Almost at the end! The Medusa Coin author commentary continues!! SPOILERS AHEAD!

Coroner Hady Ronne

If you remember from my discussion of the long road to publication for The Medusa Coin, I mentioned how I wrote the book before I wrote Signs of Portents. Because of that act there were certain elements put into place that I then had to seed in the first two books.

The main one was Coroner Hady Ronne.

She didn’t exist in Signs. Not at that point. There was no coroner mentioned. Loren still took Soriya and Mentor to the morgue but there was no talk with Hady over procedure.

With the revelation of Hady as the Charon I realized I had a rare opportunity: to lay the groundwork for that change.

Smart writers would have known from the first book and put it in place. I had to write the damn thing backwards to figure it out. Oh well…

Laying the foundation…

I think I did all right with this one. Hady comes off as decidedly creepy in Signs. Even to the point of Soriya mentioning how something is off about her.

Tales from Portents really brought it home and not many called me on it even though they had every right at the time.

In The Great Divide, a younger Ruiz remembers the sudden change in Hady during their teenage years. From outgoing to introvert. From pretty young girl to wiry, straggly hair always covering her sunken eyes.

The Consultant, however, took the prize in terms of clues as to what was going on with Hady. In the fourth chapter of the tale, Soriya watches Russell Kerr approach the precinct just as Hady Ronne is leaving. He stops at her arrival and growls at her.

GROWLS AT HER.

No one yelled at me for that? COME ON!

Why is that significant? Cerberus (Russell Kerr) hates the Charon for sneaking living people into the underworld and then allowing them to depart for a price. A little mythology lesson for you there!

What’s in a name?

I thought I was being clever with this one. I wanted a clue right there in plain sight for all to see when I came up with Hady’s name.

Coroner HAdy RONne.

CHARON.

Do other names have hidden meanings or messages in the series? I’m not telling!

Next time!

The big finale for the commentary! (Unless there is something out there you’d like to know about the book…)

Thanks for reading!