newsletter subscribers!

The D.S.A. Season One launches next summer.

Greystone

The Greystone Saga Volume Two comes out June 12th!! Have you ordered your copy yet?

            

This box set contains The Medusa Coin and Pathways in the Dark, as well as a sneak peek at the climactic finale coming your way this September, A Circle of Shadows.

I spent most of the week putting the manuscript together and was immediately pulled back into the world. I am missing Portents something fierce. I can’t wait to dive back into the world at the end of this year with some cool short stories revolving around Soriya’s training and a fun Loren story dealing with his prophetic dreams. (Fun might be a stretch when it comes to Loren…you get the idea.)

Reading

Bravo by Greg Rucka – I had some difficulty getting into this one. The fault is mine though as drafting seems to pull me out of the world more and more often. This follow up to Alpha was an incredible thrill ride. Fast paced, action packed, Jad Bell’s story grabs you and refuses to let up until the last page. Rucka jams this book with detail and his character work is flawless. Loved it.

Sci-Fi Valley Con is in less than 2 weeks!

I assume you’ll be there. Of course you will. Who would want to miss out on the insane line up of guests at this show?

Grab your ticket today and I’ll see you in Altoona!

Stop by my booth at the show and say hello!

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Collateral Commentary – Using the Greystone

By

The Collateral commentary concludes here so SPOILER WARNING is in effect!

A reason for everything…

I go out of my way to make this the one truth behind anything I write. There has to be a reason for everything. It has to make sense, both from a character perspective and a plot perspective.

From clothing to speech pattern it all comes from these two factors.

For example: In one of the early novels, Soriya made a reference to Scooby Doo. I want to say it was The Consultant or possibly another story from Tales from Portents, but it was in there through much of the editing process.

It was funny and matched the scene perfectly.

It was also completely out of character. Does Soriya own a television? Negative. Does she ever make a pop culture reference unless it is to question something Loren says? Nope.

Should she know what the hell Scooby Doo is? Of course. Everyone should know what Scooby Doo is and how eternal those old cartoons are. Would she know about it? No way. No how.

It had to go.

See? Reasons for everything.

Including the Greystone

I expected more crap for this. Every instance of a rune showing up I waited for someone to shoot me an email to lay into me for my lack of imagination. Does Soriya depend on the same four or five runes to defend herself from the menaces she faces?

Yes, she does. Collateral, especially, when Soriya confronts the Phoenix in the alley, she blasts her with the same two runes rather than come up with a new game plan.

Is it just my lack of imagination or inability to research some new tactic? No. Not this time anyway…

The truth behind her lack of diversity, and my reasoning behind it when I put together a scene, is that when it comes to assaults using the Greystone it is always based on her knowledge. It comes from her training with Mentor. He knew a specific way of doing things and that was what he taught her.

She continues to utilize that knowledge to the best of her ability.

Why is this important? Why mention this at all?

Ah, dear reader, you know me too well. There is a reason for everything including this blog. See, Soriya is about to learn more about the Greystone than she ever thought possible in A Circle of Shadows.

You will see more runes, more languages, more signs, and more danger because of them than every before.

The first reason for Soriya’s continued use of the same limited number of runes came from character.

The plot reason comes to play in September’s release of A Circle of Shadows.

A monumental shift is coming this fall to Greystone. Get ready.

So no hate mail about the runes, okay?

Thanks for reading.

Pathways in the Dark Author Commentary Introduction

By

This is absolutely my favorite time of the year. If you’re anything like me, you love to listen or read the author commentary on a book, film, DVD collection… anything that brings insight into something you loved. To me, the process behind putting a final product together adds to the enjoyment of the product itself.

Pathways in the Dark Author Commentary Begins!

If you’ve enjoyed the book already feel free to dive in right from the start. If you haven’t, be aware that I will be going in-depth into each and every short story contained within. I won’t deliberately go out of my way to ruin a plot point, especially if it doesn’t pertain to what I am talking about during the blog.

Remember, if there is something you desperately have to know about the making of Pathways in the Dark, be sure to email me at lou@loupaduano.com. I have my general list of items I want to hit for the next few months (yeah, it’s a little long…) so be sure if there is something you really found interesting in the book and want to know how it ended up in the draft LET ME KNOW!! Can’t wait to hear from you.

Why this project?

This is a question I will answer for each and every short story in the collection. However, looking at the book as a whole I think this is important as well. I’m not a fan of short stories. I don’t typically read them, anthologies, or the like. I’ve never felt they carried the same weight or meant as much to a series as a full-length installment.

I was wrong.

Or, at least, I set out to prove that conceit was incorrect.

Pathways in the Dark, like Tales from Portents before it, is vital to the Greystone series and deliberately so. There are so many little tidbits layered into the collection. Pieces of a puzzle yet to even be formed in some cases, that I can’t see the series without this book. The overall narrative fails without the arcs contained in Pathways.

Ruiz’s lesson in Trustfall. Soriya’s new apartment. The backstory of Samantha Myers. Each one was designed to showcase a character and propel them forward, to push them toward A Circle of Shadows while also putting them to the test to explain why they are important to the story, to understand who they are and where they’ve been when the next novel opens.

It is a much different collection than Tales from Portents. One that owes much to that first collection, but one that when all is said and done very much stands on its own as a moment in time for these characters and the choices they have made. The impact of those choices and how they came about.

The price they’ve paid or will pay because of them.

Collateral starts next time!

Feel free to drop me a line and let me know your thoughts and if you would like to hear more about a part of the book or the series at lou@loupaduano.com.

Always happy to hear from you.

Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: Links throughout this site may be affiliate links. All commission earned through these links go to Eleven Ten Publishing to produce more books for your reading pleasure.

You can view our privacy policy here.

Recent Posts