Behind Midnight

​​Midnight City was originally written to be a feature length novel, with this novella being its prologue. However, when analysing the story, I felt this would destroy the overall pace of the book, shattering the build-up of the main antagonist I’d be introducing later on. This gave me room to concentrate on Charlie as a protagonist, and dive straight into his role as a Spectra. The feature novel itself would have shown the journey in how he became such a deadly agent, and the trials he had to endure before confirming his Spectra status. My hope, is that this novella piques your interest enough to not only follow this character - but the setting which leads to future works within this connecting universe. Unfortunately, Charlie is not in the next release. It is set a few thousand years in the future. But he will be in the spotlight once more, mark my words!

The concept of Midnight City as a whole - was inspired by the Manga film Wicked City and the James Bond movies. I literally thought, wouldn’t it be cool if James Bond fought against demons! For an idea, I started with that as a base, and everything grew from there. The usual Anime or Manga premise is for the main character to harbour some kind of unique gift, so I utilised this trope to its fullest in order to expand the universe I am creating. The way a Spectra is made is fascinating, and there is no set way one is created, which gives me the creative space to add even more content to this tale. Then came Charlie’s motivations, his moral compass, his tone, and more importantly, his connection to others. What makes Charlie so interesting, is that he holds such power, and yet, the little things still matter to him. His personal trauma has made everyone he interacts with important, which is a rare quality, as trauma can sometimes serve to push those closest to us away. But with Charlie, he has taken on the protective role, the role of responsibility. Sometimes power comes with a certain disconnect, as we mere mortals could never understand the complex actions or decisions of a divine being. But here is a man who wields a divine power, yet is still desperately trying to save a friend, as he perilously clutches to his own humanity. Charlie drove this story for me, I was merely a passenger that had the honour and privilege of documenting his journey.

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