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

A Look Ahead at 2018

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Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year! Most years I take Christmas break to frontload as much work for the following year as possible. This year? Not so much. Between potty training my youngest and moving into a new home, work was in short supply this December.

A Look Ahead…

Now the fun begins.

2018 marks the end of a journey I started back in 2007 with the very first scripted version of Signs of Portents. Greystone has been with me ever since and to see the first half reach its conclusion this fall has me giddy. This last week has been all about returning to Portents and buttoning up the fifth book’s self-editing phase. I think it is the best installment yet and hope you’ll agree.

But before we get there…

February 20, 2018

Pathways in the Dark arrives. Book Four of the Greystone series is a short story collection taking place immediately after the events of The Medusa Coin. Tensions flare up between Loren and Soriya that will significantly change the dynamic of their partnership going forward. Ruiz deals with life as a full-time dad for the first time and the challenges it brings. Myers gets a turn at the spotlight with more information about the secrets she holds and how it will impact Loren down the line. Lots of important moments and even some hints at what the second half of the series will bring to Portents.

The shadows are closing in on Loren and Soriya. Will they see the signs in time or will they be too late to prevent the darkness that is about to be unleashed?

September 2018

The big one. Book Five of the Greystone series – A Circle of Shadows. It’s all been building up to this. Secrets held by all. Relationships come to light. Old threats return and new ones rise.

Loren and Soriya’s relationship lies shattered but both will be needed as war comes to Portents.

When I started putting together this last novel I knew some of the elements. I had ideas for others. But it took Tales from Portents and The Medusa Coin to solidify the core of what is coming in this book. I thought I knew the story inside and out. I was wrong.

And it is so much better than I could have imagined.

And then what?

I’m nailing down the details for what comes next. I have The Lost Outpost waiting in the wings but there are a number of other projects demanding more and more time. Stay tuned for a ton of announcements later this year. New books. New free novellas, including the first of four set in the Greystone world.

2018 is going to be a huge year for me but it is nothing compared to what I hope to unleash in 2019.

Want to stay up to date on what’s coming?

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Thanks for reading!

The Medusa Coin Commentary – Building Subplots 2

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The commentary continues for The Medusa Coin and a sneak peek ahead at book five of Greystone so… SPOILERS AHEAD!

The growing shadows…

Very few ask about the overarching plot of Greystone. Maybe they are living in the moment, enjoying the books as they come and not questioning what comes next.

Or maybe they haven’t seen what’s been hiding in the text since the beginning.

Well, maybe not the beginning.

For me, when I wrote Signs of Portents the first twenty-five times there was no series. It was a standalone comic book mini-series with a beginning, middle and end. As it evolved and I started to see further development opportunities I realized there could be something in the background.

A built in subplot that could grow and change and shape the series over time. Something vague and easily missed but alluded to so much more when you looked deeper at the events in Portents.

I wrote it in a single line of Signs at first. Just a blip that even I had no clue as to its true meaning but it was there for me to explore when I was ready.

A Circle of Shadows.

Mentor has it pinned to his map in the Bypass chamber. Just a note without any other scribbling or justification for Soriya or Loren to glean at the time.

From there the moment grew. The Medusa Coin is flush with references to the circle growing until the end.

But there is something else there as well. Mentor sees it when he visits the Bypass on his hunt for Nathaniel Evans. You get a glimpse of the shadow at the start of Henry Erikson’s journey when they offer him the coin to save his life. Someone has been working in the background, bringing these threats to life in Portents.

And now both threats are converging on Soriya and Loren next September.

A Circle of Shadows, book five of the series, brings everything together. All the threats, all the mysteries come to a head here in the climactic finale to the Greystone series’ first major arc.

Every story plays a part. Every hint at the larger story is touched upon. Secrets are revealed the city faces its darkest hour.

And one has to fall…

I can’t wait for you to read this book. I think it is the best one yet and really hope you feel the same come September.

You’ll be hearing more about the book quite often next year but for now, go back and read the first books of the series. The clues are there for what is coming. And more are coming your way in February with Pathways in the Dark.

It’s going to be a fun ride.

A Look Ahead at Greystone

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Every once in awhile there comes a point when the mental conversation that continuously swims in my brain needs to spill out on the page. Or in this case, the blog. I can keep things pretty straight most of the time, tucking little nuggets of information into posts and then keeping the sweet revelations for a later date.

This time I wanted to share what was ahead in the coming year and beyond.

Not only is my hope to whet your appetite so you’re as excited as I am for the upcoming collection, Tales from Portents, but also to add some accountability for myself. A little extra motivation to hit my deadlines (the earlier the better) won’t hurt and give me a roadmap to follow.

2017

February 17th – Tales from Portents. The first short story collection in the Greystone series. A prelude to the events of Signs of Portents, Tales was originally meant to serve one purpose: set up the events already depicted in Signs. As I plotted out the stories I wanted in the collection I realized that it could do much more than that.

It could act as a bridge between novels. Both thematically and in action. A project I was very nervous about publishing has become one of the most influential pieces of the puzzle for what is to come in the first cycle. Trust me, each story plays a part in what is coming.

September 8th – The Medusa Coin. The second full-length novel of the series and a story I have had kicking around my head since 2009. New characters are introduced and a great new threat as well. A few of them actually. When I originally wrote the outline there was a little trepidation.

The Medusa Coin stands as the midpoint for the first cycle of the series. Not only did it need to build on the first novel, there also had to be a path to the final chapter as well. Subplots from seeds planted in Signs start to form a bigger picture without losing sight of the main thrust of this standalone novel.

A tightrope act to be sure, but I think it will work out.

December 1st – Founder’s Day. Much like Resurrectionists, Founder’s Day is a novella offered ahead of the second short story collection. When developing the lineup for the next collection I thought back to Tales for inspiration and realized there were plenty of threads left to pull.

Including a direct sequel to Resurrectionists itself. If you haven’t read it yet, I won’t spoil it here. Suffice it say, Founder’s Day plays off the events witnessed in the novella with a heavy nod to the history of Portents laid out in Signs. The script came together beautifully and I am looking forward to drafting it once The Medusa Coin is set.

2018

February 9th – Pathways in the Dark. The second short story collection plays off the events of The Medusa Coin. It follows our leads directly from the threat posed and builds on the decisions made at the end. Each story stands alone but all connect to the larger framework of the first cycle.

Elements from all the previous books play a role in Pathways. Some of the tales within have been kicking around the old noodle for years so to finally see them come to life is a great feeling.

September 14th – A Circle of Shadows. I’ve been holding back this title for months, waiting to see if someone would ask me about its mention in Signs of Portents. Wondering if people noticed it sitting in the background when they read early iterations of Tales from Portents. This is the big finale to the first cycle.

Every time I close my eyes I see the pieces taking shape. I see each side of the conflict becoming more and more complex and developed. This won’t be like the first two full-length novels. This is bigger in scope and in cast.

There have been threats loose in Portents for longer than anyone has known.

And they are about to come to light.

Get ready.

Get excited. I know I am. Putting this series together (and laying the seeds for the next trilogy) has been one of the best things about the last year. (Don’t tell my kids that though…)

Thanks for reading.

Resurrectionists

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