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

Connecting Factors – The Power in a Single Choice

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The author commentary of Pathways in the Dark continues with this look at the connecting factors in the stories contained in the collection! SPOILER WARNING is in full effect!

The power of a choice

That’s what it comes down to in the collection. Each character is tested, each of our cast is pushed to make a decision that will impact where they land as we head into the finale this fall.

The question at the heart of the narrative is simple:

Do we stand together or go it alone?

Each story puts this question into play. With Collateral, it is the driving force for how Soriya and Loren react to the arrival of the Phoenix. For Trustfall, Ruiz is forced to accept his daughter’s maturity as well as the growth of Dobson over the last two decades.

Using this question for each character, forcing them to face their concerns or run away from them is a central theme to Pathways in the Dark.

How they answer it was important to me and more crucial to the direction of the series.

Loren

He can’t face certain secrets that have come to light thanks to a certain photo. His inability to work with Soriya, his lack of trust, pulls him away from his one true partner. This distrust forces him to go it alone.

It will cost him greatly…

Soriya

This question was central to her character in The Medusa Coin and this collection served as a extension of that internal argument. She needs others, her need for connection constantly pushing her forward. Her decision to move out of the Bypass Chamber comes from this need. She reaches out to Gilgamesh for friendship. Trust is essential to her.

Especially when it comes to Loren. His decision, however, has put their partnership in jeopardy. The repercussions for this are coming this fall.

Myers

We haven’t discussed Samantha Myers’ solo feature yet but this question is the core of her struggle as well. She is being blackmailed. To what end? We don’t know… yet.

The fact that she internalizes it, that she refuses to come forward and trust anyone in this matter is her choice.

And one that puts them all at risk.

Ruiz

This question jumped out at me from looking at Trustfall. Ruiz’s struggle with sharing with his family, the constant conflict with keeping his family safe or telling them the truth of what is really out there is a fun one to explore.

He learned to trust in his wife but does that extend to his eldest daughter? Zoe is 18 and about to embark on her own life. She has to know but he holds back. That choice puts her at risk, something he swore would never happen.

It’s an eye-opening event in his life and one he takes to heart. Standing together, in Ruiz’s eyes, is the only option going forward.

What that means down the line will be revealed in…

September!

A Circle of Shadows is coming. Everything changes. The ultimate cost for their decisions comes to pass.

I can’t wait to share more about the book this summer!

Thanks for reading.

Trustfall – Standalone or a Part of the Whole?

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The Pathways in the Dark commentary continues! SPOILER WARNING ahead!!! One last look at the short story Trustfall from the collection…

The Return of the Kitsune

Last time I discussed bringing elements of The Great Divide back to explore how things have changed for Ruiz and his world in almost two decades.

Having Dobson and Harvey return allowed Ruiz to see this change and second guess his choices on all fronts. It was a fun exploration, one that challenged Ruiz’s conception of trust as well as the idea of good and evil as it related to these two forces from his past.

But what about the threat for the story? Who was committing these crimes?

This question led me back to Tales from Portents and another open-ended menace from the collection: The Kitsune.

When she showed up in The View from Above, she was using teens to commit petty theft for the thrill of it. I wanted to see the next step of that, where this ancient creature would go when she had nowhere else to turn.

I also thought it would be a nice nod to readers who had been there from the start. As I’ve often stated, I feel short stories tend to feel unimportant so bringing back past dangers, past relationships and expounding on them gives that sense of connective tissue I love with series writing.

Which brings me to my final point on the tale…

Standalone or a crucial piece to a larger puzzle?

This is something I struggle with constantly. Even as I write this I am working on the second book in a new series where this concept is coming into play.

My thoughts go back and forth on how best to handle individual books in a series. I believe in the standalone novel. I love the ability of picking up one story and having a beginning, middle and end.

Yet I also believe there should be connective tissue when it comes to a series. Subplots, overarching themes, history between characters, etc. All are crucial to make the journey feel more real for the reader.

When it came to Pathways in the Dark, my goal was simple. Six stories bridging the series from The Medusa Coin to where the characters need to be at the start of A Circle of Shadows. Each piece needed to stand on its own but I wanted each to feel like it was part of something bigger.

Some readers mentioned this as a fault. I totally accept that assessment. If you’ve come into the series at book four I completely take the blame for not making this collection stand on its own. There is more baggage with each new book and this one had its fair share to be sure.

My own thoughts are mixed…

I do, however, think with tales like Trustfall, The Apartment and Blackmail that there is a sense that you can read just this story and enjoy it on its own.

Are there elements of the wider story being told? Absolutely. Especially for Trustfall. Harvey’s inclusion, as I’ve hinted, is crucial to where the narrative is heading this fall. The Kitsune alludes to the growing shadows as well.

Looking at Trustfall on its own though, there is a beginning, middle and end. Ruiz is a father trying to protect his daughter from the outside world, something he can no longer do now that she’s heading to college. That’s the standalone story and if you read it as such it is a complete work.

If you’re looking at it from a Greystone Saga perspective there is enough connective tissue to the other stories to keep you moving for the next piece of the puzzle.

So in the eternal debate of standalone vs series I prefer to skirt the line right down the center…

Where do you fall on this debate? Email me at lou@loupaduano.com

Thanks for reading.

Trustfall – Old Friends and Old Enemies

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The author commentary on Pathways in the Dark continues here! SPOILER WARNING is in effect!!! Today focuses on the tale, Trustfall.

Bringing back some old friends…

The absolute best part of the short story collections in the series is the ability to have recurring threats. There were so many incredible tidbits layered in Tales from Portents, threats and supporting cast members with rich histories and their own stories to tell. It was impossible to let them slip away when the opportunity arose to write Pathways.

Trustfall proved that top to bottom.

Last time I discussed starting out the story and where the idea came from. The conceit that Ruiz may be trying to trust his wife more about their lives in Portents, but how does that reflect the rest of his world? How does he put that into practice?

And how far does that trust extend when it comes to his college bound daughter, Zoe?

The Great Divide Redux

The story in Tales from Portents focusing on Ruiz introduced the young officer to the world of Portents. The true city as Mentor called it. It was in this moment Ruiz realizes he can’t share things with his wife. That he has to protect her and his growing family.

So why not bring that around full circle?

Erik Dobson, or Yellow Eyes as he is known in The Great Divide, was a natural choice to test Ruiz’s resolve. This boy almost ended Ruiz’s life and showed him the terrors hiding in the shadows of the city. Bringing him into the fold and making him a foil to Ruiz’s inability to trust kept the conflict front and center.

It also brought an element of tension for the reader. Is Dobson the threat here? Is he actually a decent person now? That was another point I wanted to hit here. Can people change? If Dobson can, does that mean Ruiz can as well?

There was a lot of interesting elements to weave into the story because of his inclusion. Humor, for one. Dobson’s bird references. His office decorations. Each was meant to pull you from one side to the other and never make it clear where he fell until the very last moment.

Julian Harvey

This was a calculated inclusion. I didn’t want the story to simply be a return to The Great Divide. However, Dobson’s inclusion opened the door for Harvey entering the scene. Harvey worked with Ruiz on the case originally so it made sense he would be keeping tabs on ol’ Yellow Eyes.

Was there more to his presence here? Absolutely. Harvey showing up at this particular moment is one of the most important elements of the collection.

Why? I can’t tell you yet.

But I will definitely be hinting at it more next time!

Next time –

The Kitsune’s return and the delicate balance of a standalone tale versus connecting to a wider arc.

Thanks for reading.

Trustfall – Starting Points

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Welcome back to the author commentary on Pathways in the Dark. SPOILER WARNING ahead! I’m talking about Trustfall today…

Starting Points

Trustfall was the first tale in the collection I wrote. It was immediately after finishing The Medusa Coin. I was on a roll and wanted to keep the momentum of the series.

Why this one first?

The story about Ruiz and his daughter on a college campus was one of the initial thoughts I put down on paper when putting the collection together. If you know me, Ruiz is my favorite character in the series. I love writing him and really enjoy his interactions with other members of the cast.

At the end of The Medusa Coin, Ruiz realizes he can’t keep hiding from his wife. Not without losing her to the divide he’s built over the last two decades. So the question became what is the natural extension of that?

Enter: Zoe

If Ruiz is truly willing to start trusting in his family and opening up to his wife about what is happening in the city, how could I test that to the fullest?

That was my starting point. And my response was the introduction of Zoe, his eldest daughter.

For 18 years Ruiz has been able to keep his family safe in the northern coves. Away from downtown Portents. Away from the danger.

But now Zoe is going to college. One of the scariest things any parent has to endure.

How do you survive that in a city like Portents?

starting points

Building on that idea…

From there the pieces fell in line pretty quickly. Keeping Zoe and Ruiz, as well as his struggle to let her live her own life was central to making the story work.

But what could test that relationship? What could pull at them both?

That was where the challenge came from with this story and by pulling from the past I realized the story was there right from the start. I’ll be talking more about that next time.

The Opening Chapter

I’m a fan of the inciting incident. It’s the idea that a singular event occurs that drives the rest of the story. In Signs of Portents, it is the murder of Vlad. In The Medusa Coin, it is Henry Erikson summoning the Charon.

Typically it is an external force set on a collision course with the protagonist.

For Pathways in the Dark, I set out to mix things up with how the stories were paced.

Trustfall was one such experiment.

The scene at home with Ruiz doing the dishes was one I went back and forth on. For a couple reasons:

  1. I was concerned it didn’t draw the reader in enough. It’s a lengthy scene without overt conflict. There was the fear of driving readers away rather than pushing them to the next chapter where we start to see what’s happening on the campus.
  2. It was a LONG scene. I try to keep chapters short. Jump in and jump right out at the first opportunity. For this story I stayed in that kitchen for a long time, weaving in the conflict in the background through their discussion. I have my reasons. First and foremost was the change in Ruiz from The Medusa Coin. A happy and relaxed family man versus the stressed and overworked police captain previously seen. The second, and equally important, reason was to show a different dynamic than the audience was used to when reading Greystone. Ruiz is the only family man in the cast and I wanted to play up that angle.

I think the scene works. It sets things up on a relationship level and layers in the conflict to come. Starting internal and then expanding in the following moments keeps the central conflict on Ruiz. Always a plus in my eyes.

Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe it was self-indulgent having this winding conversation instead of jumping into things.

What do you think? Shoot me an email at lou@loupaduano.com

Collateral Commentary – Using the Greystone

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The Collateral commentary concludes here so SPOILER WARNING is in effect!

A reason for everything…

I go out of my way to make this the one truth behind anything I write. There has to be a reason for everything. It has to make sense, both from a character perspective and a plot perspective.

From clothing to speech pattern it all comes from these two factors.

For example: In one of the early novels, Soriya made a reference to Scooby Doo. I want to say it was The Consultant or possibly another story from Tales from Portents, but it was in there through much of the editing process.

It was funny and matched the scene perfectly.

It was also completely out of character. Does Soriya own a television? Negative. Does she ever make a pop culture reference unless it is to question something Loren says? Nope.

Should she know what the hell Scooby Doo is? Of course. Everyone should know what Scooby Doo is and how eternal those old cartoons are. Would she know about it? No way. No how.

It had to go.

See? Reasons for everything.

Including the Greystone

I expected more crap for this. Every instance of a rune showing up I waited for someone to shoot me an email to lay into me for my lack of imagination. Does Soriya depend on the same four or five runes to defend herself from the menaces she faces?

Yes, she does. Collateral, especially, when Soriya confronts the Phoenix in the alley, she blasts her with the same two runes rather than come up with a new game plan.

Is it just my lack of imagination or inability to research some new tactic? No. Not this time anyway…

The truth behind her lack of diversity, and my reasoning behind it when I put together a scene, is that when it comes to assaults using the Greystone it is always based on her knowledge. It comes from her training with Mentor. He knew a specific way of doing things and that was what he taught her.

She continues to utilize that knowledge to the best of her ability.

Why is this important? Why mention this at all?

Ah, dear reader, you know me too well. There is a reason for everything including this blog. See, Soriya is about to learn more about the Greystone than she ever thought possible in A Circle of Shadows.

You will see more runes, more languages, more signs, and more danger because of them than every before.

The first reason for Soriya’s continued use of the same limited number of runes came from character.

The plot reason comes to play in September’s release of A Circle of Shadows.

A monumental shift is coming this fall to Greystone. Get ready.

So no hate mail about the runes, okay?

Thanks for reading.

Collateral Commentary – The Phoenix

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Your friendly neighborhood SPOILER WARNING here! I will be discussing the plot of Collateral in detail including the threat behind the story so you have been sufficiently WARNED…

Finding the threat

I stumbled out of the gate on this one. Usually I’m quick to know the threat of a story. I like to have it worked out before I start putting plot to paper.

To start, I focused on what I knew.

This was Loren and Soriya’s show. Their dynamic, more than anything else in the series, has been the driving force of each and every book. So I needed their case, their shared menace, to be solely about where they were at this moment in time.

Loren was reeling from the gut punch of learning Soriya was present the day his wife died. Another secret, one too many kept from him.

Soriya, during The Medusa Coin, learned that trust is necessary to make their relationship work. Oops…

I wanted to play with those crossed wires and really charge each scene with Loren’s anger and Soriya’s constant joy at just being near him again after his close call with the Charon.

The second piece I had was the background of the threat’s arrival. Henry Erikson. His actions in The Medusa Coin set off this tale. His research into saving his own skin brought something to Portents that should never have been there.

Thus my search began. What was it? What could it mean for this specific story? For these two particular characters?

Finding the Phoenix

Yes, I am a fan of the X-Men. No, this had nothing to do with that.

In my search through a database of mythical creatures I tried to dissuade myself from using a phoenix. Because of the X-Men, because of its constant use through media.

Yet, it was because of this use that the phoenix ended up working perfectly.

The Phoenix as this life-giving force, this creature of light, twisted by her arrival into Portents was meant to prove counter to Soriya’s journey. Throughout The Medusa Coin and even before that, Soriya viewed herself as a force of destruction; offering little more than death.

Here, she tried to save the day, tried to save the city and this creature who was meant to do the same stood in her way. Soriya is forced to play her dark role for the betterment of Portents.

At a cost.

The innocence of the Phoenix, her reasoning behind her actions really drove it home. She is trying to help people live to their fullest in spite of causing their deaths. The fact that she can’t understand the pain being caused by her actions and that Soriya has to intervene in the harshest way possible made it that much brutal.

Maybe there is no real light, no real victory to be had in this fight.

The toughest one to pull off…

I struggled with this tale. More than any other in the collection. For me, the joy of writing the series is the interplay with the characters. To see Soriya and Loren at odds, to feel the tension in the background the entire time, was difficult to manage and more difficult to conceive.

I think it worked though. And I definitely think it was necessary to push these two further apart, which is where they are when A Circle of Shadows opens.

What are your thoughts? Shoot me an email at lou@loupaduano.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

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