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

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

The Clearing Author Commentary 6

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A final note about The Clearing in this author commentary as I look at the influences behind the series. SPOILER WARNING is in effect, maybe for more than just the DSA…

Major Influences

The X-Files

I think there can be no doubt about the influence of The X-Files on DSA. The stories of Mulder and Scully continue to follow me to this day. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without this show and the vital impact in had on me as a teen.

Not only are the mystery elements there, but also the way the show ended episodes. I loved that open-ended feeling, that ominous turn that the danger never really ends. The creepier themes of the show can clearly be seen in the DSA, as well as the investigative nature.

Grounding the DSA in a bureaucracy, giving it that sense of reality, allowed the series to find its way in Season One, and Chris Carter’s The X-Files was a huge basis for where those elements came from and how they played out in the narrative.

Babylon 5

I’ve written about this numerous times. Babylon 5 is the greatest serialized television show ever produced for the screen. No one will ever be able to change my mind on this. To have the vision that J. Michael Straczynski had when developing the series continues to astound me.

He went in with a five-year plan and he achieved that.

That is my hope for DSA. When I finished Season One, I went through every installment, every chapter, every paragraph, to see the seeds were planted for what is to come. There are questions asked in Book 1 that are not touched on until near the end of Season 2. Elements are introduced, like the Utopia Protocol, that are not addressed in full until Season 3.

I wanted the reader to feel that there was a larger story at play with DSA, and Babylon 5 was truly the major influence when coming up with a plan for the series as a whole.

The problem (and benefit) of my influences

My brother-in-law recently mentioned a training he led at work. In it, he referenced Star Wars (A New Hope). The new hires didn’t know what he was talking about. They had never seen Star Wars!

Most of the people I talk to haven’t seen The X-Files or Babylon 5. X-Files ended twenty years ago, though there were more recent revivals. Babylon 5’s ending came twenty-five years ago.

Let’s just say it makes for a more challenging selling point when talking about what the DSA can be compared to. And damn, does it make me feel old…

The benefit of having “dated” influences? Steering someone toward one of my favorite shows of all time. If I can get someone to discover these treasures, and enjoy the DSA even more because of it, then I feel like I’ve achieved something.

Asking Questions and Searching for Answers

That became the heart of the series. Both of these major influences helped guide me with plotting the series at the start.

The Clearing Author Commentary 5

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The Clearing author commentary continues! SPOILER WARNING is in effect, especially for this one, as I discuss the climax of the book and what it means for the series as a whole!

Building the climax

I went back and forth on so many elements of this book. One thing, however, remained crystal clear right from the start and that was the climax.

The entire trip to the forest, from the crash to the major character death, to the escape, played through my thoughts for months on end. The reveal over what happened to the citizens of Bellbrook and the implications of the Witness’ experiment served, in my mind, as a crucial launch point–not only for the series as a whole, but for Ben Riley’s tenure as an agent of the DSA.

People as trees

It’s far-fetched, I know. Every once in awhile I look back and wonder if it was a major misstep having such a bizarre case as the opening book in the series.

But I still love the twist. It strikes such a horrific chord, that first image of the tree bleeding and then the loss of Ruth to the virus, that it still haunts me.

Leaving the science alone and focusing on the fiction aspect, I knew the threat needed to be higher for this opening gambit. This couldn’t be some isolated incident that gets swept away and forgotten. There needed to be stakes, and whether it is through the escape of the Witness who promises that this is only the beginning, or the arrival of General Adams who tries to burn the experiment away, this book will have lasting implications for seasons to come.

Killing Ruth

I would like to say this was a tough call. It wasn’t. She was fodder from the start. If you look back at the book, there is a reason Lincoln is the POV character for their introduction. In fact, she doesn’t take the lead in the narration at all during her time in the book. Everyone else tells her story, and that’s how it ended.

Will she be back? Did Adams’ men burn her with the rest of the forest that night?

No comment. Okay, one comment: keep reading.

Ominous tidings

Setting things up is always a fun game, and the DSA is rife with foreshadowing events. The Witness’ entire M.O. is to lead the reader and the DSA on a merry chase.

I’ve always enjoyed those segments, building up long-standing mysteries to dole out piecemeal over time. The episodic nature of the series lends itself to this method of storytelling. Each book, while able to stand on its own, should be part of something bigger.

For The Clearing, the threat of the Witness remains open. The mystery of the trees remains unsolved. There are more questions than answers, and the book is designed to pull you back for the next chapter.

Now, if you were looking for Promethean to answer those questions and were disappointed… well…

Keep reading. (Especially Season 2, Book 4… HINT HINT)

The Clearing Author Commentary 4

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The Clearing author commentary continues this week with a look at Gregory Sullivan. SPOILER WARNING is in effect, starting right now! Ready? Excellent. Let’s take a look at one of the main baddies in Season One. (see how important that spoiler warning was?)

Conception of a villain

I’m big on plotting these days. I like to map things out pretty far in advance because I feel like it makes for a much better story in the end. That wasn’t always the case.

Did I outline DSA Season One? Absolutely.

Did I do it ahead of time before diving into The Clearing? Nope. Definitely not.

The truth was, I wasn’t sure DSA would work as a series. My confidence in the premise and the longevity of the tale didn’t measure up until after The Clearing was written and I was deep into Promethean. This was another reason why the opening installment required so many rewrites after the fact. (SO MANY!)

Greg Sullivan was one particular spot of trouble for me.

In the initial draft, Sullivan was barely even mentioned. He showed up in a meeting with Metcalf, which is still in the book but totally different than it was, and that was it. One scene, talking about the need for more field agents and how Metcalf hates bureaucracy, and then the sweater vest man was gone for the rest of the book.

What changed?

As the rest of the season came together, I realized Sullivan was a focal point for the series. Here was a man looking to create his own legacy in life, and will do anything to make sure the world remembers his name.

The initial drafts for Season One don’t put Sullivan in the spotlight until Book 4 as anything other than the standard manipulative bureaucrat. That didn’t work when looking at the season as a whole. There was a suddenness to the shift that felt disingenuous and unearned.

So I went back to the drawing board. Knowing what was to come helped, so I took my time to weave in Sullivan’s manipulations throughout the season. From the very start there is no question of who this man is.

The second he calls in General Adams during the Bellbrook affair, it is clear Sullivan is a threat to our heroes.

The rise of Greg Sullivan

Every time Sullivan showed up was an opportunity to build his motivation. I didn’t want a one-note villain. Sullivan needed some pathos, and a reason to completely undermine Metcalf’s efforts.

The legacy aspect was there from the start. It just came too late in the season to mean anything. So by layering in his actions helped establish him better so that when the turn comes in Broken Loyalties, readers know exactly who this guy has always been.

Up Next: The Climax

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