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

The Medusa Coin Commentary – The Blood Sample Sequence

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The commentary on The Medusa Coin continues – SPOILERS AHEAD EVERYONE!

The Blood Sample Sequence

When drafting I try to keep things simple. One movement to the next to the next and so on and so on… Most of the time, this keeps the pace pushing ever forward to the climax of the piece.

Other times it completely destroys a sequence.

This was the case with the Blood Sample Sequence in The Medusa Coin.

I had a simple outline:

  1. Myers yells at Liam Schultz to run the samples to tie the victims together.
  2. Liam curses his role but does what he can. When he steps out of the refrigerated unit he is knocked out by Soriya.
  3. Myers returns to give Liam her number. Sees Soriya fleeing and races off to catch her.

Pretty straightforward, right?

That was actually the weakness of the sequence. Things moved so quickly that when you walked away from the events of these three chapters you ended up with more questions than answers.

Expanding a moment

This is something I tend not to do. Writers are told to come in late and leave early. Show the reader what they need and get the hell out of the way.

Well, I needed to show the readers more.

Why?

Soriya punches out an innocent for the samples. Not exactly on point with her character but I had no chapter to explain her motivations. So I switched the Liam chapter to a Soriya chapter to give more insight into her actions.

Myers calls Loren before remembering she never left her number with Liam. I took a moment to show the other end of the conversation. It opened up more room for Loren’s own subplot and helped break the ice on these two strangers trying to connect in the middle of this crisis.

Myers can’t just leave Liam unconscious on the floor of his lab. She can’t. So I needed him awake. I needed him to get back to work and do what was required. This created a need for his own chapter later right before he meets his end.

So from three beats to five. Should have been good enough, right?

blood sample sequence

Nope. Try again.

Soriya had no logical next step. She simply shows up at the university and it is explained later how she came to that conclusion. I didn’t like that leap.

Instead, I built in an aftermath chapter for her to regret her choice to go it alone. In that moment of solitude she realizes she has somewhere to turn in the form of Mentor’s old friend, Professor Erikson. Justification in place, we were ready to rock and roll on the sequence!

DETAILS

Explaining the need for the samples was another headache during the editing process. I understood the need to corroborate evidence for the case but was it truly necessary for where the story was heading? This became a central argument that constantly threw the sequence into question.

Was there enough there? Did I need to explain it further?

Liam and Myers’ discussion changed dramatically, growing more complex as Myers laid the stakes down for the young man. There was a ton more humor in the first draft but it needed trimming to fit in exposition to make the scene work.

It’s a crucial sequence that propels the story forward for both Myers and Soriya. Without it, Soriya doesn’t end up at the university with the real killer and Myers doesn’t find out the story of the seven sons and find her way to the Bennett home.

That was why I had to take extra care to make it work and have it all make sense!

Hope I did…

Next week after a well-deserved turkey break!

A deleted scene involving the Courtyard!

Thanks for reading.

The Medusa Coin – The Face of Evil

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SPOILERS AHEAD as the author commentary of The Medusa Coin continues!

The Face of Evil

I spend way too much time thinking about the antagonist for each story being told. It probably says something about me that when it comes to plotting and motivation the villain of the piece gets more play than anyone else.

I blame Signs of Portents.

Some readers mentioned – rightfully, so – that Nathaniel Evans fell flat in terms of depth. He was evil personified, that was his role, but he could have had a little more going on behind the scenes, for sure. Knowing that criticism, hearing those thoughts from readers, opened my eyes to the issue going forward.

Henry Erikson was born out of that discussion.

Evolutions

face of evilI fell on Henry’s motivation pretty early on. Control. That was the key for him. To the extreme. Not just in life but in what followed – and for him what must be avoided.

With that in place, piecing together the saga of the seven sons – his victims – made narrative sense.

But what about his actions? Was he justified in this course? Of course not, but was there some gray area to play with there?

That was where the church scene came from and where the grocery story scene became a necessity. Henry questions his actions in these moments – he has legitimate concerns over the Charon’s wanton murdering.

But his need for control wins out.

In the first draft, neither scene existed. In fact, during the early plotting of this novel Henry murders a man right out of the gate to explain how he learned about his six siblings.

Definitely the wrong move there!

The eventual turn…

Henry, in fact, never murders anyone himself. There is a question whether or not he kills his aide after pummeling Pratchett at the university. You could read his comments with murderous intent but there is also the possibility the boy ran off in terror and that was Henry’s intention all along.

But when it comes to Jeremy Bennett, this final obstacle in his path, he goes out of his way to make sure it happens. He brings a gun to the party, knowing he will have to pull the trigger.

Desperation in his struggle for survival has pushed him over the edge. I liked that slow burn toward this moment.

Justifying the moment.

He does. Right there at the second of his victory Henry feels he has to justify it to Jeremy. He can contribute more to society than his brothers ever could. Henry Erikson means more to the world than his brothers.

He believes it, he has forced himself to believe it over the course of his questioning, that it has become his truth in this act.

That sold me on him as the face of evil for this novel. His plummet from knowing the Charon’s actions are wrong to finding a way to tell someone that he is more important than his last living sibling.

Henry’s journey made The Medusa Coin a treat to write. If I could have stayed with him more during the narrative I would have, but that wasn’t meant to be.

His closing line is still one of my favorites from the series – “You call this living?”

He has set a high standard for the threats to come.

Next time

One of the toughest sequences ever constructed – the blood samples!!

Thanks for reading.

The Medusa Coin Commentary – The Luminaries

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The in-depth look at The Medusa Coin continues! SPOILERS AHEAD!

Rise of the Luminaries

The Luminaries was a concept that caught my attention early on in the development process for The Medusa Coin. I knew Soriya needed to lead Loren somewhere for answers. This is Portents we’re talking about so the place had to have some secrecy surrounding it, something hidden beneath the surface to dazzle Loren as Soriya likes to do.

So the library came first.

But who were the Luminaries? This is where things were tricky. In the original draft, the Luminaries were immortals.

An offshoot of humanity that somehow managed to rid themselves of the threat of dying – by natural means, of course. I have a scene tucked away in the recesses of my mind of two factions within the Luminaries meeting at the Treaty of Versailles and discussing the huge mistake it made starting World War I.

That scene actually would have been the prologue to a spin-off novel about the rest of the enigmatic group.

I am so glad I was able to keep the bit about the war in the book but the immortal angle? In a book where the main conceit is a coin that can grant immortality to its user?

Didn’t work. Couldn’t work.

Too many immortal beings out there already. Two personas of Death, Henry Erikson and a whole group of people able to live forever?

Something had to change.

luminaries

From immortals to a society of secret librarians…

I love Loren’s crack about the super secret librarians. It fits so well with the tone of the scene and sets up the purpose behind the group. Losing the immortal vibe helped keep them grounded. With myths and monsters running rampant in the city there was a need for a more human element and a hint that not everyone is in the dark about what is actually going on in Portents.

Having them be at odds with Mentor came later and that exchange was reworked from every possible angle to give some hints as to what is coming for the series. It is extremely vague and had to be – which I play as Mentor keeping secrets from Soriya when really it’s all about keeping you, dear reader, in the dark for a bit longer…

What I will say is this:

The Luminaries play a big role in the events of Greystone and their story is far from over.

And the potential spin-off?

I want to write it still. I do. Not having the immortal angle makes it a little more difficult in terms of finding the right story but I have an inkling of what I want to do with the group.

Secret hunters just sounds too cool to ignore forever, you know?

Setting the book in the same world as Greystone has its own challenges as well but I think it would be cool to see what happens beyond Portents.

Writing this blog has definitely introduced new ideas of where to go with the concept…

Next time

The face of evil – Henry Erikson!!!

Thanks for reading.

The Medusa Coin Commentary – Building Subplots 1

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The commentary on The Medusa Coin continues! SPOILERS AHEAD!

Building Subplots

Over the course of 11 months from 2012 to 2013 I put together a very, very, VERY rough draft of The Medusa Coin. It was my first attempt at writing a novel in five years and it showed.

Also during that time, my cubicle neighbor was reading Signs of Portents in its comic book script form. He loved it. The second he finished he asked where the sequel was and when he could read it. I told him it was coming. Then he asked what was in it.

When I finished describing the narrative his FIRST question was: What about who killed Beth?

His second question – What’s the deal with the Greystone?

I had no answers. I told him he would have to wait and see. He then wondered if either was mentioned in the sequel…

NOPE.

The flaw in my grand design was quickly discovered. I set out to fix the narrative as quickly as possible.

(Four years later…)

Answering questions?

When writing a series sometimes it isn’t about answering every question but making sure each gets some forward progression with each installment. That is what I realized as I went about rewriting and reworking The Medusa Coin.

Not having any mention of Beth’s fall in the original draft was a weakness. One I couldn’t let stand.

Beth’s fall…

I didn’t have an answer but I knew the direction I wanted to go. This moment was seminal for Loren’s character – it drives him and to ignore it felt out of place to say the least.

I also didn’t want it to take over the narrative.

Enter the dreams…

By having the dreams run in the background of each novel and show their evolution over time it becomes a touchstone for the reader. This plot still exists and the reader realizes it without losing the momentum of the story they are currently enjoying.

Stringing the reader along is never the goal and it does become a fine line. One I worry about with each Greystone novel published.

But have no fear, true believer, the answer is coming next September.

building subplots

The secret of the Greystone

The original outline and subsequent drafts made no mention of the Greystone’s mystery (or that of the Bypass for that matter…) I realized pretty early on the loss of Mentor would open a gap in Soriya’s knowledge. Her teacher is gone and she is alone with this awesome responsibility.

Eventually the questions would arise. By opening the novel with the stone losing control it brought this lack of knowledge to the forefront and created a nice mystery for Soriya to pursue in the background of The Medusa Coin.

The revelation of more Greystones being out in the world came much later and I am so happy to have stumbled upon that thread. It has opened so many opportunities for future tales and you won’t believe the impact it has on the series to come.

Pulling away from the main narrative…

Subplots are necessary when crafting a series. There has to be an end goal for the protagonist. There has to be a question to be answered or a mystery to be solved. They keep the reader coming back for more. They keep the series interesting.

But they can also pull the reader away from the main story. Finding the right balance is tricky and one of the points I struggle with when crafting the books. I think it is why I ignored them the first time around. Was that the right answer?

No. Subplots increase the tension and carry the story over multiple novels. They excite the reader and drive characters forward rather than leave them stuck in place.

Next time

The second part of building subplots and the title reveal for Book Five of the Greystone series!

Thanks for reading.

The Medusa Coin Commentary – Starting Points

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We’re in commentary mode for The Medusa Coin so SPOILERS AHEAD!

Humble Beginnings…

Last time I spoke about the long road to publication for The Medusa Coin. Between 2010 and 2016 I tinkered and toyed with the novel more times than I can count. I had no true outline, no real threat and no clue how to proceed.

Not exactly the best place to start from in terms of the creative process.

It took revisiting Signs of Portents in early 2016 to really nail down where I wanted to go. Once I had the series in place, the idea of a building narrative through a number of novels and short stories, I had the freedom to chart a course forward.

Starting Points

starting pointsI had the bones of an outline, the skeleton of a story that carried through over the years. The Medusa Coin was always going to be about immortality, but more importantly about control of one’s life (a life without death). But from there I was a mess of a writer.

At one point hell hounds were involved. There was a fear virus running rampant in Portents. Ruiz died. And other insanity.

None of it fit! At all! I was throwing everything at the wall and nothing stuck because it couldn’t. Having a citywide threat didn’t make sense for this novel. The hell hounds made logical sense at one point and then there was no way to get rid of them in the third act, totally diverting from the threat of Henry Erikson. Ruiz couldn’t die because he had more story to tell.

So where was I supposed to go? What was my starting point for what became The Medusa Coin?

Soriya and Loren. Always.

Plot based threats are great and I knew Henry Erikson with the Charon would be perfectly placed within Portents. But what about character based arcs?

For me, that was the key to unlocking the potential of the narrative and it is with the two prologues I was able to tap into the actual story behind the book.

Prologues

Having the Greystone as an uncontrollable source of power played off the precision of the Medusa coin. One known and one unknown – both incredibly dangerous to the user and its intended target.

For Loren? I went back to Signs and realized Loren was returning to the city – this place that took his life from him. That is something he keeps trying to reclaim so what is his first step? His interaction at the bar was meant to be a callback to his own weaknesses – his addictive personality that causes him to chew gum so often and dream of smoking – but the scene also represented how lost he truly was.

And alone.

Loneliness defines these characters for me and having that personal stake in the novel – having them spin their wheels collectively yet completely separate at the same time really stepped up the conflict in my eyes. It raised the stakes. It set the tone.

And it gave me my starting points.

Evolutions

Much of the first act of the novel came from that first outline in 2010. Up until the moment Soriya reveals Death is in Portents was meant to be the first issue of the comic series version of the tale.

Except the prologues and the opening chapter. They were added last year when I set about building the entire narrative from the ground up.

I had read some questioning remarks of the two prologues with Signs. Personally, I think they set the tone for the series and plan to continue them into book 5 (although I’m taking a  slightly different  approach with that one).

If Soriya and Loren aren’t central to the story there is no reason to write it and call it Greystone in my opinion and the prologues cement that feeling.

Next time:

Building subplots. A two part exploration at the growing subplots of the series.

Thanks for reading.

The Medusa Coin – The Long Road to Publication

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The Medusa Coin‘s long publication history had plenty of ups and downs over the last decade that I thought were worth sharing. This is a fun story and it makes me look completely unhinged but I like to tell it anyway. The Medusa Coin was never a sure thing for me. When I set out to write Signs of Portents back in 2007 – and if you recall from a previous commentary this was when Signs was meant to be the first and greatest comic book mini-series of all time – there was no sequel planned.

There was no Greystone series.

I wrapped up the first draft of Signs in 2008. I couldn’t let the idea go. I knew there was more to explore and I sure as hell never solved any of the background elements like Beth’s fall, the origin of the Greystone, none of it. So I put some notes together on a second mini-series.

It was called the Seven Sons of Death.

I made it as far as the first issue and some of it survived all the way to the final draft. The rooftop meeting was the climax of the issue with Death’s reveal as the cliffhanger for the next issue. The intro of Samantha Myers was there as well so my family can get off my case for naming the dubious detective after my youngest daughter.

But I never went further. I had ideas on where the story was headed but nothing came together for me and I put it away.

In 2012 I was itching to write. Comics were in the past. Collaboration has never been a strong suit for me. Though I enjoy the back and forth when it works, there were too many times I ended up carrying the load solo and it wore on me. So, genius that I be sometimes, decided to write a novel instead.

Rather than reword Signs into a novel first, since the story was pretty well set, I wanted to try my hand at an original piece. Something new, something fresh.

The Medusa Coin was born.

publication history

I hit a wall immediately. Working full time made it difficult to write. More my own inability to step up and get words on the page, something I have thankfully learned over time.

But I gave it a try nonetheless.

For 11 months I wrote for an hour after work, sitting in my lovely cubicle with no overhead lighting (it gave people migraines or something…) typing away at what would become The Medusa Coin. Why the title change? Seven Sons of Death (I shortened it to Seven Sons at one point) never really sang to me. It fit for a time but I was very happy to stumble upon the Medusa connection and really amp it up in the drafting process.)

At this time I wasn’t huge on outlining. I would sketch out a chapter with some overall notes, maybe a line of dialogue or three, and then jump right in. The result was less than pretty.

I finished it though.

And then? Nothing.

The wheel turns…

Shockingly, I had no plan after this. That was me all over back then. I had a draft, a rough rough draft, but didn’t have the wherewithal to strengthen it on my own and knew no one else would be able to help either.

So it languished. Right beside Signs. Right beside quite a few other projects I hope to revisit someday.

Then I quit my job. And I wrote Signs. Then rewrote Signs. I learned the story behind the Greystone and the connections that brought me to the opening scene in The Medusa Coin.

And I had my story back.

I wrote the first draft of the current (and FINAL) iteration of this book during last year’s NaNoWriMo challenge. 23 days and 85,000 words later the book arrived as if it had always been there.

Why couldn’t it have been that easy back in 2010?

Lots more publication history and background to come on the novel. Have any specific questions you’d like answered about the creation of this book? Shoot me an email at lou@loupaduano.com and I’d be happy to put them in the blog!

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