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

The Apartment Commentary – Walter Schriff

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The Apartment author commentary concludes! SPOILER WARNING ahead. Big time for this one!

Figuring out the threat…

When it came time to figure out who these ghosts were hassling people in Portents, the first two or three drafts never named them.

Yes – them.

Three were present in the first drafts. I made their appearances vague, their motivations even more nebulous. I had no idea how they connected to the story or how to raise the stakes. At one point I was researching things like Blackbeard and Napoleon in an effort to connect with some legendary aspect.

They didn’t fit. None of it fit with the narrative.

Enter the Kindly Killer

It was during the self-editing phase when I stumbled on this notion of the Kindly Killer. He is the first connection between Loren and Soriya, a vital part of their so-called origin story and when I remembered him he fit so perfectly I couldn’t stop writing until the story was completed.

Having that personal connection with Soriya at the climax of the tale raised the stakes. She knows how dangerous Walter can be and can’t risk his return to the mortal plane. Making it personal, looking for that deeper meaning in terms of the overall narrative of Greystone, builds a better story in my mind.

I hope you agree.

Why care so much about the Kindly Killer?

Walter Schriff has been around since Signs of Portents. Always a background mention, never anything more. I did that purposely. (I try to do everything purposely…)

Some people believe his inclusion in the first novel is a distraction. I look at it differently.

His presence is a seed for something to come.

The Kindly Killer serves as a point of origin for Loren and Soriya’s relationship. His suddenly viciousness in slaughtering people, his arrest and the subsequent events that locked Loren and Soriya into this incredible journey lies at the heart of the story that will serve as Book Six of the series.

Say what?

Yeah. I’m a couple years away from putting it together. Having A Circle of Shadows back on my desk has sparked a few notions about what’s to come for the back half of the series.

But Walter Schriff plays a huge role in Book Six.

Get ready.

Red eyes…

Did you notice another old friend within the Bypass at the end of our story? Talking about raising stakes, having Soriya peer into the Bypass at the climax of the story served two purposes.

The first was to seed an event to come in A Circle of Shadows. (Shhh, it’s a secret…)

The second was to bring back old red eyes, Nathaniel Evans, for a cool cameo. I missed our old villain from Signs of Portents and once I realized Schriff played a role in the story I thought it would be cool to bring back more past threats as a nod for where we’ve been in the series.

And where we’re heading…

Did you enjoy the story? Did you like the nods to the past? Shoot me an email at lou@loupaduano.com to let me know.

Thanks for reading.

The Apartment Commentary – Starting Points

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It’s been a couple weeks but the Pathways in the Dark author commentary continues!!! SPOILER WARNING ahead for The Apartment tale in the collection…

Starting Points

Truth be told, The Apartment was the very first idea I had coming out of Signs of Portents. At one point it was going to be a story tucked in Tales from Portents but then that collection turned out to be full of prequel stories and it didn’t fit.

From there, the concept of Soriya leaving the nest stuck with me. I thought it was a nice progression of her arc in the series, always looking for connections; always resenting Mentor’s stance of isolation for the betterment of the work.

When it came to The Medusa Coin, the initial outline had Soriya seeking out a new place to live. It was ancillary and really pulled people out of the story. Frankly, it didn’t interest me when looking at the overall narrative of the novel and it was quickly cut from further outlines.

However, I couldn’t let it go. I had been drawn to that moment for almost a year. In my head, it played more comedic as Soriya is forced to learn how to live a “normal” life amid the insanity that plagues her. A real super-hero dilemma compared to the nightmares she usually faces.

That wasn’t enough to sustain the story, though. Doing it for giggles, while tempting, offered no drama; no stakes and the initial concept petered out pretty quickly from there.

Telling a ghost story

I scare pretty easily. I don’t enjoy the feeling, the terror that comes with the horror genre. Yet, something always pulls me in that direction; some unnatural predilection to scaring the crap out of myself that made writing The Apartment so exciting.

When it came to finding a reason for why Soriya would pick a certain place to live, without relying a simple need to connect with people, I kept coming back to her work. Her commitment to Portents.

So what would draw her to this apartment at the Golden Palisades?

A ghost.

Something simple, yet mythic in how we’ve created lore around the idea of ghosts in the world. Those unwilling or unable to head to their natural end and remain stuck. What would they do? What would they want? These questions fascinate me as much as they terrify me and I wanted to figure it out.

The Apartment allowed that aspect. It opened Soriya to a new experience, multiple new experiences especially when taking into account the arrival of the kids – Davis and Kevin – to the story.

That was what Pathways was about; pushing this cast of characters into new situations to see where they would go. How they handle tragedy, violence, horror and even the mundane on their own…

Holding onto an idea

This one stuck with me longer than most and I was so glad it did. Soriya’s move fit perfectly with the themes being explored in the collection and it let me tell this haunting tale as a bonus.

Thanks for reading.

Saying Goodbye to Old Friends

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In March 2016, I sat down with a plan in mind. The Greystone Saga. Five books telling the sprawling tale of Soriya Greystone and Detective Greg Loren. The mystery of Bethany Loren’s death at the center of it, the pair faced the mysterious threats hidden under the surface of the city of Portents.

This week I put the final touches on book five. For the first time since this crazy journey began, I was able to put the words – The End – on the page. To say goodbye to old friends that have been with my every thought for the last two years is something I never imagined would be possible. Let alone bittersweet.

The Road Taken…

When I first pitched the series (to an audience of me, myself and I) Soriya was a stay-at-home mother who fought crime with her pal, Loren, while the kids were at school.

Portents existed but it held none of the mystery, none of the secrets, it would eventually come to know.

How it grew, how it changed, is the best part of this wonderful process. I don’t have the answers, I don’t know where my sense of direction stopped and the characters took the wheel. I am damn lucky they did, though.

Soriya has been my strength, my guiding light. Loren has been my resolve, my need for answers. Ruiz, my truth and the parent needed to keep the children in line. Without these three watching over me, driving the story forward, Greystone would never have existed.

As edits wind down on A Circle of Shadows, I find their voices quieting. Never leaving, not completely, because I will never be able to leave Portents for long. There is another story to tell, a larger one yet to be explored with questions that have barely been posed let alone answered.

For now, though, it is time to say goodbye to my old friends.

I am incredibly grateful they have allowed me to tell their story for as long as they have and if I never do get back to Portents, I know I’ve told the best story possible because of who they are as characters, because of the challenges they faced.

The lessons learned during the last two years have made me a better writer. They’ve opened the door to new ways of crafting stories. Character over plot. Not being afraid to upend a scene to find a better way. Questioning everything until the answers speak for themselves in the narrative.

Greystone made all of that possible.

The end for now…

Tom DeFalco was the master of ending his stories like this. Nothing truly ends. There are threads that remain, lives that continue even after we close the book.

That is certainly true for Greystone. Loren, Soriya, Ruiz and all the other players that have grown from that initial pitch have more stories to tell.

As I write this, there are no less than four short stories I’ve added to my schedule that take place in Portents. Some flashbacks, others a bridge to where things are headed in the second half of the series.

Like I said, their voices will never truly leave me. I wouldn’t want them to.

For now, there are new stories to tell. A new series to plot. Another to edit. New worlds and new dramas. But none would be possible without Greystone.

Goodbye old friends. See you soon.

The Medusa Coin Primer

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It is time to get ready for the next installment in the Greystone series! The Medusa Coin arrives on September 12th!

the medusa coin

Previously in Greystone:

What do you need to know to dive right into The Medusa Coin? For me it is all about character. Events happened in the past, that’s going to be true for any novel, any series, anything. If I met you on the street I would know nothing of your past, only of the moment and everything preceding it would come later – or not. You don’t HAVE to tell me everything. I won’t get upset.

But when it comes to Greystone it all boils down to Greg Loren and Soriya Greystone.

Greg Loren is a broken man. He’s lost his wife, the circumstances of her death a mystery he has been unable to solve over the last four years. He can’t move out of the past despite his efforts to forget everyone and everything. And now that he is back in Portents, the past surrounds him on all sides.

And his dreams are getting worse. Beth calls to him, her fate tied to his future but in what way he still has no idea.

Yet.

Soriya Greystone lost her previous life in the burning wreck of a van at the age of four. Her parents, her very identity were stripped from her in that instant. The man known to her only as Mentor found her and offered her a new path, a new life.

Forged through endless study and struggle, Soriya learned the truth about the city of Portents and its need for a protector. Wielding the enigmatic Greystone and using its power over nature she stands as the last line of defense against the dark creatures of myth and legend that infect the city.

When Mentor fell his stone merged with her own, the secrets of the weapon hidden from her. Her true purpose and that of the object at rest tucked under the heart of Portents, the Bypass, a mystery that keeps her from fulfilling her destiny.

But all secrets come to light.

Nathaniel Evans’ plan to raze Portents to the ground and begin again failed. In its wake, however, new threats have been awoken. New plans put into motion.

The ultimate test for Greg Loren and Soriya Greystone is about to begin.

And it starts with The Medusa Coin…

The lightning struck…

For those who have finished Signs of Portents you know how it ended. The crashing of thunder, the lightning strike of justice ending another threat in Soriya’s city.

That moment changes everything.

You’ll see what I mean next time as a sneak peek into the latest novel.

Thanks for reading.

Remember…

You can pre-order your copy of The Medusa Coin now!

            

 

 

 

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