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

A Circle of Shadows Commentary – The Dark Luminary

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The author commentary continues! Learn more about the Dark Luminary’s origins below and as always… THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!

The birth of a villain

I love the structure behind an arc. While I tire of the model used everywhere, especially on network television shows, there is something cool about understanding the evolution of a threat from beginning to end.

When I realized Soriya’s adventures could take on a series of novels, I began planting seeds about the monster to come. Monsters, if you’re being technical, as A Circle of Shadows came first in my mind in terms of the big bad at the end of the journey.

That changed over time. With the very first draft of The Medusa Coin, this one coming back in 2012, I understood the need for a figure in the background. I had Nathaniel Evans return in Signs. Then Henry Erikson stumbles upon the Medusa coin in the next installment. But how did they connect? How did each figure out what they needed most?

The answer was simple. They didn’t. Someone else did.

With that revelation I had my seed. Someone was creating this chaos in Portents. A figure in the shadows was manipulating figures for their own end.

But to what end could it be?

Enter Karen Winters.

There is a very specific chapter in The Medusa Coin where I figured out where I was headed. It was a flashback of Soriya’s first trip to the Library of the Luminaries. She learns of the coin, but while she does this, she also overhears the other members of the group discuss a dark light among them.

In truth, this was meant to be a seed explored in a spin-off series of adventures staring the Luminaries. It still might in some way or another, but it left me with this thread.

I had to pull it. I always have to pull the damn thread.

When you start to think about your villain, your big bad, the best way is to conceive of the polar opposite of your heroes. But they can’t just be evil. They can’t only have hate in their hearts. They make choices, same as everyone.

That is the key to solving them and where Karen Winters was born.

Her introduction in the prologue of A Circle of Shadows was more a way for me to figure out her motivation than anything else. It was as simple as her last line in the chapter:

“I hope for the light and prepare for the darkness.”

Everything else is irrelevant. This is her mindset and it carries her through the novel. With each indiscretion comes a rationalization. With each death, a purpose. For the greater good.

Just like the Circle of Shadows.

Just like Soriya and Loren.

How she changed…

Most of the story unfolded the same as intended. Snippets grew in the telling. Backstory was necessary, her drive for knowledge crucial to come across throughout the narrative.

For the most part, however, Karen Winters stayed the same as she always had in my mind. Driven by knowledge and a desire to control said information. Was she benevolent? Would she have aided mankind with the secrets of the infinite?

Doubtful.

But in her eyes, there would always be a reason for keeping a secret or two.

Your thoughts?

If you go back to the very first book, you’ll see Karen Winters in the background. In Signs, it is during Mentor’s journey through the Bypass. In The Medusa Coin, it is in the first chapter with Henry Erikson finding the coin at his bedside.

Shoot me an email at lou@loupaduano.com. I’d love to hear your thoughts on Karen and her journey.

Thanks for reading.

A Circle of Shadows Commentary – Julian Harvey

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The author commentary continues for A Circle of Shadows! SPOILER WARNING is in effect. BIG TIME!

The moment everything changed.

So there I was, writing my way through The Medusa Coin. I had a clear line to A Circle of Shadows. I knew the mystery involved and the threats. The conflicts and the resolutions. To some degree at least.

At that moment, I needed an ending. I needed to make The Medusa Coin as strong as it could be by knowing without a doubt my final destination at the end of the arc. So I outlined like a son of a gun to position myself in the strongest spot possible.

I had my Circle of Shadows. I understood their motivation and had them in the mix as the primary threat in the novel. They worked WITH the Luminary originally, manipulated throughout until their collapse.

Then I started thinking about who should be in the circle. And everything changed.

Circling back…

I like callbacks to previous stories. Locations are used in new ways but are meant to harken to earlier times. The apartment building at the end of Signs of Portents is one such spot. Having the lightning strike in The Medusa Coin and then showing the result of the damage with Thel in A Circle of Shadows shows progression but also lets the reader know everything matters.

This goes for characters as well.

When thinking about members of the circle, I wanted some names. I wanted people readers from the beginning would recognize and immediately understand.

Julian Harvey was there right from the start. When it came to Harvey’s involvement I knew there was no underling role for him. He was a leader in his own right. That revelation brought with it a complete rewriting of my thinking about the circle and its purpose.

No longer was the Luminary involved. No longer were they manipulated. They were a power in the city, doing what they believed to be right as a counterpoint to Soriya’s methods.

Julian Harvey explains this in the book. They handle the threats Soriya and Loren don’t even realize exist. They are the front line not hiding in the shadows but keeping the rest of the city in the dark about the truth. For their safety. For their protection.

For the good of all. The same as Soriya and Loren only different.

In their eyes, too different and that is the center of the conflict between the two parties.

The impact on Trustfall

As I’ve said many times, outlining ahead to reach your destination and strengthen your current position really does help your writing. Knowing Harvey’s ultimate role in A Circle of Shadows made Trustfall all the more important.

When I was putting this book together I was also writing Pathways in the Dark. Ruiz’s story was a simple case of an overprotective father and his college-bound daughter. When I realized the villain of the piece and the foil in the guise of Zoe’s professor, I saw an opening for the return of Harvey.

Not only a callback to The Great Divide, but also as a precursor to A Circle of Shadows. To reacquaint the reader with the character and how he fit into Ruiz’s life, but also provide motivation for his choices to come.

One character can change everything.

Without Harvey, Pratchett wouldn’t be involved in the circle. Without Pratchett’s involvement the tension changes completely in the story. His motivation shifts, Loren’s does the same, and everything threatens to fall apart.

One character can be the linchpin and for A Circle of Shadows, I thank Julian Harvey for playing that role.

A Circle of Shadows Commentary – The Heads of Cerberus

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Welcome back to the author commentary on A Circle of Shadows. As always, SPOILER WARNING ahead. Especially going forward in this commentary!

Starting…… NOW.

No waste allowed.

The Heads of Cerberus. Their return was something I had in my back pocket for quite some time. I owe it to the research done during the scripting of The Consultant. While putting together the story of Russell Kerr and his confrontation with Heracles, I discovered that the lore behind Cerberus has been adapted throughout the ages.

As we know it now, Cerberus is a three-headed dog. It’s been seen this way countless times. Try and tell me Fluffy from Harry Potter isn’t your first thought when you think of Cerberus. Go ahead, try it!

(Liar)

Okay, so prior to this belief in only three heads, the lore behind Cerberus mentioned a creature with hundreds of heads. A guard dog without limit, eyes and ears everywhere to keep the gates of Hell barred against those locked within.

I couldn’t let that go. I refused to allow something so cool as that slip through my fingers.

A detail about The Medusa Coin

The initial draft of The Medusa Coin, prior to the published novel, was a shoddy little comic book script I cobbled together back in 2009. I wrote the scene where Soriya confronts Henry Erikson in his classroom after hours and during the scene two hellhounds pounce at Soriya; summoned by their master during his quest for immortality.

It made no sense. But the image remained. Probably thanks to my undying love of Supernatural. Probably.

These hellhounds were my first attempt to land on the Charon that eventually found its way into the story. Something about that visceral image stayed with me though and I kept circling around to it as the series went on.

Pop ’em in a mixer and put it together.

Those two pieces led to the return of the Heads of Cerberus. Those two little discoveries along the way of forming these novels shaped the threat of A Circle of Shadows.

Lately, I’ve pondered what would have happened if I never researched The Consultant as fully. Or if I never revisited my old script for The Medusa Coin. Would A Circle of Shadows be the same book?

Definitely not.

It’s funny how things work out.

Why the Heads of Cerberus? Why here and now?

The same questions asked by Soriya upon discovering their return were asked by myself during the outlining phase.

The truth behind their involvement came from a need to overwhelm not only Soriya but Portents. I wanted to show what happens when you beat back the shadows for so long, how they come back twice as vicious.

It was a way to snap the city from the delusion of security, that the police handled the badness and everything was sane. Hardly. Not in Portents anyway.

Beyond that, there has never been a threat where I couldn’t see a way out for Soriya. A myth or legend that when all was said and done Soriya, with the power of her Greystone, couldn’t vanquish given the opportunity.

I wanted the unbeatable villain this time. The single greatest threat to our heroes imaginable.

The Heads of Cerberus fit the bill.

Perfectly.

A Circle of Shadows Commentary – The Second Greystone

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The author commentary on A Circle of Shadows continues with a closer look at the Greystone! SPOILER WARNING ahead!

The evolution of the Greystone

For me, one of the great joys of the series has been the slow-burn reveal of the Greystone and the mysteries surrounding it.

Purpose is extremely important to the players in the story, especially Soriya and Mentor. They exist for a reason, even though that reason has not completely presented itself to them as of yet. It is why Mentor takes care to teach Soriya all those years in the Bypass Chamber. Why he pushes texts and lessons above all else.

To introduce patience. To give her the knowledge to seek out that purpose.

But the Greystone itself remains locked to them.

How a villain showed the way to A Circle of Shadows…

The initial draft of The Medusa Coin held no insight into the Greystone. The focus was on Erikson and his quest for immortality. Even Loren’s search for his wife’s killer was sidelined, offering a very standalone installment.

To the detriment of the series as a whole.

As editing took hold, as I saw a way to introduce Myers and this element of Soriya’s involvement the day Beth fell, I realized that added something personal to Loren.

But what about Soriya? What was important to her at this moment? That was the start of the out of control Greystone, the inkling that the merging of the two stones in Signs of Portents came with repercussions.

Understanding why opened the door to Erikson’s connection with Mentor and in turn his innate knowledge of the stone. And the other pieces…

Introducing the second stone

There is a clear line of thought from that moment in The Medusa Coin where Erikson announces the existence of the other stones to the arrival of Gabriel Jordan in A Circle of Shadows. Without one, the other would fall flat or need more explanation than necessary in what was shaping up to be an action-packed book already.

But with that information, that possibility of other stones, introduced in the previous novel, Gabe’s entry is seamless. Without question.

Gabe’s involvement in this book was one of the first pieces of the outline put together. How he manipulated the stone, his access to the power – how the pair were more in tune than Soriya ever was with this stone she’s carried since childhood – were very much set from the start. To me, it was a way of looking at the power from an outside perspective, but also seeing how it could be manipulated, compared to the teachings of Mentor.

What does this mean going forward?

I won’t spoil where things are headed. What I will say is that Loren’s story has closed for the moment. His big mystery was solved here. Was Soriya’s?

What is the Greystone exactly? What is it here for? How many other stones are there with bearers to match?

I hope you’ve pondered these questions as well. I know I have and I can’t wait to find the answers with you.

Thanks for reading.

A Circle of Shadows Commentary – Return of the Sirens

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The author commentary on A Circle of Shadows continues! SPOILER WARNING ahead!

Loose Threads…

The Night of the Lights described in Signs of Portents was a defining moment in the novel. It was meant to be this door-opening experience where not everything that came out was immediately shoved back into the box, or in this case, the floating green orb of light.

The Sirens were always supposed to play a greater role in the series.

No one questioned their arrival in Signs. No one questioned why they were mentioned.

They should have. If Signs is the only book you read, there should be an answer within its pages to some degree.

When I closed that initial book, I knew I had to address them. The Sirens were now roaming the streets and had to be dealt with. I knew this.

I just didn’t know how to hand this loose thread.

The Medusa Coin

I tried to squeeze it into The Medusa Coin. The Sirens were supposed to show up at the beginning or the end in a very Blade 2 moment, where Soriya jumps them and tells them they were foolish to think she forgot about them or some other nonsense. (You know what I’m talking about… if not, see the film. It’s fantastic.)

It didn’t fit. The narrative was tight, focused on Erikson and the Charon. Even if it hadn’t been, the conceit that the Greystone was out of control took another threat off the table. At least until Soriya solved that piece of the puzzle.

Pathways in the Dark

A seventh short story almost made its way into the collection. It revolved around a conspiracy created by the Sirens, who were manipulating principal players in the city.

I couldn’t get it to work. And Pathways had a full line-up I wasn’t willing to cut to make room.

I needed the Sirens resolved. I needed an answer to this situation I created with my genius planning of loose threads.

loose threads

A Circle of Shadows opens the door…

Then came book 5. I had a slot to fill in the opening chapters where members of the circle converge on a supernatural threat. I had no threat.

A small problem to be sure.

The Sirens filled the role perfectly.

Then I took it further. The original outline had the two sisters taken down by the circle and the third, Thel, given a second chance at life by the Greystone. That was the end of the story for the Sirens. Originally…

It didn’t close the loop on the character.

And I didn’t want another dangling thread.

Thel’s involvement in the climax of the novel came as a direct result of this need to close their story. It tied into Soriya’s need to be a force of good instead of destruction. It tied into the theme of second chances seen throughout the narrative.

I was so excited when it worked out. When she is struck in the back and begs Ruiz and Myers to let the Greystone know she made good; that gut punch to Myers for the way she treated Soriya? That was why that scene exists. That is why the Sirens made the cut for this book.

So glad they did.

The epilogue scene.

It wasn’t in the original outline. Hell, it wasn’t even in the original draft. Or the first revision.

When Thel shows up as Myers’ new partner, setting up a brand new dynamic for the police force going forward, it was brand new for me as well.

Unplanned. Off the cuff. Completely out of nowhere writing.

Wish I could take credit for it. Truth be told, in the original draft, Thel died in Heaven’s Gate Park. Shocker, right? With the amount of bodies dropping who would have noticed?

Exactly why I changed it. I needed survivors. I needed characters that had depth and foibles to carry on for the next five books. Thel proved herself to me over the course of the writing she had that in her.

All because of that damn loose thread in Signs of Portents.

Thanks for reading.

A Circle of Shadows Commentary – The Prologues

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The author commentary of A Circle of Shadows begins now! SPOILER WARNING in effect!

Two Prologues

I created my own monster by including these in Signs of Portents. I believed it to be important when putting together the series to focus on both leads. It was a natural fit with Signs. Soriya and Loren needed a starting point. They needed some background information conveyed so the reader had that natural attachment before being plopped into the center of the story.

The Medusa Coin followed suit. This was a little more difficult – only on the Loren front. Soriya’s was easy to handle as it continued directly from the final story beat of Signs with the lightning strike. I still love that moment – if only it was always that simple.

Loren’s was challenging but again, once I thought about his starting point, was a natural fit for the opening of the novel. For him it was about isolation, while also introducing elements of the growing mystery surrounding his return to the city.

A Circle of Shadows changed the game in terms of the formatting.

I didn’t have an opening for Soriya and Loren. Their story was pretty much covered by the main narrative. So what could I use for the prologues?

Keeping Soriya and Loren at the center…

That was the key. The prologues had to be ABOUT the main characters, no matter what. My personal rules, however, never stated their actual presence was required.

I went back and forth on this. Were they necessary to opening the novel? What would the reader need to know about them in order to flow naturally into the story being told?

I stumbled on Loren’s connection first. Instead of writing a chapter about Loren’s emotional core for this novel to lay out his arc for the reader, I turned the focus to Beth. She is and always has been the center of his story in Greystone. Her death. The mystery behind her great fall.

Why not play with that moment and tease one of the many reveals in the novel?

Connecting her to Soriya was crucial in this regard. The reader was already set up to believe Soriya was involved in Beth’s fall to some degree, or at least the doubt had been planted with the reader…

Why not showcase their connection prior to Beth’s murder? It was a simple twist to an adjacent character, while maintaining the emotional core of Loren.

Falling into place.

With Loren’s opening in place, Soriya’s came quickly. With the Greystone bearer off the table for her prologue chapter it left only one player capable of filling her shoes –

Mentor.

It was a shame I killed him off in Signs. I love writing his character and this provided the opportunity not only to deepen Soriya’s relationship with Mentor through his story but also allowed me to play him off the woman at the center of A Circle of Shadows…

Karen Winters.

Setting the circumstances of the flashback brought another layer of challenges to the scene. When you have almost twenty years of potential moments to pull from, what matters most? For me, I prefer tighter connections with previous tales.

I combed through the earlier stories to figure out the perfect placement of the prologue. Pulling the small fragment during Soriya’s pounding of the creep on the subway platform, expanding that memory of the two Greystone’s humming next to each other in the Bypass Chamber and then telling it from Mentor’s point of view played perfectly into introducing this scene as well as the antagonist of the novel.

Seeding her plans for the Bypass and the Greystone were not part of my original design but by placing this conversation early it added to her overall motivation, something I felt was important for my villains over the course of the series.

Will the prologues continue in the second half?

Probably. I think format-wise it’s pretty set in how the books open but I am always open to trying new things with each novel.

Did these prologues work for you as a reader or did you feel they were jarring when Soriya and Loren were not involved?

Shoot me an email at lou@loupaduano.com and let me know!

Thanks for reading.

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