Books

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

Parked – Review

| Ardin Patterson

About

Jeanne Ann is smart, stubborn, living in an orange van, and determined to find a permanent address before the start of seventh grade.

Cal is tall, sensitive, living in a humongous house across the street, and determined to save her.

Jeanne Ann is roughly as enthusiastic about his help as she is about living in a van.

As the two form a tentative friendship that grows deeper over alternating chapters, they’re buoyed by a cast of complex, oddball characters, who let them down, lift them up, and leave you cheering. Debut novelist Danielle Svetcov shines a light on a big problem without a ready answer, nailing heartbreak and hope, and pulling it off with a humor and warmth that make the funny parts of Jeanne Ann and Cal’s story cathartic and the difficult parts all the more moving. —Goodreads

Thoughts

I can’t tell you how much I love this book…like, when I say it’s one of my favourite reads, it is definitely in my top 5. I loved everything about it: the characters, the plot, the way it made me laugh and cry.
This is a book I want to share with everyone I know, young and old. There’s a charm to it that just captures your attention, and makes you want to sit with it for hours.
I can’t wait to read it again.

Cal, Jeanne Ann, Sandy, Bad Chuck (Nathan), they’re all such a fun cast of characters. This is one of those middle grade novels that can really get people thinking, especially about the importance of community and how libraries can be such a safe haven. I highly recommend checking out Parked, and I cannot wait to see what’s next from this author.

Rating

Rating: 5 out of 5.

One Italian Summer – Review

| Ardin Patterson

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 the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: two weeks in Positano, the magical town Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone.

But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and, of course, delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life.

And then Carol appears—in the flesh, healthy, sun-tanned, and thirty years old. Katy doesn’t understand what is happening, or how—all she can focus on is that she has somehow, impossibly, gotten her mother back. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman before her. She is not exactly who Katy imagined she might be, however, and soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.

Thoughts

I was recommended this novel by my Nana and friend T.

First of all, I loved the imagery, and the way the chapters flowed together. This is definitely a book you can get lost in. I think this is also what kept my interest throughout the book, outside of the fact that Katy was seeing a young version of her mother all the way in Italy after her mother’s death.

Katy was a complex character with a strong voice. I liked that she wasn’t perfect. It seems I’m drawn to reading flawed characters lately? But that aside, you can really get a sense of her heartbreak. I have mixed feelings about her as a character, and I believe many readers do. As I mentioned, she’s flawed. Her attachment and reliance on her mother, Carol is a lot. She’s selfish, but I think throughout the novel, after she meets this younger Carol, she starts to grow.

One thing I will add, is that I feel horrible for poor Eric. I really do, and the twists in this novel…like damn, I wasn’t prepared.

Overall, I had a lot of fun reading and I look forward to seeing what Rebecca Serle puts out next!
Thank you for this story.

Rating

Rating: 5 out of 5.

If it weren’t for that last chunk there at the end I probably would’ve leaned toward 4 stars. I almost thought about giving it a 3.5 when Katy referred to Adam as an “alpha” because I physically cringed. However, it was the transportation, the fact that despite how Katy can be unlikeable at times…or make questionable decisions, I don’t hate her as a character. She feels human. For all that is flawed with Katy, is what helps contribute to the events that lead us to the conclusion of the story…and that to me is why I gave it a solid 5 star review.

But for Eric, I would give 4.5…because that poor little fella…

The Black Swan of Paris – Review

| Ardin Patterson

About

The Black Swan of Paris by Karen Robards

A world at war. A beautiful young star. A mission no one expected.

Paris, 1944

Celebrated singer Genevieve Dumont is both a star and a smokescreen. An unwilling darling of the Nazis, the chanteuse’s position of privilege allows her to go undetected as an ally to the resistance.

When her estranged mother, Lillian de Rocheford, is captured by Nazis, Genevieve knows it won’t be long before the Gestapo succeeds in torturing information out of Lillian that will derail the upcoming allied invasion. The resistance movement is tasked with silencing her by any means necessary—including assassination. But Genevieve refuses to let her mother become yet one more victim of the war. Reuniting with her long-lost sister, she must find a way to navigate the perilous cross-currents of Occupied France undetected—and in time to save Lillian’s life.

Thoughts

My Nana recommended and lent me a copy of this novel. I love a good historical fiction that really draws the reader in, and wow, did this novel ever! I loved the development of the characters and the relationships throughout. There were many scenes where I was pulled in so much by Karen Robards’ writing that my jaw dropped. I’m doing my best not to give any spoilers in my review, but if you’re a historical fiction fan who also likes books centered around family and enjoys romance, please check out this novel.

It was my first time reading this author, and I’m thrilled to say it was an exceptional read. I look forward to their other work.

Rating

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Snow White – Valdin Version

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.…

by Ardin Patterson

NaNoWriMo 2022

| Ardin Patterson

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 what I’ve put down, and am emotionally attached to my characters, so I’m excited to finish and get to editing.

I’ve been feeling under the weather these last couple of days, so I haven’t gotten as much work done as I would’ve liked, but I’m sure I’ll make up for that lost time eventually. I love creating mood boards, playlists and doing sketches of my characters while I’m writing. I find it helps me capture the characters personality, and see them as more fleshed out. I could honestly spend hours just creating characters, I think that’s why I spend so much time in Create-A-Sim when I’m playing Sims4. I like to imagine the story of their life, what sort of careers they might have, who they’ll love…if they’ll love at all? I love to think about the types of clothes they wear, what they eat, what they listen to, what their favourite genres are. That’s why I had so much fun doing OCtober last year. I wish I did it again this year, but I didn’t have time unfortunately.

For the novel I’m working on right now, I’ve got a playlist going with an array of songs that I find really fit the theme and characters…or just the overall vibe. Heaven, California is one of the songs that just fits the vibe.

Sometimes I just have this playing faintly in the background while writing. I also listen to a bunch of other songs like Greenroom, My Girlfriend is a Witch and Girl With One Eye.

The images above are all outfit inspiration that I draw from for some of the character’s in the novel. Some character’s, at least in my mind, have a signature colour scheme. Occasionally I’ll sketch a series of outfits that I want to describe for key scenes in my novels. This can be helpful when I go back and edit, in case I want to add some more visuals. Sometimes I do this just for fun. With Vermin, I have a lot of outfit sketches and things, especially for Rose. She has a few signature looks that she wears throughout the series.

I’m very excited about this new novel, and of course I will keep you all posted on the next two books in The Vermin Series, and when those will be released once I have more information on that.

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

Haru’s Curse – Manga Review

| Ardin Patterson

About

After Natsumi’s younger sister and best friend Haru dies at the age of 19, she begins dating Haru’s fiancee Togo – on the condition that he take her only to places he had taken her sister. Their relationship deepens as the seasons pass, but Haru’s curse lies between them…
Will there be happiness after Haru’s curse is broken?

Thoughts

Borrowed this one from my sister. I thought the story did a good job of showing how Haru’s memory severely impacted the relationships of those around her, especially how it deeply wounded her older sister Natsumi.
I found Natsumi had the best development throughout the story as we saw more of her internal thoughts versus Togo’s. Part of me wishes we got a little more from Togo’s perspective before the last bit of the manga, but overall I really enjoyed the story. 

Rating

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Queen in the Cave – Review

| Ardin Patterson

About

It’s a story of three sisters who explore a nearby forest in pursuit of a dream. As they go deeper, the forest gets darker and its magical secrets come to life. Toads puff clouds of pink smoke and snails with rabbit masks slime by; the forest becomes a carnival, a festival, a parade, of giant drooping flowers and dark hanging vines—a fever dream of marching frogs and giant fish and an army of ants and cats, swarming under lilypads—where you can dance with a doppelgänger and hitch a ride on a rat. And everywhere, little flower-faced imps frolic, holding matches…

Stunning, stylish and slightly psychedelic, The Queen in the Cave is a riot of a book packed with smart little details to pore over. It’s one for kids and grown-ups too, a riveting and atmospheric picture book that will surprise and enthrall young readers and dreamers of all ages.

Thoughts

My goodness, the artwork in this picture book is absolutely stunning. I found the story so much fun. It felt like I was reading a classic fairytale. I think this book would be wonderful to read during the Fall, especially around October. Julia Sarda is a truly gifted storyteller, and I’m excited to see more of their work.

Rating

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

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