Connecting Factor
Stories grow in the telling. They also grow in the editing phase and that tends to happen quite often with my own work. Ruiz and his relationship with his wife, Michelle, for example is one such instance of this. At the start Ruiz was little more than an ear for Loren. A minor character that assisted when he could but basically served to give Loren someone to talk to other than Soriya.
That sure as hell changed quickly.
Editing Signs of Portents, I realized how much I enjoyed Ruiz. His personality. His depth. And his relationships, both with Loren and with his wife.
When plotting The Medusa Coin, I knew Ruiz’s role was expanding with each pass. He was a vital component of the series, as much as Soriya and Loren.
Michelle started out much the same. A potential element of conflict for Ruiz but little else in terms of a character. When I explored her further, when I pulled apart their relationship and examined their family closely, I realized the potential to really build a strong background character.
Someone that helps drive Ruiz to be a better person, but also causes him to stumble because he wants to do so much for her.
The Great Divide
With Tales published between Signs of Portents and The Medusa Coin, I had the opportunity to put this marriage on display. I also had the chance to show the strengths and weaknesses of it from the beginning and compare it to the present day.
The Great Divide offered a glimpse at the happiness of the Ruiz family to be. How they shared all and Ruiz avoided the traps his parents fell into during his childhood. Of course, it crashes down on him.
But how to show the difference compared to the present?
Enter: The Consultant.
In the original outline, Soriya heads to the Central Precinct for information on Russell Kerr and hides at the approach of Ruiz. The focus here was more on how Loren’s absence had affected Soriya’s ability to do her work, the same as the previous chapters but that didn’t feel right to me for this moment.
And it would have been a missed opportunity.
By changing it and having Michelle call him, the reader easily recognizes the shift in their relationship from The Great Divide. It serves as a bridge, not only through the whole collection but also to The Medusa Coin where the divide comes to a head.
Resolutions are coming your way in September so get ready…
The final connection
Endings are tough. Just ask Stephen King. But they always come, some to more satisfying conclusions than others but they always have to arrive at some point.
And some are just so perfect you couldn’t ask for anything else.
Tales from Portents served as a prelude to Signs, so why not dovetail right into the first book in a natural way?
The final chapter of The Consultant does this perfectly. The text from Vlad about the missing women and the possible God involved. Soriya’s leap into the morning light of the city, ready for more fun connected the final moments of the collection to the first novel.
I tend to be overly critical with my work. (I know. Big surprise…) Not so much here.
Tales from Portents, to me was the easiest project to put together. Every piece, every connection, flowed from one story to the other naturally. Nothing was ever forced on the reader or the characters. Everything happened for a reason, every connection layered from the story itself, not shoved into the mix by my own hand.
If only every book came together so nicely…
Next time:
The BIG ONE. Resurrectionists! The whys and wherefores!
Thanks for reading.
