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 principles as an African-American and his instincts as a vampire.
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 first two installments of the Brookwater's Curse vampire novel series.
After receiving much praise, several glowing reviews from various book club heavy hitters, and literary awards 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.
Steven also took on the additional challenge of producing, directing and starring in a series of short films about a retired assassin who is forced to resume work after his gambling addict brother falls in debt to a crime boss. The fourth and final installment is due sometime in late 2010. Brookwater's Curse Volume III is expected in late 2011. A novel based on the Reluctant Hitman series and an additional serial killer novel are all to follow.
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