We’ve almost made it to the last author commentary for the Tales from Portents collection! One more after this, promise! My hope with these author commentaries is to offer insight into the decisions made in putting the project together and the challenges therein. It’s also fun to point out the little Easter eggs throughout. (I love that crap.)

Spoiler Warning is in effect!

Pulling threads together…

This is one of the most difficult tasks of a writer. I am constantly tweaking, pulling, and praying that at the end of the day the threads connect and make sense.

As well as satisfy both the casual fan and the avid reader.

For Resurrectionists, the task before me was to take the small nuggets left throughout Signs of Portents and build a compelling narrative to explain some of them.

Not all of them.

A good friend continues to complain about the lack of answers. Don’t worry. They are coming. Soon.

So I had goals set before sitting down to plot.

Roadmaps help.

They do. Sometimes I wonder where the hell I would be without my OneNote app. I have so many little tidbits and thoughts stretched across dozens of pages.

Having goals is only a start though. There has to be a narrative behind the events or there is no reason, no drive for the characters. Who wants to read that?

Coming up with a story that allowed the threads of Robert Standish, Loren’s suspension and his fallout from Soriya was where the challenge came in for Resurrectionists.

Knowing Loren was as helpful as the map.

Beth remains central to the character’s motivations and offered me a starting point. What would make Loren stop using his brain and follow his heart, act out emotionally instead of rationally?

The chance to bring Beth back.

Bringing faith into it.

I’m a huge fan of Supernatural. I won’t deny it. Those damn Winchesters have stolen twelve years from me and I still tune in as often as possible to watch their misadventures.

Especially the seasons centered on the conflict between angels and demons.

I’ve always been fascinated by religious lore. In fact, you’ll be seeing much more of it in a few years (yes, years…) and it is going to ROCK.

But for the purposes of this tale, I wanted to play with Loren’s faith. His beliefs. And how it relates to the characters in Portents.

Using resurrection as a tool, an instrument behind the narrative, spoke to where the character was at this point in the series. I needed Loren to fall. I needed his mistake to be grave, at least in his own eyes.

Would Soriya have easily forgiven his actions? Would Ruiz?

Of course.

But Loren wouldn’t. And that was the important part. Loren needed this break. He needed to walk away.

Until Signs of Portents brings him back.

Tying it together.

Goals are great. Plot devices or threads offer a writer an entrance into the story. But it isn’t enough.

Using Resurrectionists to answer questions would have fallen flat without tying it to Loren’s arc as a character. Taking those threads, that constant guilt at his mistakes, and then showing what he’s been trying to deal with after the events of this story offers that much more impact.

Every story since this one has given me that opportunity and it is something I’ve been grateful to learn while constructing this series.

Character trumps all. Defining moments only work when they sprout from the character. All the threads, all the maps, all the goals in the world don’t mean anything without a tie to principal players in the narrative.

Coming July 10th:

The last commentary on this collection!!

The face of the Founder… AND A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

Thanks for reading.