by C. A. Bryers
KEEPING IT LOOSE
Because of the pressure of our imminent arrival, I knew I had to start writing this book whether I was ready or not. And the painful truth of the matter was…I was not ready. I’d written a rough outline for it, but it wasn’t anything I was terribly excited about undertaking. I liked some of it well enough, but it had a missing ingredient, some indelible spark that I needed in order to really believe in what I was about to do.
I didn’t have time to rework the outline, so I had to make that spark on the fly. Considering I normally outline to the point of exhaustion, flying (partially, at least) by the seat of my pants was not something with which I was altogether comfortable. I do a lot of driving on a daily basis, and as a result, my work days went something like this: write as much as I can in the afternoon/evenings, and the following morning/early afternoon I would daydream as I drove about what happens next. It made for a very loose, free-flowing structure to my writing that I kind of found a bit liberating. I still believe in copious outlining, particularly for stories that have a lot of a lot of moving parts. Maybe it was the more streamlined plot threads or the tight, almost claustrophobic setting of the former prison that made this looser style possible. Who knows? Anyway, here are a few tidbits that popped up during the process:
House of Falling Rain had a few different titles along the way. The one that had the most traction was House of Golden Leaves, but that one conjured up too much of an artsy martial arts action epic to last for long. The “Falling Rain” part managed to come in early, though I was still open to changing it to something else. I don’t know how or why, but the idea just gelled one day, and that was that. I had the final title.
Next, Natke Orino wasn’t on the docket to show up in the book at all. The story was going to begin after Salla had already left her. Same goes for Dao’s little cameo—wasn’t in the cards. In fact, the only things that really survived from the original outline were those vital, necessary bones that held up the story’s structure. Most of the guts of the story popped up during drive time.
Also, Salla was supposed to have a much more intimate relationship with Rainne than the strained, but ultimately respectful and affectionate one we got. I think it was the inclusion of Natke late in the game that accounted for that. Having her present in the story brought weight to the hard-fought relationship Salla finally had with her, even if it only lasted for a brief time. Putting him in the sack with a new girl so soon I thought would have cheapened that relationship.
IN TRANSIT
After the Paragon books, I think Salla winding up in Majdi custody in some shape or form was an inevitability. It was the last thing on his mind as From Ashes of Empires wrapped up, so it became the logical next step in his story arc. Having the Eyes of the One and the power of the Magsem duking it out with his body as a battlefield came early in the development process, and made the first act of the book a frantic chase from persecution as well as putting focus on his seemingly inescapable march toward self-annihilation.
This is a transition story as we move from Salla’s life as a scrapper toward something new, so in retrospect it made sense to include a few cameos from the Paragon books as well as introducing a few members of his future supporting cast. Transition stories, however, are sometimes just that—a necessary evil to struggle through before things get good again. I wanted to make sure House served its purpose in that regard, but was also a strong, interesting story that was markedly different from what came before and didn’t stumble due to its transitional nature. To me, at least, I’m satisfied that those boxes all got checked, and am rather excited to get to work on the future of Salla’s storyline as we continue the Eyes of Odyssium sub-series.
HOUSEMATES
Before I introduced Rainne, I knew I wanted a different kind of female lead from Natke and Kitayne. She’s not of the physical variety like both previous leads were, and whereas Kitayne in particular was deeply flawed or even corrupt, I wanted Rainne to be something purer. Because she was of a more exotic nationality than the typical islanders of the archipelago—something along the lines of Middle Eastern, Indian, or even Native American—I wanted her name to be somewhat different…elemental, perhaps. The name I’d given her throughout the first two drafts I liked, but it was an uncomfortable fit that I knew would need changing. It wasn’t until I settled upon Rainne that things clicked into place. It goes hand in hand with the title of the book, because House of Falling Rain is her story as well as Salla’s…to a smaller degree, that is. When we meet her in Chapter 6, her world is falling out from under her. It isn’t until the end that she makes some sort of peace with what the future holds for her.
She fit in well with the rest of the House cast, as everyone from Joht Tavross down to bit players like Trigg and even itty-bittier players like Wescusi and Gaven were all members of the Order with failings of their own, hence their placement in a remedial training facility. Ciracelle was interesting to play around with as she emerged more as a factor in the storyline. She became a warning sign to the reader that there was something wrong in the House—a once-strong woman, conflicted by old feelings while being whittled down to nothing by an almost vampiric presence.
It was interesting to toe the line a bit with Lochmore, starting him off as an affable, laid-back, charming sort of guy that slowly transitioned into a man with deep failings of his own, and finally becoming the monster that we realize he’d been the entire time. With my wife being the first to read all my work now, I remember her telling me as she got further in how much she was starting to dislike Lochmore.
As the saying goes: my work here is done.
DON’T CALL HER “IRIS”
In every book so far, I’ve always come away with a character that was perhaps more fun to write than others. In Scrapper, it was definitely Kitayne. In From Ashes of Empires, Cron-jearre’s blend of bitter old man and grandiose once-and-future Paragon was a blast to write. In The Hollow-Hearted, the assassin Draves was the most fun, despite the difficulty in finding the right voice and personality for him.
And here in this book, Iriscent came out the clear victor for me (obviously, since she didn’t get so much as a mention in the Housemates section above). She’s such a bouncy, unpredictable character that it was impossible not to grin dreaming up the random weird things she’d blurt out in any situation. There are times with certain characters where you have to rein them in a bit, mainly because you like them well enough that you turn a blind eye to the fact that they’re trying to steal the show. Iriscent was one of those types, but because her role was fairly well slotted into story beats, I didn’t have much worry about her intruding upon scenes that didn’t require her presence. So I just went with it, letting her be as wacky as she chose to be.
From the outline to the finished draft, she was always going to be one of the few survivors to make it out of the House. I toyed with having her be part of the concerted attack on the students of the House, but opted rather to have her be able to fight off Lochmore’s influence. This leads us into our next section, which is…
MYSTERIES SOLVED AND UNSOLVED
But how did Iriscent manage that?
Though I tend to like leaving such things up to the reader’s imagination, I’ll dish the dirt on this one. I see Lochmore having two methods of influence and possession. One is through his astral projection that he used to take over Trigg and Ota. The other is through direct contact—prolonged direct contact that poisons their will, thus making it impossible to resist his commands. When we see Lochmore and Iriscent in the filing room, that was their first and only fling. The other assistants had all been seduced and thoroughly overtaken by the time the story begins.
But what about Rainne, you might ask? Was she the one who really attacked Ciracelle? To me, a careful read I think provides ample evidence in one direction or the other. The matter of who drained the cocoon pool, however, isn’t so clear. Iriscent was the last one in there, sure, so she could have been compelled to do it before leaving. And yet
, that ward protecting the cell when Ciracelle was left alone could be opened by Lochmore and Santerre as well. So I suppose the answer to that question is: what do you think?
And what of the Leech spirit? Delflore admits the man Lochmore is dead, but the spirit inhabiting him is still out there, but where? Time may tell.
WHAT’S NEXT, PUSSYCAT?
I have the next three years fairly well hammered out as far as the order of writing and releasing new material goes. Somewhere in the second half of 2017 should see the release of the next story in Salla’s journey, which just so happens to be my new personal favorite. So let’s talk about that one.
The next entry for Eyes of Odyssium and the next step in Salla’s journey is called A Song of Silence, and is a very different sort of story for the Odyssium series that draws inspiration from a few distinct areas. It’s also unusual in that it happens to be a novella paired with a companion story—The Other Side of Silence—that acts as a swift counterpoint to Song. If I could put them out right now, I would, as I really can’t wait for you to read them.
In related news, I mentioned in The Hollow-Hearted’s “Behind the Scenes” section that I was shifting gears to shorter works. That was true, even though I’ll be shifting back to full novels soon. Those shorter stories, however, are slated to appear in the Odyssium Anthology: Volume One. That’s where the two Silence stories will appear, along with two or three more stories of various lengths. PLUS, you lucky folks out there will also get some nifty bonus material in the package as well. Apart from The Hollow-Hearted (which is where that story will get its official print release), all the stories contained within are entirely new, showcase untouched points in Odyssium history, and even launches a brand new sub-series tentatively-titled Strange Days of Odyssium. It’s can’t-miss stuff, people!
After that, well, it’s back to the grind. The third and fourth Eyes of Odyssium volumes have fairly solid concepts, will be full novels, and should see release in 2018 and 2019 respectively if all goes well. Then there are more stories on the docket to be written for the Odyssium Anthology: Volume Two, more Eyes of Odyssium novels, a new sub-series or twelve, and so on and so on, happily until I kick the bucket.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C.A. Bryers is the author of the Odyssium series, which began with THE 13th PARAGON duology comprised of SCRAPPER and FROM ASHES OF EMPIRES. When not writing, C.A. Bryers enjoys sculpting, spending time with his family, and experimenting to find the magical number of minutes chocolate chip cookie bits should sit in applesauce before they are appropriately mushy and ready for consumption. He currently resides in frostbitten Minnesota—the exact opposite of the tropical paradise that is his ideal (at least part-time) place to park his flip-flops. Until then, he is moderately content writing about such locales.
C.A. BRYERS WOULD LIKE TO THANK:
House of Falling Rain is dedicated to my son, Logan. Though he’s the unwitting culprit behind my need to work so furiously on it, I also know that the book would not have been the same had he not been on the way. Honestly, I can’t wait until he’s at an age when he can read these books, and, fingers crossed, might even be just a little bit proud of his old man. He’ll be a teenager at that point, so more than likely I’ll be lucky to get an eye-roll and an indifferent “whatever, Dad,” or whatever it is kids say in the future to blow off their uncool parents. It’s a thought that warms the heart, no?
Thanks must also go out to composer Hans Zimmer, as I repeatedly battered my eardrums with a variety of his rousing film scores while writing this.
And last but never least, thanks go to the rest of my family, Merry-Ellen and Ava, as well as any and all family and friends who’ve lent their support both large and small.
Additional thanks as always must go out to the one holding this book: you. If you don’t know me but took a chance on this book from this unknown author, thank you. Adventurous readers like you are the reason writers like me are given the chance to continue to lay our dreams on pages.
Cover Illustration Copyright © 2017 C.A. Bryers
Cover Illustration, wrap and layout by Dennis Willman of Irondead Studio
www.irondeadstudio.com
Odyssan Archipelago Map & House of Falling Rain Blueprint by C.A. Bryers
Edited by Eliza Dee of Clio Editing Services
Formatting by Polgarus Studio
Copyright © 2017 by C.A. Bryers
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author with your mail addressed “Attention: Permissions Request” at www.cabryers.com/contact/