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

Writing Update – July 30, 2019

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It’s been a strange month in the basement over here. I try to keep forward momentum on a number of projects at all times. The last few weeks, though, it hasn’t felt that way to me. Like I was just spinning my wheels instead of actively closing out projects.

Sometimes it’s just the nature of the beast, I guess.

Writing Update

DSA Season One

The season is off to the editor. I was glad to see it off but since I sent them over I’ve had some thoughts about checking different areas again. Anything to drive myself insane with worry.

Over the course of August the entire season will get one more pass to close things out.

If you read my newsletter last week, the release dates are set for the first 3 books in the season.

The Clearing launches October 9th. Promethean arrives November 13th. And The Bridge will be available on December 11th.

Pre-Order info coming next week!

Greystone-In-Training

My alpha readers finished up Hammer and Anvil last week, so I am in the process of fixing up the draft before giving it one last pass.

I love coming back to Greystone, so much so that I outlined book 2 this month. The title made my wife giddy with joy. Very excited to share more details next month.

The trilogy is really shaping up and I think it’s going to transition nicely back to the main series when it’s time for books 6 through 10.

Greystone

I’m making a real effort to flesh out the back half of the main series before diving into the drafting phase. Greystone was a great lesson in how to plan things out, how to plant seeds and see them come to life with each new release. The problem was my timetable and how quickly I was forced to go from book to book  without any downtime in order to hit my deadlines.

Really want to plan that aspect better by having a clear path from the flashback novel of book 6 to the series finale in book 10. Right now, there are some notions here and there (including some awesome tidbits for books 7 and 8) but nothing concrete yet in terms of the overall arc.

Talk to you next month about the launch of Greystone: The Complete First Cycle and more!

Writing Update – April 30, 2019

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Welcome to the writing update for April 2019! It’s been a crazy month in the basement as I try and close out some stuff and start others.

On with the show!

Writing Update

DSA Season One

I am currently in the middle of self-editing the final book of season one. But Lou, you said your deadline was today? What happened?

Jury duty. Crazy, right? I am fulfilling my obligation as a US citizen at the moment, so writing time during the Easter holiday hit a big snag.

I will be finished with Broken Loyalties next weekend and reading through all six episodes the following week! Very excited to pass this along to some alpha readers for feedback.

Hammer and Anvil

Another reason for the slight delay is the opening book of the Greystone-In-Training trilogy. My initial plan was to finish DSA before diving into the script for Hammer and Anvil.

Then my brain took over.

Stupid brain.

The script is DONE for this book. 106 pages of Soriya awesomeness that will serve as the spine for the draft. It’s actually a pretty tight script in my opinion. Sometimes when I work a little faster on a project than I should – i.e. all the time – I tend to overlook the nuances of each character’s arc.

I nailed them here perfectly. Every interaction is layered for character and plot. Each scene propels the narrative forward to the next.

Can’t wait to dive into the draft next month. Hoping to close it out by the end of May with edits in June. However, as you may recall, plans tend to shift slightly as life takes over.

Release Schedule

As it stands now, there are a few things coming your way from me later this year.

August – Greystone: The Complete First Cycle Digital Box Set

All five novels of the Greystone series in one fantastic package. The cover is awesome and you already know the contents are. There will be teases for what comes next as well as some personal reflections from me (I hope).

October – DSA: Season One, Book One – The Clearing

It all starts here! The people of Bellbrook, Ohio have vanished and only the DSA field team can solve the mystery behind their disappearance. Or will they become victims themselves?

November – DSA: Season One, Book Two – Promethean

The field team investigates a mysterious murder and runs afoul of a pyrokinetic trapped in a deeper conspiracy than any of them thought possible.

December – DSA: Season One, Book Three – The Bridge

The team is split between personal tragedies and professional inquisitions. Lines are drawn and loyalties are tested.

Where does Hammer and Anvil fit? Hopefully, in September but I’m leaving it open at the moment so I can nail down the draft. By the end of May I should have a clear picture of where it will fall on the schedule.

Stay tuned.

Writing Update – March 19, 2019

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This appears to be the month where things came to a grinding halt. Why, you ask?

THE FLU!

My daughters have been sidelined all week with the terrible bug and it’s taken its toll on me as well. The old brainbox has turned into a massive fog of late so work hasn’t been the easiest thing in the world. We’re on the mend, slowly – so slowly – and after fumigating the house I’ll be back to it.

But let’s get to the writing update already!

Writing Update

DSA Season One – Book Three is DONE. The Bridge is one of my absolute favorite stories in the series. I was so glad it came together as easily as it did. It required little tweaking on my part from the previous iteration.

Currently, I’m editing Book Four. This one is a little more tricky than the previous two installments as this one has to play a couple different roles. Not only is it meant to be a direct continuation of The Bridge but also introduces a new world of characters to be explored. Juggling between the two is a feat. I’ve come to realize I sacrificed some of my momentum by doing so.

This week I’m fixing it up, nailing down the specifics on the arc long plot and how it can best be promoted within the pages of this chapter of the story. The main plot is set, it’s all those nasty little subplots and twists I want settled before I move onto the final two books.

My original deadline was March 31st for all six books. Since January turned into a script-fest for Season Two I pushed out the deadline until April 30th. Barring any further illness (UGH) this will happen and I’ll be well into the script for the Greystone-In-Training novel, Hammer and Anvil.

Launch Dates

I’m reticent to announce anything until I nail down some specifics – editing and cover design-wise. My hope, one I truly believe is feasible is to launch DSA in October and the Greystone novel in September. If that is the case, the First Cycle Box set will launch in August to help promote the new book.

It’s going to make for a crazy summer but I think it’s possible once I figure a few things out.

I will keep you updated!

Writing Update – January 22, 2019

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The weather took a turn this weekend. Snow, snow and more snow. Well, it is January so I can’t complain too much about it. Plus, the bonus is that there is no reason not to sit at my desk and crank out some pages.

Writing Update

I came into the new year with a pretty ambitious plan. Lots of new projects on the docket for 2019, writing-wise. Publishing-wise? Well, I’m still trying to figure that one out.

As of this writing I am scripting DSA Season 2 Book 6. I never set out to script the second season. As I neared the end of drafting the first I knew it was important to outline, to sort of feel my way into the second season so that I could refine and focus certain details in the first.

But the stories refused to let me go. It took three weeks to dialogue everything out. All six books. Now I’m almost finished taking that dialogue and meshing it with the outlines to create a nice spine for what each book should be when I sit down to draft.

So, about 500 pages of material for January. I’ll take it.

Season 2 is shaping up to be even better than the first, in my opinion. The seasonal arc, the subplots, are much tighter this time around. I think part of my hesitance in closing out my edits of the first season is that sense of beginnings. There are details that occur before the first sentence and I’m not sure if they have a place in that opening book or if it will convolute the overall narrative.

I know, I keep talking about a project you haven’t seen yet and keep asking questions about it. This is what I’ve been dealing with for months and what I’m hoping to finish by the end of March. That’s my personal deadline and I aim to keep it.

Publishing-wise

I mentioned some hesitation on this front earlier. Publishing is a long-term game and right now, the way the dollars and cents breakdown I’m not quite where I need to be to make the DSA fiscally viable.

What does this mean?

Well, I’ve tinkered with the idea of a Kickstarter campaign. Crowdfunding is pretty huge right now and if it can help get these books in your hands sooner why not try it out?

I’ve also considered a Patreon page to help fund this endeavor. Another crowdfunding effort, but this would be on a monthly basis and you would receive my final draft of each book directly from me for your contribution. Not the eventual published version, which would be professionally edited but pretty darn close. This way you could get a new DSA book EVERY MONTH for the next 30 months once I launch.

That sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it?

Seriously, I am asking your opinion on this. And I’d love to hear your thoughts at lou@loupaduano.com. I’m loving the hell out of this project and want you to be able to enjoy it as soon as possible.

I better get back to it. Thanks for reading!

Writing Update – December 17, 2018

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The final update of the year! An insane year writing-wise and it looks like next year is going to be even more intense with projects galore.

Writing!

NaNoWriMo was a blast! I really challenged myself to hit my daily goals without the use of additional helpers to tackle the little things like my kids, grocery shopping and Black Friday shopping online.

I definitely felt the crunch at times but it was well worth the effort to see if I could make a go of it with my limited availability writing-wise.

So what came out of it this year?

The entire first season of DSA is drafted! Books 4 through 6 were my goal for November and I managed to eke it out on the last day. I have a ton of notes to go through and additional threads to weave now that all six books are written. My plan is to spend January through March cleaning up all six so I can pass them off to my alpha readers.

But wait, there’s more!

I might be insane. Might. I try to take it easy when I can but it never works for me. I have to keep moving forward, keep pushing myself to build story.

As of today, the entire SECOND SEASON of DSA is outlined. All six books are plotted with character arcs and subplots spreading from seeds in the first season. I am loving this world and don’t want to leave any time soon.

There is a map now for the entire series. I have the opening and closing scenes for Season 3 Book 1. I know the twist coming at the end of Season 4 Book 5. A rough path lies ahead and I feel terrible for the things the characters will be forced to face.

But I would be lying if I didn’t enjoy every new note, every interesting twist I never imagined previously.

I think you’re going to love it.

Reading

This week I’ve been diving into research for a new project. It’s a long-term book requiring quite a bit of foresight and knowledge before putting pen to paper. Not my usual style, not my usual subject matter to some degree, but the idea was so fascinating when it was presented to me by a friend that I wanted to see if I could do it.

I’m hoping to have an outline built out of my notes by the end of the year before the massive self-edits on the DSA consume my life.

Other than that, the majority of my reading has been with my daughters. We just reached 1993 in the Spider-Man comics. It is an absolute treat to be able to share these stories from my youth with my kids. There are so many gems in there. David Michelinie’s run on Amazing Spider-Man is absolutely one of my favorites. Alex Saviuk’s pencil work on Web of Spider-Man was another highlight for me.

However, the top praise goes to J.M. DeMatteis and Sal Buscema for an utterly beautiful run on Spectacular Spider-Man. Issues 178 through 200 are one of the greatest collaborative accomplishments to this day, in my opinion. They brought a humanity to every character and really brought out the pathos in every situation. The culmination in 200 is still one of my favorite comics of all time.

People denigrate the 1990’s for being extreme or void of actual content. Not these books, folks. These books defined who I am and I was glad they held up against the nostalgia factor.

Writing Update – August 23, 2018

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Welcome, welcome! Let’s get to the writing update, shall we?

Greystone

Lots of cool things going on with the Greystone Saga right now. A Circle of Shadows drops on September 11th for all you digital readers out there. Interested in a paperback of the climactic finale to the series?

You can order one NOW!

The Medusa Coin Sale! – The third novel of the series is currently only $0.99! Interested in seeing where Samantha Myers comes into play? Want to know what divided Soriya and Loren to the breaking point? Look no further than this incredible tale of immortality and sacrifice.

Sale ends August 28th, just in time for…

Pathways in the Dark Sale! – That’s right. The road to A Circle of Shadows is becoming clear for you, isn’t it? Starting August 29th and running through September 4th, Pathways in the Dark will only be $0.99 digitally!

Know the whole story before grabbing the finale on September 11th. From the final tear in Soriya and Loren’s partnership to the secrets behind Samantha Myers’ arrival in Portents and more. Every story, every character explored is important to where the story is going.

The D.S.A.

From now until the end of the month I am putting the finishing touches on Book Three of the first season, with a novel called The Bridge. I really like how much of the original version held up and can’t wait for you to see where the series is headed. This installment is the crux for the season in my opinion.

A smaller story in scope, The Bridge allows the reader to step back from the main plot and explore the pasts of each of these characters.

My main focus has been to ramp up the action in a few spots and keep the story consistent with the previous two books already completed.

Season Two – Yeah, I know. Season one isn’t due for another year. Yet here I am, unable to turn off my brain. I outlined the first book of season two this week and even have the first five chapters of book two outlined and ready for dialogue.

Why am I jumping the gun when I know I should be focused on the current project? Mostly it’s about finding answers to questions raised in season one. Having those in my back pocket, including a character who turns from foe to friend, means I can go back and seed those shifts, those slight details and make the whole reading experience all the better. (I hope…)

I intended to spend the autumn working on a separate project before returning to the back half of season one but right now I’m having such a blast I might just keep going.

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