Why Should Readers Read Your
Books
First, let me say how much I
love epic fantasy. Truly, I love the
long, complex stories with so many characters (whose names tend to be
surprisingly similar) that I need an index and even a series of family trees to
keep them all straight. I also enjoy
writing amazingly, intensely complex tales but I have found that not everybody
can read them. Not everybody can get
lost in the spider web adventures of David Eddings or George R.R. Martin or
J.R.R. Tolkien. Most of my beta readers
are those people. My friends and family
are those people. Working Moms and Dads who
have very little time to devote themselves let alone to reading. That’s where the Emerald Seer Series comes
in. Fantasy, magic, and even a little
romance rolled into a lighter read where characters names don’t run together,
the plotlines are easy to follow, easily picked up and set down for hours (or
even days) without ever losing your place but still with enough surprise and
intrigue to be interesting. I wanted a
series that could be read for fifteen minutes here and there without losing its
potency.
That said I’ve composed a
list of the top five reasons to read the Emerald Seer Series.
#1 Strong female leads –
aside from my heroine, Storm Sullivan, there are some serious players with
strength, humor, and talents to rival any of the men. I wanted to create a world where the women
could defend themselves as much as lean on their men. Angeline Corsova (introduced briefly in RYDER
ON THE STORM and the main character in WHISKEY, MYSTICS, AND MEN) is part fae
and full warrior. Without giving too
much away, give that woman a sword and let her go to work. Though she is pursued by at least three men,
Angeline puts her love life on a back burner to follow her own personal code of
honor. Sophia Bedeaux is soft spoken and
at times meek but she evolves into a force to be reckoned with. Throw in some witches, a line of seers, and a
Goddess to round out this stunning female class.
#2 Out of the ordinary
Supernats – yes, there are vampires but not immediately and not in the
forefront. I opted for Seers, Immortals,
Seraphs (or Angels if you ask the Immortals), witches, a Phoenix, Celtic-inspired
deities, and more. Some are only touched
on – like banshees – but that’s only because I want to use them later! I am often asked what a Seer is so please
allow me to explain. Historically there
are people who can see the world beyond in different capacities and they are
often given different names – mystics, prophets, psychics and so on. There is one mystic in my series but he is
special and, well, I don’t want to explain further because it would spoil
things. That brings me back to
Seers. In the Emerald’s world, there are
lines of women who have visions of events (past, present, and future) but they
also have some magic in their bloodlines which make them more than
psychic. I hope that helps clarify, if
not, I guess you’ll just have to read the books to find out more!
#3 Enough action to keep the
guys intrigued – some of the most positive feedback I have received for this
series has been from men. I was
pleasantly surprised by this. There are
definitely some romantic story lines (and some love scenes that are not
suitable for those under 16) but it really is an urban fantasy at the core with
some exciting battle scenes, heavy sarcasm and some surprises I am actually
rather proud of. No spoilers but not all
of the Emerald’s enemies are supernatural and human scum cannot avoid her
wrath. Oh, and my characters have
awesome cars - big, black custom Hummers, small speedsters, and of course,
Storm’s VW Beetle.
#4 A pit bull named
PacMan. Need I say more? Storm’s dog is loyal and sweet but he can be
fierce when necessary. In fact, Storm
saved PacMan from being euthanized at a shelter when she was the only one who
could approach him without being snapped at.
For her, PacMan rolls over on his back for a good, healthy belly
rub.
#5 Every book is named for a
song by The Doors, one of my favorite bands.
Each is aptly named and I truly wish I could have gained rights to use
more lyrics but the titles had to suffice.
I hope someday to be able to add lyrics to the books because, let’s face
it, “his brain is squirmin’ like a toad” would be fantastic in RYDER ON THE
STORM.
I’m sure there are more, many
more reasons but I have this thing about spoilers. I worked very hard to set up some fantastic
surprises and I just do not want to ruin them.
About the Author:
Violet Patterson was born in northwestern Ohio and spent her childhood forcing her younger brother and sister to put on plays she penned about Care Bears and Smurfs. From there, she moved on to children's stories - unfortunately works like "Adventures of Super Cookie" were never released to the masses. Ms. Patterson graduated from Miami University with a degree in psychology and minor in criminology. After several years in the professional world, she stopped brainstorming and started writing again. "Ryder on the Storm - Emerald Seer #1" is Ms. Patterson's debut novel. The sequel, “Light My Fire” was released in December 2011. The sole Emerald Seer novella, “Whiskey, Mystics, and Men” was released the following spring and by mid 2013 the series was completed with “Love Her Madly” and “End of the Night.” Violet Patterson resides in Ohio where her two children keep her active and entertained. For more on the Emerald Seer Series, visit Ms. Patterson's blog at http://emeraldseer.blogspot.com and folllow on twitter @booksbyviolet
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