Showing results by author "Edward C Patterson" in All Categories

Do ghosts mourn the living? Perry Chaplin is in mourning for his life partner, Bobby - a time of stress, notwithstanding. The more he drifts, the more he becomes unhinged until he's one room short of a rubber one. "Get a grip, Perry." So he takes his chances on a blind date, which further plunges him along the nightmare highway. He gets an unsought lesson in life-after-death that turns his bereavement into a horrific adventure. Come peek through Perry Chaplin's mysterious window. See what there is to see. Enter Our Lady of Perpetual Grace, where the holy water boils and the confessionals ...

In China they whisper about the Jade Owl and its awful power. This ancient stone, commissioned by the Empress Wu and crafted by a mineral charmer, long haunted the folk of the Middle Kingdom until it vanished into an enigma of legend and lore. Now the Jade Owl is found. It wakes to steal the day from day. Its power to enchant and distort rises again. Its horror is revealed to a band of five, who must return it to the Valley of the Dead before the laws of ch’i are set aside in favor of destruction’s dance. Five China Hands, each drawn through time’s thin fabric by the bird, discover ...

For all the softness verse instills, there’s an uncontained fire beneath, which burns until the skin wears thin and the flames burst forth. There’s a time for nuance and a time for hammering, not to put a too-fine ecclesiastical point on it — and this is the time to assure the word becomes the sword — the word provokes reaction. A mighty battle is being fought by the cultural warriors in the land — a war to be recognized as equal and unique. Normal is an ubiquitous label not fit for the American collective conscious. It runs counter to the soul of the nation. So, sometimes soft ...

Kevin Borden has a secret, and that secret is about to shake the world around him - a tame and suburban world ruled by his widowed mother, Sarah and peppered by his study-mate, Louis. Teenagers sometimes do the darndest things, but in Kevin and Louis' case, it's a stroke of wisdom wrapped in fool's gold. In a time not so long ago, in the days of JIM CROW and NO IRISH NEED APPLY signage, the world made hate clear to those regarded as the fringe. "Stay away." To those who know no better - or perhaps know best, such lines are only meant to be crossed, or why else would they be drawn. No Irish ...

Willa Goodheart, down to earth and friendly, undertakes a new position at work — a promising opportunity. However, upon coming home she discovers she is a person of interest connecting her to a string of murders in the bay area. Willa, true to her last name and who would never hurt a soul, is sucked into a series of mysterious events — a whirlwind progressively dampening her good prospects. She does the only thing she can do. She dives into matters attempting to connect the dots and clear her name. Willa Goodheart is a mystery tale set in the San Francisco of 1995. Willa, her family, ...

It is Chi Lin’s wedding day – an exciting time for any bride, unless the groom has died before the ceremony and the ceremony, as per contract, must proceed. Chi Lin becomes the Fourth Wife – the ghost bride in the House of Wu, a respectable Ming Dynasty household. But to keep her honor, Chi Lin assumes her role under the stern command of her mother-in-law and the disdainful eye of the First Wife. Still, as Mistress Purple Sage, Chi Lin survives, managing to bring fresh breath into this ancient household. Women in Fourteenth Century China played a subservient role. Most accepted their ...

The Trail of Tears left a deep mark on the Cherokee nation, a mark that still ripples through the descendants of that culture. It should also leave an indelible mark on the current conscience. Come, Wewoka - Poems on the Trail of Tears is a collection of heartfelt reflections on Cherokee culture during those days and after. Diary of Medicine Flower - Cherokee Aphorisms is prose-poetry reflecting Cherokee views on modern life. Together, these two works provide a sense of the vibrancy of Cherokee culture that is far from faded, but in well worth the sampling. Edward C. Patterson (Nv-wo-di A-...

“Exile is a state best experienced to understand. To spend thirteen years in a fly-infested wetland, slogging through jungle streams and unfurled on deserted beaches - to be blown hither and thither by storms and falling palms, is a lesson no book can teach. Still, I, K’u Ko-ling, had lived so long to tell of the fire, which heats the back until noodles could be tossed on it and stew made from the sweat.” Thus begins the sweeping fourth installment of The Southern Swallow Series - a tapestry of historical adventure and intrigue set in 12th Century China. While Li K’ai-men and his ...

When deep in the soul the true self stirs and arises to remove the mask; when nature overtakes art and courageously comes out of the night into the day; when the closet opens and fills the room with light — then we have The Awakening. Capturing the heart-soaring moment when a person faces themselves and then the world — a brave new world, which calls forth the best and heals the lies, is a momentous time. Like the first fireflies on a summer night, to share yourself with first one person; and then another, and then those closest and those furthest until the world knows — a world fresh...

In memory of lives spent and lives cut short during the plague years of the 90’s, words come to the edge of ground broken and spill like tears to both mourn and comfort. When age takes its toll, we embrace it. But when the young are taken with no apology or succor, verses seem hollow and depleted. Still, the vibrancy of a cautious line, scrawled as an epitaph for all to see, can stir long past the fall and last beyond a spade full of loam. In the time of AIDS, I served with the new army of caring hearts who embraced those fallen — angels thought to be abandoned by neighbor, community ...

"We were like Swan Clouds, or so my master Li K’ai-men said, because for ten years we drifted from place to place - city to city - one temporary capital after another." Ten years has passed since The Nan Tu, Book II of the Southern Swallow series. The Sung court and government has settled at the great city of Lin-an and peace is sought with the invading Jurchen. The stage is set for one of the most infamous incidents in Chinese history, known as The Yueh Fei Affair - an intrigue, which casts our adventurers into the perils of the times. Book III of the Southern Swallow series - Swan Cloud...

“Clothes don’t make the queen. The queen makes the queen.” It’s Santa Saturday in New Hope, Pennsylvania and Mother Asphodel is trudging through the snow to a gig at the Phoenix Club - her drag queen couture bundled in a shopping cart - her bony feet stuffed into galoshes. At seventy-seven plus, Mother has seen the glory days and, in the course of this evening, she’ll share those memories with a younger queen, Brooks MacDonald (a.k.a. Simone DeFleurry of The Jade Owl fame). Listen to these stylish dames as they plan Mother’s return into the spotlight, to shine once again in the ...

Outrageous and unleashed, words can light a fire under the meekest soul — a conflagration of the soul, melting all those near and far. To those near, it’s infectious, encouraging singing and dancing. For those far, it lifts a lamp for them for follow through the night and shout to sleepers to arise and join the reveling. It’s an ancient tradition this — this gathering and celebrating under the moon and beneath the stars, imbibing life in every gulp and not caring whether the sun will rise again. Such is the Festival at Thebes. This is my brazen self calling you to ponder lightly and...

"A bigger fool the world has never known than I - a coarse fellow with no business to clutch a brush and scribble. I only know the scrawl, because my master took pleasure in teaching me between my chores. Not many men are so cursed . . ." Thus begins the tale of Li K’ai-men as told by his faithful, but mischievous servant, K’u Ko-ling - a tale of 12th Century China, where state service meant a life long journey across a landscape of turmoil and bliss. A tale of sacrifice, love, war and duty - a fragile balance between rituals and passions. An epic commitment between two men to define ...

Martin Powers wanted an ironing board for Christmas. Instead, he got . . . Matthew Kieler, a non-returnable gift, but a gift that kept on giving. Chance encounters are sometimes the ones that most change our lives. He sold Matt a tie, but got more in the bargain - more than most people would want and more than anyone deserved. Although these lovers may not have had the pink American dream, they had it better than most, even as they faced a crisis that would change us all. Look Away Silence is a romance set in the time of AIDS, when ignorance could spell trouble and often did. It encompasses...

“China Hands! To Me!” A green fog has engulfed the Wei River Valley. The First Emperor’s tomb is mysteriously rumbling. The Big Goose Pagoda is glowing like a lighthouse. And to blame? A bunch of Americans stranded in the consulate at Bei-jing, who, at the end of the last installment, came bursting through a portal in the People’s History Museum. “China Hands! To Me!” With that command, Rowden Gray has summoned his forces to return to the action - to the Dragon’s Pool in the shadow of Her hem, where the Jade Owl’s overlord commands an army of creatures, engineering the end ...

Before the first Emperor conquered the Han peoples and the world came under the sway of Heaven, the villagers of Yu-shui-ch'ien paid homage to the creatures under Mount Li, pledging to keep the ch'i world alive and the feathered-kin's lineage intact. In return, they received a great gift - a treasure that promised them power beyond aspiration. Now the China Hands hear this prophesy from the three women. Now Rowden Gray must gather the relics to redeem the promise - to awake the sleeping and the dead. It is the time for the heroes to seal this pact before the Moon days devour the Earth. The ...

Oh, Dainty Triolet is a compilation of three of Edward C. Patterson’s most popular works into an Omnibus Edition comprising Cutting the Cheese, Bobby’s Trace and No Irish Need Apply. Cutting the Cheese is a comic romp through the world of gay activism. Bobby’s Trace is a ghost story with an unusual twist. No Irish Need Apply is a teenage coming of age story in a world fraught with prejudice. All three novellas have been revised and expanded for this edition and are still offered separately as they are a triptych in three different genres. What reviewers say about these three works: ...

Lin Mang, blinded by proximity to her father's lacquerware factory, manages her own industry — a seamstress, who amazes her neighbors by producing unparalleled embroidery in a long-lost style passed to her through the women of her clan. Lin Mang's world is dark, yet she navigates it as if nothing is amiss. Then the world changes. Invaders stalk the land; and her cottage industry is disrupted by the ravages of war. Lin Mang, however, is above such inconveniences. There is always a path to survival and, with the aid of an unusual collection of companions, she moves forward — one bell ring...

Lord Belmundus – The Omnibus One is a compilation of Books 1 through 5 of The Adventures of Lord Belmundus, a remarkable tale of other worlds, strange customs, beauty and warfare; and, in its grips, lands a young celebrity, who has the chaps to play the many parts this great journey requires. It includes the complete contents of: Book 1 – The Rise of Lord Belmundus Book 2 – The Didaniyisgi Book 3 – The Kalugu Book 4 – Across the Forling Book 5 – Cetronia Strikes Back Each are available separately but offered, along with the remaining ten books in a three-part Omnibus edition for...