"Being a ghost is a difficult thing, let me tell you, as I've tried it several times during my existence. Like most members of a ch'i-t'ang, I come and go as the call summons - sometimes in the dead of night; sometimes when I'm squatting to rid myself of a good meal. But still I'm hampered by this thing we call life and, in my case, not a noble life, but a servant's existence, my master being indentured to a mystical jade bird and its warrant to end everyone's existence at a future time." Thus begins Vagrants Hollow, the last installment of the Southern Swallow series, the biography of Li K'ai-men (Nan Ya). When we revisit him now, he is in residence at the Sung Capital, Lin-an, and restless to complete his warrants, but tied to court intrigue and responsibilities. He's a very old man now, as are the members of the ch'i-t'ang. At 88, the world has changed, but Nan Ya's purpose has not. Weary, he will take a final excursion in his adventurous life into a mythical land - The Realm of the Mountains and Seas. This last installment is the most magical and fantastical of the series. Book V of the Southern Swallow - Vagrants Hollow, like its predecessors (The Academician, The Nan Tu, Swan Cloud and The House of Green Waters) is told by K'u Ko-ling, servant to the Grand Tutor, Li K'ai-men. It tells a tale of palace intrigues and a nemesis dark wizard, who tries to prevent Nan Ya from his quest to fulfill the Jade Owl's warrant. It will take you through strange rituals, through the Ghostlands and into a Chinese alternative universe, a land of mythical beasts. It's a tale of family ties, love requited and the strength of loyalty which form when men, beasts and relics bond. The Southern Swallow Series: The Academician The Nan Tu Swan Cloud The House of Green Waters Vagrants Hollow
About the Author: Author Edward C. Patterson has been writing novels, short fiction, poetry and drama his entire life, always seeking the emotional core of any story he tells. He has currently 30 published books. He is known for spinning magical and fantasy yarns grounded in history and favors epic tales revealed in books series. His flagship works are The Jade Owl Legacy Series, The Southern Swallow Series, The Farn Trilogy and the Nick Firestone Mysteries. In many of Patterson's novels, he combines an imaginative touch with his life long devotion to China and its history, having earned an MA in Chinese History from Brooklyn College with further postgraduate work at Columbia University. This background is the cornerstone for The Jade Owl Legacy, The Southern Swallow Series and Master Wu's Bride, works drawing on Sung and Ming Dynasty History and Culture. History has played a major part in the coming of age tale Little Vin at Dreamland. Patterson's military experience is reflected in such works as Surviving an American Gulag, The Road to Grafenwoehr and Pacific Crimson - Forget Me Not. His gay life-way and work in diversity is reflected in his novellas No Irish Need Apply, Cutting the Cheese, Bobby's Trace and Mother Asphodel; and in larger works - Turning Idolater and Look Away Silence. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Patterson has spent over five decades as a soldier in the corporate world gaining insight into the human condition. He won the Year 2000 New Jersey Minority Achiever Award for his work in corporate diversity and is a proud U S Army Veteran of the Vietnam Era. Blending world travel experiences with a passion for story telling, Patterson's adventures continue as he works to permeate his reader's souls from an indelible wellspring. His novel No Irish Need Apply was named Book of the Month for June 2009 by Booz Allen Hamilton's Diversity Reading Organization. His Novel The Jade Owl was a finalist for The 2009 Rainbow Awards. Edward C. Patterson is the proud founder of Operation eBook Drop which, in its heyday, distributed over a million eBooks to deployed Armed Forces members from over 2,000 independent authors. He has guest blogged extensively and has appeared on the Bobby Ozuna - Soul of Humanity Show. He is also proud of his Cherokee heritage, knows seven languages (including Cherokee) and is a contributing member of the ACLU. "The little voice from between the lines can become a lion's roar, one listener at a time."