Steven Van Patten is a Brooklyn native, raised in Fort Greene. After graduating from Long Island University on a full tuition scholarship, he pursued a career in television production. After paying his dues as a production assistant and later as an assistant lighting director for QVC, Steven went on to stage manage a plethora of TV shows, including MTV's Total Request Live and BET Tonight w/ Ed Gordon.
However, there was an idea haunting Steven. A storyline born from watching horror movies as a child and noticing a lack of diversity, and character development when people of color were employed. So after pouring over historical research night after night, and traveling alone to various locales, including West Africa and Osaka, Japan, he wrote the Brookwater's Curse vampire novel series.
After receiving much praise and an literary award for each book, Steven now sets forth on the path of marketing his tomes, while still stage managing TV shows during the day. If he were not busy enough, he's also taken to comedy, making appearances in video projects produced by his friends in the entertainment industry. He's also written a host of social commentary blogs on his Facebook, BlackPlanet and MySpace pages, as well as his own website�www.brookwaterscurse.com.
Brookwater's
Curse: Volume II
Click to order via Amazon
Paperback: 440 pages
Publisher: AuthorHouse (May 29, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1434354180
ISBN-13: 978-1434354181
Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
THE WINNER OF THE PREMIER BOOK AWARDS BEST NOVEL IN THE CATEGORY OF MYSTERY/THRILLER/HORROR FOR 2008
In the vampire nation, the civil war Christian Brookwater sought to prevent has become a harsh reality.
On one side stands the High Counselors. Once considered great and benevolent rulers, their web of deception has unraveled, revealing them to be nothing more than self-serving power mongers. To preserve their reign, the High Counselors have begun a bloody campaign that threatens to wipe out all of the monster races, starting with their own. These Founding Fathers of Vampirism are all gifted with extraordinary powers that surpass anything ever seen in the history of living monsters. There are four of these god-like creatures, but none as destructive and devious as High Counselor Emmanuel, a demon that can destroy another's life essence with the mere brush of his ominous left hand. All over the world, thousands of vampires stand ready to do Emmanuel's bidding, including a group that has embraced a doctrine that is frighteningly similar to the religious right-wingers found in the human world.
Lord Ebichara Tanata leads the opposing army that seeks to overthrow the High Counselors. With Japan's deadliest samurai vampires willing to march into certain death at his word, Lord Tanata has fortified his numbers by joining forces with the rachasas, a race of shape-shifting cat people who have their own axe to grind with Emmanuel.
As Christian helps Lord Tanata take on the High Counselors, he uncovers many horrible secrets. It's not long before Christian becomes a bigger target than his samurai mentor. What he finally discovers will not only change the course of the war, but will have a startling impact on everyone he cares about, including his unborn child.
Brookwater's
Curse Volume I
Click to order via Amazon
ISBN: 1420871609
Format: Paperback, 316pp
Pub. Date: November 2005
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Christian Brookwater is a former Georgia plantation slave who became a vampire during the 1860s. His long, tumultuous life takes a complicated turn when he is forced to travel to modern-day Senegal to rescue a child from a vengeful werewolf prince. It is here that Christian uncovers a plot that would throw the entire vampire nation into a civil war. To stop this, Christian must betray his best friend and mentor, an influential Italian vampire who nurtured him during his vampiric infancy.
Christian is a member of a nocturnal law enforcement community that safeguards the secrets of the creatures of the night. This involves the killing of werewolves and other deranged monsters; something Christian excels at. But his fraternization with humans and his incessant need to kill racists vexes his superiors, who threaten to execute him if he doesn't curtail his “racial impulses�. Christian also suffers from a rare condition that makes intercourse with human females especially dangerous.
Christian's other mentor is a four hundred year old vampire samurai lord who teaches him the arts of war and sacrifice, and has a knack for appearing whenever things become desperate.
Of course, the warrior's code can't replace the desire for love, as Christian discovers when he becomes enamored with a human female in the 1940s. Despite Christian's affliction, the two lovers raise a child together and for a while, our vampire gets a taste of true happiness.
Some years later, his family life ends tragically as Christian loses his great love and becomes estranged from his teenaged son. Heartbroken, Christian embarks on a series of illuminating, yet sinful adventures as he migrates to a new home: Harlem, New York.
Christian's inner turmoil rages on as he struggles between his principals as an
African-American and his instincts as a vampire.
Related Links
The Official Brookwater's Curse Website
http://brookwaterscurse.com