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

A Circle of Shadows Commentary Intro

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If you’ve been around the blog for the last two years you know I absolutely love writing author commentary on my books. I love sharing the stories behind the writing, the little nuances that shift from the outlining phase to the outright changes in the editing phase.

Author Commentary rules

I spoil things. I do. It isn’t because I want to ruin the reading experience. My goal is for these commentaries to be here after you finish the novel. If you want that information ahead of time, that’s your call.

When putting these together I’ve tried to make sure I start with the opening of the novel and not jump right into anything too major plot-wise. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

author commentary

What do you want to know?

Anything and everything is on the table when it comes to the commentary. Want to know why certain choices were made? You have to LET ME KNOW! This commentary runs through the end of the year, with a couple breaks along the way, so shoot me an email at lou@loupaduano.com and I’ll be glad to make it work into the schedule.

I love reader feedback. I want to know the questions you have. More than anything, I want to share my process behind building these novels. Especially A Circle of Shadows, as writing conclusions is so satisfying from my point of view.

Where are we heading?

Well, A Circle of Shadows concludes the Greystone Saga’s opening arc. It brings a ton of pieces together and opens the door down the line for other questions to be answered. I won’t spoil what comes next but I will be making connections to earlier installments to see the natural progression of the story.

If at any point you want to know more about a topic, how I broke down a specific moment or chapter, reach out. One of the main reasons I enjoy writing these commentary blogs is that I find them informative on a technique level. I learn so much about my own process along the way. I hope you feel the same by reading these.

Next time…

We start with the prologues in A Circle of Shadows and the difficulties in settling on them for this novel.

Thanks for reading.

Founder’s Day Commentary – Challenges Part 2

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Welcome back to the Founder’s Day author commentary! SPOILER WARNING for those just joining in.

As I mentioned last time, there were a number of challenges in putting together this tale. Not only was Founder’s Day meant to the centerpiece of the collection, it also set up events in A Circle of Shadows, served as a sequel to Resurrectionists AND had to play as an entry point into the series.

(It failed on the last point…)

Part of that failure came because of an integral part of the series was not present in the story.

Where the hell was Soriya Greystone?

One of the main characters was missing? Not my brightest idea, to be sure.

There were many reasons behind her absence. Collateral set up their separation. This tale was an extension of that divide, one put in place by Loren.

That is the story level reason. My own reason was to keep the interplay locked on Loren and Myers. To keep the story grounded in the detective side of things for a change and see how the plot developed.

It was meant to offer a different view of Portents, one where the crazy isn’t so obvious or easily explained thanks to having Soriya right there with an answer.

Coming from a narrative standpoint, for where the story falls in the series, this choice made complete sense.

From an entry point perspective? Not at all. Again, this is one of the many challenges I had in putting together the story. While I eventually let Founder’s Day out into the wilds of publication as its own entity, I struggled with the decision for months because of questions like these.

Would Soriya have strengthened the narrative? Not in this case. Not with where the character’s are in their story. Loren’s made the choice to avoid her until he can figure out the meaning behind the photo given to him by Myers. If Soriya entered into the story thanks to the high profile murders it would have derailed Loren’s story and even his growing relationship with Myers.

Something I will talk about next time…

The title debacle…

Founder’s Day isn’t grammatically correct. So not only was I dealing with my own qualms about the narrative I had to deal with the title as well.

I should have been fine changing it to Founders’ Day. It’s fine but that damn apostrophe bothered me. I spent an entire day figuring out how to keep the title as Founder’s Day and eventually realized that because of the multiple founders involved, because of the parade in honor of the day it works as Founder’s Day.

It’s things like this that make it impossible to sleep sometimes!

Griping done!

That’s never the intention behind the author commentary. I did want to showcase the challenges in this tale, however. It’s important, especially for any writers out there, to realize that not every story comes together without some real difficulties. Not always in the telling but in how it is packaged, how it is released into the world.

Founder’s Day was an eye-opener for me. Do I remain proud of the work? Absolutely.

Do I wish I would have done things a little differently when releasing it? Definitely.

And those lessons will be carried over to the DSA series when it comes out.

Founder’s Day Commentary – Challenges Part 1

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Welcome back to the Founder’s Day author commentary! SPOILER WARNING ahead and some insight into the challenges in putting together a series…

Wearing too many hats.

Writing a series can turn into an enormous mess sometimes. One would imagine when putting events together things would flow in a linear fashion. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. There are greater concerns tucked in the background of the writing process, unseen by the reader.

Which is probably where I should keep this blog but I prefer to share my troubles (and triumphs) when I can.

Founder’s Day had the unfortunate place in the series of wearing too many hats.

Instead of being the centerpiece of Pathways in the Dark, it was also the sequel to Resurrectionists.

Instead of offering a complete narrative, it also had to set up events to come in A Circle of Shadows.

Instead of being contained within Pathways in the Dark solely, it was also a free novella offered to readers and retailers.

And the story had to fill each of these needs; each of these roles.

Did it succeed?

I don’t think it did. I like the story. I enjoy the interplay between the characters and the mystery attempted to be solved. There are, in fact, a number of strong points in the tale:

The opening with the “dragon.”

Samantha Myers standing shoulder to shoulder with Loren.

The murders and subsequent mythology behind their deaths.

I enjoyed all the aspects of the story and putting them together was a treat.

Where did it fail then?

In standing on its own. There is a beginning, middle and end, sure. But when it comes to looking at Founder’s Day, there is no way to read it without some knowledge of the series.

I know that is the point of writing a series. Starting from book one and going, but for this to work as a free novella to draw in new readers Founder’s Day had to be its own thing. And it couldn’t because of the restrictions I had placed on it.

On the hats the tale was forced to wear.

It still works…

Reading through Pathways in the Dark, the tale still offers readers a great little story. It opens the door to A Circle of Shadows and pulls in the history offered by Signs of Portents and Resurrectionists.

On its own? As a free novella? As an entry point to the series?

I blew it on that front. I’ll be the first to admit it. I needed the story to do too much in too limited a space and then added the horrible idea of offering it as an entry point to the series.

Probably my biggest mistake of the series. And the fault is mine, not the narrative.

Lesson learned.

Next time!

Challenges Part 2 – Where the hell was Soriya? And what’s the deal with the title?

Founder’s Day Commentary – Starting Points

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We’ve arrived at last! The final short story contained within Pathways in the Dark! I’m going to dig deep into this story so SPOILER WARNING ahead for this author commentary…

Founder’s Day

This story was always going to be in Pathways in the Dark. At the end of Resurrectionists I left the door open on a number of threads that eventually had to come to light. Figuring out the narrative, structuring the story of Founder’s Day had to be one of the greatest challenges of the entire series.

Starting Points

The Founder was my way into the story. In the initial draft of Resurrectionists, the Founder was taken into custody. His history came out at the end, his work at the Church of the Second Coming on full display for the public.

It didn’t work.

It sucked the life out of the scene. Instead of the story centering on the shattered life of Loren it became about this cloaked cult-like figure and how he managed to wake the dead.

I scrapped it for the simpler solution. He escaped and was still looming in the background.

How to bring him back?

If the Founder was my starting point, this question was the first of an indescribable amount of challenges in plotting the story. Why would this man come back?

The murders built from this.

I love detective fiction. I love building crime scenes and going through evidence; finding new ways to offer up exposition while also strengthening character moments. Signs of Portents was built from this love and I wanted to circle back to those good old days with some classic detective work on Loren’s part.

Signs of Portents’ influence…

For me, nothing was better than building the history of Portents. From Nathaniel Evans to the ebony tower, from the Corridor to the Courtyard, all had their place in the expansive history of this fictional city.

When developing the murders, when playing with the idea of the return of the Founder, I realized I could play with that concept on multiple fronts.

Make the murders about the Founders of the city. Make the city in the midst of celebrating a Founder’s Day celebration. All little tidbits to hint at the mysterious figure in the background. All feeding into the main threat, while also returning to the roots of the series and the history tucked behind the narrative.

The Evans line, Patrick Hennessey, Wilbur Caldwell, William Rath. Some fictional, some real to the people of Portents. All important to the past, the beginning of Portents. History matters in this world and that was what I wanted to touch on here in Founder’s Day.

Next time:

Challenges Part 1 – The many roles this story was forced to play…

Blackmail Commentary – Losing the Supernatural

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The author commentary of Pathways in the Dark continues with more insight into the Blackmail tale! SPOILER WARNING is in place!

The truth and nothing but…

I set rules when I write. I create a standard by which all stories set within a specific universe or series should adhere. This is meant to increase reader enjoyment, to play to their expectations, and offer them exactly what they’re looking for when it comes to my stories.

Greystone is very simple. Myths and legends create mayhem and murder in the city of Portents. Soriya and Loren have to stop them. Easy peasy. It is the impetus of every story breakdown, every script, every note I take when it comes to world of Greystone.

And then Blackmail came along.

Losing the supernatural.

It was never my intention. When I settled on a Myers story, my first instinct was to come up with a supernatural angle for her to confront. In terms of scope the Eyes in the Storm story from Tales from Portents sprang to mind. A way to build a world around this supporting character while also digging into who she was as a character.

Nothing worked.

Nothing felt true to Myers.

Because her story doesn’t come from the same place as Soriya and Loren. When it comes to Samantha Myers, her story is built around the mystery introduced in The Medusa Coin. Who is controlling her? Are they actually controlling her or is she a willing participant? And what do they have on her in the first place?

It was from these questions that Blackmail was forged. When I finally settled on delving into her past, I realized where the threat had to come from. Tying the two threads together made perfect sense from a narrative standpoint and kept the focus on Myers as a character instead of a plot heavy tale with no stakes.

Losing the supernatural, however, came with consequences…

Is this truly a Greystone tale?

If the supernatural is lost, if I break the rule that centers the universe of the series does it no longer belong? More importantly, will the reader enjoy it, having come to expect something completely different?

I struggled with this for a long time. Every revision, every readthrough, brought these doubts to the forefront and I had to justify Blackmail’s inclusion in the collection each and every time.

How did it make it through my inane questioning?

By the strength on which it stood as a character story. Myers needed more depth, she needed that extra element to proceed to Founder’s Day and A Circle of Shadows. Her mystery clouded her motivations and clarity on that front afforded her the chance at redemption or condemnation by the audience. I wanted to have that moment and continue to have those moments where you aren’t sure about her.

She represents a true threat to Loren. The unseen threat, on his end anyway.

What did you think about the change of pace for the series? A worthy exploration or did you miss the supernatural element in this tale?

I’d love to hear from you.

Blackmail Commentary – Starting Points

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Feels like it has been awhile since we’ve chatted about Pathways in the Dark, so welcome back to the author commentary on book four of the Greystone series! SPOILER WARNING is in place, though by now I’m sure you’ve read and enjoyed the collection.

Right?

Blackmail and the journey of Samantha Myers

When putting together each piece of the collection, I realized the opportunities available. This included glimpses into the lives of some of the supporting cast. With Trustfall, Ruiz was given the spotlight. For Blackmail, it was time to dig into Samantha Myers and her story.

Keeping readers in the dark about a mysterious character is a double edge sword. You want to keep them interesting but also want to hold back on all the answers. It’s a fine line and can work against a narrative if utilized incorrectly.

I didn’t want that to be the case with Samantha Myers.

Having a working outline for A Circle of Shadows helped in this regard. Knowing where her journey was heading allowed me some wiggle room to showcase a case personal to her, while allowing the reader a glimpse at her life.

As in the case of most of the collection, the driving force of Blackmail stemmed from The Medusa Coin. At the end of the novel, Myers calls a mysterious benefactor and we learn her motivations aren’t exactly as pure as we hoped.

But what did that mean for her? Why was she working against Loren and Soriya?

Those were questions I wanted to explore without giving away the whole mystery.

Who is Samantha Myers?

I love writing the character. Her comments, her snark, comes from a place near and dear to my heart. I love her attitude in The Medusa Coin and the down to earth nature of bringing her into the fold in this crazy series. Yet for every interaction in the novel there was little time to really delve into her story. A narrative choice and one that worked for the book but also one I wanted to rectify slightly through Pathways in the Dark.

For Blackmail, I wanted to provide an outlet for her to explore Portents without being confined to the role of a supporting player in Loren’s drama. I needed Myers to break away from the world and come into her own. In order to do that I needed a reason for her to fly solo.

Two cases of blackmail…

It wasn’t just a clever title. It was always meant to explain her situation without explicitly laying it out for the reader. Being pulled into the case, having to steal from her colleagues to pay off a blackmailer was always meant to bring to light the truth of her situation.

Her mysterious benefactor, the figure in the shadows that has placed her as Loren’s partner, is also manipulating her against her will.

Putting that personal spin on events raised the stakes in my eyes and forced Myers to come to grips with her situation.

I loved writing this story. It was definitely a challenge, something outside the norm for Greystone, but I thought it was a breath of fresh air in terms of a character piece. I’ll be discussing those challenges more next time.

Thanks for reading.

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