The Vermin Series

Songs from Vermin

| Ardin Patterson

As promised, yesterday the EP Songs from Vermin released onto streaming platforms, along with the single Loneliness. I had so much fun recording all of these, and prepping them to release for my birthday.

Now readers can listen to the songs that appear in The Vermin Series before the sequels come out, which is so awesome.

Here’s a little background about the songs featured (I’ll try to avoid any major spoilers).

Wicked Boys

The song Wicked Boys on the EP is featured in the second novel, and in the world of the series is sung by two sisters named Dottie and Darla. It played a lot when Roland, Dianna, Peter and Charlotte were still in school. Roland actually plays the guitar arrangement in the series, and it’s Charlotte’s favourite song.

My Heart (Kem Herotse)

In the world of the series, Kem Herotse was originally written in Valdin Zunta, the language the vermin speak, but was translated by humans later on, and renamed My Heart. It’s a song that pops up here and there throughout the series. I also love this track because it allows folks to actually hear the language Nicholas speaks with his family and his pack.

Don’t Go Crying

In the series Don’t Go Crying is performed by Alana Token, a singer who was very popular when Roland was young. She performed in Tavern before he was born to celebrate the reopening of Doren Shipping, the company Roland’s father worked for. She disappeared from the public eye after rising to popularity, but her music is still loved to this day.

There are two versions of this song on the EP, one being more of a lullaby version than the original.

Tell the Postman

Another Alana Token song, and a favourite of Roland and his mother Adeline. He sings this to her in the first book, and if you’ve read book one, you’ll also notice that the song mentions Ferine, where Nicholas was born.

Bicycle Blues

This is my favourite song to sing and play out of the songs in the series! In the books it is performed by Tavern’s very own Georgie Bryce, and is based on his life. Although the lyrics are very sad, it’s a catchy tune that ended up being extremely popular with teenagers, especially Roland, who once dreamed of travelling and performing like Georgie with music of his own.

I hope you had fun learning a little bit about each of the songs. More is revealed about them, and how the related to the character’s throughout the books. I had a lot of fun creating music to them, and recording them. If you want to check out older posts about The Vermin Series, click one of the links below.

Read More about Vermin

My First Book Signing

I finally did my first book signing this past weekend, and it was so much fun. Releasing a novel during the pandemic was weird. I’m…

by Ardin Patterson

Writing Updates

I’ve been writing the third book in the Vermin series by hand, which has honestly been cathartic. I don’t know why I stopped drafting novels…

by Ardin Patterson

The Vermin Series Book 2: What You Need to Know

| Ardin Patterson

If you have yet to read book one in the series, I will do my best not to spoil anything with this post, and of course if you’d like to read it, you can find it here:

Thank you to those of you who have been so patient, waiting for the release date announcement. I don’t have that date just yet because things were delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, but I can say that we’ve settled on a title for the second installment of the series and…the test readers all came back with excellent feedback!

Honestly, I’m so excited for this book to release. I’ve been prepping another giveaway, and I’m definitely stoked about it. I’m also planning to do more in-person author events after the release, given that my schedule permits them. I had so much fun doing the one in Waterloo, and getting to chat with booklovers from across the region.

I’ll be revealing the name of the second book once we get the finalized cover art, but I’m really excited.

I’ve got a bunch of other projects on the go here, that I can’t wait to share.

In preparation for book two, and as a treat to those who’ve read the first novel in the series, I’ll be releasing my first full EP on Spotify, which is a collection of songs from the series. The Songs From Vermin EP will release this month on my birthday! I can’t wait to share it. I recorded a lot of these songs between 2019 and 2020. My favourite out of the set is Bicycle Blues, and I think once you hear it, you’ll know why.

Until further updates, and announcements come along I hope that you’ll check out my reviews, and hopefully find a new favourite book to add to your TBR!

One Italian Summer – Review

About When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all…

by Ardin Patterson

NaNoWriMo 2022

For those participating, how is NaNoWriMo going so far? We’re now 17 days in, and I’m fairly satisfied with my progress so far. I like…

by Ardin Patterson

Read More about Vermin

Songs from Vermin

As promised, yesterday the EP Songs from Vermin released onto streaming platforms, along with the single Loneliness. I had so much fun recording all of…

by Ardin Patterson

April Novel Update

Back in October of 2020 I wrote a post about what real life books the cast of Vermin might have on their bookshelves. It was…

by Ardin Patterson

Love Song – Ardin Patterson

| Ardin Patterson

Since it’s my birthday this month, I’ve got a lot of music scheduled to release. Most of these are songs that were written either last year, or during the middle of the pandemic.

Love Song is the newest track coming out after my cover of Edge of Seventeen, and T-Rex in a Toddlers Body. The songs releasing later this month are titled The Last Song (March 23rd), and Loneliness (March 26th). I will also be releasing an EP on March 26th, titled Songs from Vermin which features 5 songs from the novel series along with a bonus alternative version of one of the songs.

The Last Song and Loneliness, are both songs written based off and set in the world of my nieces dolls. Although they might not sound like it. I’d like to post a lyric video for each of them, and am hoping to have one ready to release for the same week of their release, but we’ll see. I just finished recording for a series, and have some other projects on the go here, so hopefully I can get something put together.

Loneliness is the most upbeat out of the tracks. I had a lot of fun recording that one. Hopefully you’ll like it! I get that one stuck in my head a lot.

Looking for more music? check out these songs.

Edge of Seventeen

I recorded this way back and finally decided to release it since it’s my birthday month. I actually recorded two versions of this song, one…

by Ardin Patterson

Quick Update

It’s officially December, which means that NaNoWriMo22 has come to an end. I still have a lot to do for this novel, however it’s been…

by Ardin Patterson

Read More about Vermin

We Have Our Winners!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Vermin giveaway contest on Goodreads! We’re thrilled to announce that we have our four winners, and I personally…

by Ardin Patterson

Snow White – Valdin Version

| Ardin Patterson

For fun, I decided to translate this song into the fictional language from my novel series Vermin. It’s one of my favourite songs by Blackbriar.

This is what the language the Vermin speak–Valdin Zungta–sounds like.

I do hope that you’ll also check out the original song. It’s about Snow White and her sister Rose Red. In this version however, I just made their names Red and White to try and match the syllables.

Lyrics

Roka, Roka, Roka

Weiril, Weiril, Weiril

Danya Havotend Roka

Iya Kesa Matya Na

Mor Laibiet Ata Veishii

Jema Iya Tinen Naskit Ata Nayen

Unya Hoten Mor

Talenar

Sordt Serni Nei Kesa

Ata Unya Kesa

Hiloven Neilieken Naska Serni Nei Kesa

Roka, Roka, Roka

Weiril, Weiril, Weiril

Danya Havotend Weiril,

Blesein Maedkasho

Vei, Matya Kleikii Schistra 

Jema Mor Velken Ata Neivei

Unya Hoten Mor

Talenar

Sordt Serni Nei Kesa

Unya Yarya In

Diese Ranilan

Yeto Hade Matya Hanka   

Unya Hoten Mor

Talenar

Sordt Serni Nei Kesa

Ata Unya Kesa

Hiloven Neilieken Naska Serni NeiKesa

Roka, Roka, Roka

Weiril, Weiril, Weiril

Nayen, Vailen

Schistra Iya Femolt Danya

Vailen, Jare

Schistra Stabima Risden Matya

Unya Hoten Mor

Talenar

Sordt Serni Nei Kesa

Unya Yarya In

Diese Ranilan

Yeto Hade Matya Hanka  

Unya Hoten Mor

Talenar

Sordt Serni Nei Kesa

Ata Unya Kesa

Hiloven Neilieken Naska Serni NeiKesa

Read More about Vermin

When Roland Met Dianna…

Want to win a signed copy of Vermin? You can enter the giveaway on Goodreads in March! The contest opens March 1st, and will run…

by Ardin Patterson

Vermin Series Updates

| Ardin Patterson

All right, it is time for some series updates.

This one isn’t going to be very long, but I thought it would be a good time to update you all on books two and three of The Vermin Series.

Book Two

A lot of you have been asking about the release date for book two, and at this time I still don’t know. I can say that I’m thrilled so many of you are eager to read it–I personally can’t wait to have my copy added to my shelf–but unfortunately there’s a publishing backlog, so once I get the okay from my publisher, I’ll let you know the timeline and when the ARCs will be available. What I can tell you, is that I will be hosting two different giveaways at the time of it’s release, so please keep an eye out for that. Announcements will be made here on the blog, TikTok, Twitter and on Instagram.

Book Three

As for book three it is going wonderfully! Hopefully the timeline between these books being printed will not be so long, but the pandemic has really thrown a lot of things off, and folks are still adjusting to the high demand for books. I know how hard these editors work, and my goodness…they are fantastic! I am so grateful.

Other News

Vermin’s gotten more reviews on Goodreads, Amazon and Indigo.ca. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read it, and for all of those who added it to your TBR.

Vermin also turned 1 years old this month! Can you believe it? In honour of that, I ate a celebratory crepe. A fun little TikTok was also posted:

@theverminseries

Roland’s backstory explained by his niece in honour of Vermin’s 1 year anniversary 💖…#themselves #summerreading #reading #bookworm #booktok #characterart #bookfanart #sketchbook #storytime #oc

♬ The Story of The Phantom – Krystina Alabado & Will Roland & Stephanie Styles

To see more videos like this be sure to follow @theverminseries on TikTok.

My First Book Signing

| Ardin Patterson

I finally did my first book signing this past weekend, and it was so much fun. Releasing a novel during the pandemic was weird. I’m glad that bookstores are starting to do author events again and I was absolutely thrilled to do mine with author Lindsey-Anne Pontes (and in my favourite store!).

I find I’m still a bit rusty when it comes to talking about my own work, but I’m so grateful to everyone who came out to say hello, and show support. It meant to much to me.

I also want to give a special shout out to everyone who snagged Vermin themed postcards, stickers or bookmarks at the event. If you entered the Goodread’s giveaway you’ll know that those were created by @nuggiedraws. I recommend checking out their TikTok and Instagram! A lot of people at the signing really enjoyed the postcards and stickers, so I’ll definitely bring those to future signings. I also let the artist know how much you enjoyed their work!

My brain is still in this space of, whoa did that really happen? Did I really get to talk to people IN PERSON about my book? I haven’t had an opportunity to do that in so long. The release happened during the pandemic between lockdowns so it’s been pretty weird.

For those asking, I do have a mini update on books 2 and 3 that I can share. I think I’ll post that in a separate blog post, just so that I don’t drag things on too long…but thank you, thank you, thank you so much!

And thank you to Lindsey-Anne for inviting me to do a signing with her. I had so much fun gushing over manga in person with her, and she signed a copy of her book for me (the one I reviewed a couple months back)!

Writing Updates

| Ardin Patterson

I’ve been writing the third book in the Vermin series by hand, which has honestly been cathartic. I don’t know why I stopped drafting novels this way? I think it had to do with tracking my word count for NaNoWriMo honestly…

Back when I was working on the draft for the first book in the series, I had written everything by hand in a binder. After completing it, and transferring the draft onto my computer for editing, and the querying, I wrote the majority of book two’s draft on my computer, only writing the odd scene by hand here and there. The other writing projects I was working on around the time that I was editing book two were also written on my computer versus in a binder or notebook like I’d done previously. I’ve found that writing on my computer for my first drafts restricting. I constantly go back and edit scenes over and over, while I’m drafting when I should be writing, and allowing the story to unfold naturally. Writing the initial draft by hand allows for more freedom. If I make a mistake, I move on, especially since for the first time I’m drafting in pen.

I normally use pencil, but I have so many nice pens, and love the feel of pen on paper, so I went for it.

The other reason I decided to draft book three by hand is because for years I kept telling myself I needed a break from screens, and the pandemic didn’t really help the situation. I check my phone so often throughout the day that I just started leaving it in my room, and trying to only check it a couple times a day for emails from work. I found that outside of reading, I was spending way too much time on my phone just scrolling, and wasting time. Even with my computer, I’d get distracted while working on a scene and go off on a random Google search that would consume so much of my time. If you find yourself getting distracted by such things, I recommend going into your phone settings and using the wellness features that allow you to turn off any distracting apps for a period of time. You can set this as a daily thing, or simply choose one day a week. I have mine set do occur once a week, and I use that time to read and write. It was especially helpful while editing book two because it took away the temptation to play on my phone and watch tiktoks for three hours. Instead I was using those three hours to do the things I actually wanted to do.

I know most newer phones have this feature (my old one didn’t) and I’m honestly thankful for it. I’ve been making an effort to spend less and less time scrolling aimlessly. I recommend not checking your phone first thing in the morning either. If you’re like me and use it as an alarm clock (my alarm clock broke in university), then this can be difficult. What I do is, I simply turn off my alarm and walk away. I focus on getting ready or go eat my breakfast and then, I’ll come back and actually unlock my phone. Being bombarded with all kinds of notifications right when you wake up, can be super distracting. I know that in the past I’ve opened my phone to check an email from my agent, and then ended up going through all my socials, and an hour would pass. An hour that I could’ve spent getting ready for the day. After a while this can get a bit overwhelming, so instead I don’t bother checking my phone until an hour after I’ve woken up. I don’t know why, but I guess it just sets the tone for the rest of the day.

Since making this change I’ve found that book three is coming along nicely. The entire process has been lovely. I’m fully focused, and don’t need to constantly reread sentences because I was distracted by YouTube or a sale somewhere or what’s trending on Twitter. I’ve just been writing, and having fun. My mind isn’t wandering. I’m super excited about book three, but that is all I’m going to say as I don’t want to accidentally spoil the events of book two before anyone can get their hands on it. I still don’t know they release date for the second book in the series, but I will let you know as soon as I get word on that. I had a lot of fun writing it, but I just really needed a break from constantly being on the computer, after three years of it. I have nothing against technology or anything, but damn…social media is so distracting. It’s sad how many hours are wasted just scrolling and scrolling and scrolling. I’d rather read or draw or go lay in my hammock and stare at clouds for an hour.

Now outside of book three news, if you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed that I’m doing an in-person book signing! I’m absolutely thrilled about this. I was a little nervous to do one alone since I didn’t get an opportunity to do one when my book initially released because of the pandemic, but thankfully the fantastic author Lindsey-Anne Pontes, whose book I reviewed a while back here on the blog, asked if I’d join her for a signing. She’s done plenty, so I’m glad to have her there with me. Initially I was very nervous but as the date approaches, I’m feeling less nervous and more excited.

As a little kid I always imagined doing a book signing. I wanted to have my books all laid out nicely in a cute display on the table, and write nice messages to readers, and talk with them about my work. I’ve been to a handful of signings in my life, and the authors were always so great. I’m hoping I give off that same vibe to people who come and say hi. I’d love to recreate that feeling for someone else. Meeting and talking to someone about their book is so much fun!

I actually have a list of authors that I would love to meet someday, and now that signings are finally happening again I’ve got my fingers crossed that I’ll be able to.

I am planning on doing another signing when book two releases, and am looking forward to sharing my other writing project with everyone soon. I’m also just very excited to talk about my novel in person.

If you’d like to purchase a copy of Vermin, you can get it from Amazon or Indigo.

If you’ve already read the first book, don’t forget to leave a review and stay tuned for book two announcements!

Read More about Vermin

Nicholas’ Playlist

“Hallet, Matya Frudach!” Translation: “Hello my friend!” In today’s post I’ll be sharing a handful of songs off of Nicholas’ playlist. Like Roland and Dianna’s…

by Ardin Patterson

“Fantasy based stories aren’t usually my forte – BUT BOY! Am I sure glad I took a chance on this book!”

| Ardin Patterson

Vermin has received another wonderful review!

Fantasy based stories aren’t usually my forte, especially ones that are part of series which are still unwritten/ released – BUT BOY! Am I sure glad I took a chance on this book!

Ardin is an amazing storyteller! Though this is her debut novel, she uses good descriptions of actions taking place, good word choices, and the story flows wonderfully. I can envision the facial reactions of each character as described.

At the beginning, I will admit, I was a bit lost with the amount of characters that were quickly introduced. I found it hard to understand who was talking but that soon passed. I came to understand that it was necessary for the storyline to progress as the characters have different storylines taking place at the same time, eventually leading to one that comes together.

I loved the fact that the back stories of most characters were hidden and revealed along the way as the story progressed. Without giving too much away, I adored slowly finding out about what happened to Roland and his family, and also the history with him and Dianna.
Roland is an interesting character; we get sneak peaks into his past as it unravels. I would say he is the main character and discovering the hidden truths with him is something I hope to continue uncovering as the series progresses.
As readers, we were given just enough information to have us hooked and wanting more. I have many questions which I hope I get answers to in books 2 and…3?

There are many cute/ adorable moments between certain characters that I LOVED reading about. Certain scenes stuck out to me and will stick with me for time to come.
I am heavily invested in ALL of these characters (minus Peter, solely because he annoys me). Each page I turned, and each chapter I finished had me begging for more!

**Ardin, if this series gets dropped, I will be outraged!**

— Author, Lindsey-Anne Pontes

Thanks so much to everyone who has taken the time to post reviews, and who have shared them with me! And no worries, the series won’t be dropped. I’ll be doing an announcement on book two soon, I promise!

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April Novel Update

| Ardin Patterson

Back in October of 2020 I wrote a post about what real life books the cast of Vermin might have on their bookshelves. It was probably one of my favourite posts to make. I’d love to do a version with modern books, as I tried to choose those that would’ve been published during the time the series takes place. I’ll definitely make time to go through some books and see which ones fit best with which characters.

Book two is going very well editing wise. I was hoping to get through this final bit before the end of the month, but then I realized that the month is ending like…tomorrow! It’s already May!

I’m going to make sure I tidy up these scenes, and make sure I go through and read everything over one final time before I send it off. I over edit…I know that…so I’m thankful that I have an amazing editor who can say “Okay. Enough! It’s good!”

I really need that. I wish I had an editor back when I was in school, because I constantly felt like my work was incomplete, sometimes starting over five or six times. This is why I have my 3 rounds of edits rule. After three times of looking over my work, I will pass it on to the next person.

If you’re like me and find yourself constantly needing to make sure everything is “perfect” I recommend putting a limit on yourself. I find three full edits takes me less time, and allows me to meet my deadlines. Of course, different methods work for different people, but this has definitely made things less stressful.

Please be on the lookout for another giveaway, as there will be more after book two release announcements are made. This will again be held on Goodreads, and I will of course send out reminders to everyone during the duration of the giveaway so that they have an opportunity to enter.

I’m so excited for this second book! Thank you to everyone who has read book one, for being so patient. I’ve loved hearing your thoughts on the series so far, and I love that my characters have resonated with you.

If you’re interested in character themed content, here are some posts you can check out:

Character Bookshelf

Character Interview #4 Rose

And of course, there is also character related content on TikTok @TheVerminSeries.

If you would like to listen to the first chapter of the book for free, you can check it out here on YouTube:

That aside, I’d like to wish you a lovely day. Keep reading, stay hydrated and stay tuned for my review of an upcoming young reader’s book being published by Scholastic. It is absolutely fantastic, and perfect for fans of superheroes, kid’s who love to draw…and anyone that absolutely adores fantasy.

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