Carson City employee pens 'Bonners Fairy' children's book series

Carson City Support Services Specialist and children's book author Elizabeth "Liz" Ann Patterson has been busy since the last time Carson Now spoke with her.

In early 2011 she had penned her first children's fantasy and adventure book "Bonners Fairy," an all-ages story about teenage twins who discover a secret world of dark and light forces hidden in a portal on their father's estate.

Since publishing that one book Patterson has written three more and is currently working on her fifth in the "Bonners Fairy" series. She's also found time to go on a number of book tours in support of her publishing efforts and has maintained a rigorous imagination that turns words into intriguing adventures designed for just about any reader who can be swept into a world of magic gem stones, fairies, giants, trolls, royalty and ongoing battles between the dark and light.

The "Bonners Fairy" stories takes teenage twins Haley and Henry Miles on mind-bending adventures in which their journey revolves around the 200 year-old estate they live on, the discoveries they find on the estate and the small-town legends created and gossiped about by locals.

From her blog, Patterson writes:

From the wailing sound that echoes through the valleys during the autumn festival to the strange disappearances of the locals throughout the years, the teenage sleuths are sure there is hidden treasure after finding a map.

It is only with the appearance of a beautiful, real life fairy princess that they discover they haven't even scratched the surface.

The world the Patterson has created is whimsical and wondrous. Her writing style draws the reader into that world as if you are really there experiencing the magic and the thrill of adventure.

From the hidden portals leading to other realms to the giants, trolls, banshees and the fairies, the likes no one ever dreamed were possible, the magic of Bonners Fairy will leave you invigorated and craving for more.

Writing books is something that never crossed Patterson's mind as a young adult growing up in Wisconsin. As she explained she wrote a story in high school that she thought was funny but the writing urge ended there. Or so she thought.

An avid reader, she picked up the first series of Harry Potter books and with those books came up with an idea of an young adult fiction series of her own. After some stops and starts, she let her imagination run wild, letting the story fly out of her mind and onto pads of paper.

The new "Bonners Fairy" books allow Patterson to develop her characters, their personalities and to explore themes of moral courage, preservation and doing what is good and right in the face of dark and evil, she said.

"The way I ended my first book, it was a cliff hanger. It ended abruptly and I wanted to pick up on where it left off and so I started writing and developed the characters more and the story line, making in continuing, much like the Harry Potter books," she said. "You could look at it as one long, long story of five books put together."

In order the books are: Bonners Fairy (published in 2011), Bonners Fairy: A New Kind of Battle (published in May 2012) Bonners Fairy: Mischief and Mayhem (published in July 2012) and Bonners Fairy: The Quest for Medusa (which is being edited.) The fifth book will likely be titled Bonners Fairy: Liberty and Justice.

Here's some questions Carson Now recently asked Patterson. For the 2011 interview with her go here.

Carson Now: What are your books about?

Patterson: There's a lot going on in my books but I would refer back to my overview where my characters, who are twins, learn from locals in a small town about a mystery on the estate their father bought. The locals are suspicious, untrusting and wary.
The twins stumble upon a map and an unusual key that leads them through a portal to another time, and a world filled with mystical creatures. As a princess pleas with the teens to rescue an innocent family from a fate worse than death, they soon uncover not only secrets of the past, but also evil beings who are determined to win at all cost.
It is a strange world filled with magic, wonder and beauty. The twins abandon their childlike innocence and demonstrate to everyone all the ways humans can overcome impossible odds.

Carson Now: What is the age-appropriate for your readers?

Patterson: It is juvenile fiction, for children 8 on up.

Carson Now: There is a quest for gem stones in this world you've created. Is this a metaphor for something?

Patterson: Yes, there are two things: Those characters who are happy and appreciative of what they have in their world and those who are merciless, mean and greedy. It's where the light is trying to see its way in a world where the dark exists. The twins want to help those who are good overcome those who are mean, merciless and who have or want to take the good away from them. The twins also intervene if they see those who are "good" going to the dark side.

Carson Now: What do you want your readers to take from the stories?

Patterson: There is good and good is worth protecting. There are good gem stones people can wear around their necks and not so good ones. Those who seek the not so good ones are those who suppress their emotions and then get angry and explode and try to hurt others around them. I also want my young readers to take note that it is far better to reach for the good gem stones in this life instead of aligning themselves with those things dark. In the books the dark stones are black volcanic rocks.

Carson Now: Again with the dark and light metaphor, why do some of your characters align themselves with the dark stones?

Patterson: I'd say out of fear. Instead of being warm to someone's want for happiness those who live in darkness and fear lash out and intentionally hurt those who are happy, seek happiness or trying to maintain the happiness they have. Whether it is fantasy world or the real world, I want the kids who read this to know that good is worth protecting at all costs. We should all strive to wear gems that will make us happy and at the same time protect each other from those who try to bring us down.

Carson Now: Are the light gem stones easy to get to?

Patterson: Yes, as long as the dark forces aren't standing in the way. And that's why the twins are there. To help those who want good gem stones.

You can learn more about the books on her website www.bonnersfairy.com. You can follow her on Facebook here.