Patrick Ember
Growing up in northern Alberta, I enjoyed a
successful career in finance before pursuing the more creative pastime of
writing. A lifelong wine enthusiast, I enjoy studying wine, visiting wineries,
attending tasting events, and just savoring a glass at home with my lovely
wife, Leanne. Like the protagonist in my novel, I also enjoy running and have
completed many marathons and half marathons. I’m now lucky to make my home in the
Okanagan, one of Canada’s premier wine regions. It has been immensely
satisfying to combine my passions into my first published novel, Wine Runs
Deep.
IAN: Please tell us
about your latest book.
Patrick Ember: Wine
Runs Deep
is a fun crime caper, reminiscent of the movie Sideways, but with more danger and certainly more blood.
Fifteen years after running from his troubled
childhood in the American Midwest, Beckett Jensen has reinvented himself as the
owner of a successful upscale winery in Paso Robles, California. But his
serenity is overturned when his past comes back to haunt him in the form of an
unruly group of former schoolmates, who arrive unannounced. What begins under
the guise of a social visit with drunken hijinks and a hilarious wine tour,
turns nasty as the unwelcome visitors’ true intentions are revealed. Through a
combination of guilt, blackmail, and physical threats, they force Beckett to
assist them in plotting a daring crime. If he participates, it’s almost
guaranteed they’ll all be caught and go to prison. But if he refuses, his new
life, his winery, and everyone he loves might be destroyed. Caught in a
terrible dilemma, Beckett is forced to reckon with the burdens of his past and
tap into the darkness within, hoping it is powerful enough to conquer the
darkness without.
IAN: Is Wine Runs deep published in print, e-book or both?
Patrick Ember: Wine Runs
deep
is available in hardcover, softcover and all e-book formats.
IAN: Where can we go
to buy Wine Runs deep?
IAN:
What inspired you to write Wine Runs deep?
Patrick Ember: I
have long enjoyed reading and watching movies. When I did, I found myself often
critiquing them, determining what worked well and what could’ve been done
better. At some point, I started to believe that I could be a skillful
storyteller. There were many naysayers, but the more times people told me I
wouldn’t be able to do it, the more certain I became that I would.
IAN: How long did it take to write Wine Runs deep?
Patrick Ember: Wine
Runs Deep took about eight months to write, but I had a fairly complete outline
before I started. The writing process was difficult but that paled in
comparison to the challenges of navigating the world of publishing.
IAN: How did you come up with the
title?
Patrick Ember: I
was tossing around several ideas with the intent of finding a title that was
suspenseful and tied in the wine component. It was actually one of my beta
readers who first coined the phrase, Wine Runs Deep. It had the desired effect,
was catchy, and also served as a metaphor for the life of my protagonist.
IAN: What
do you hope your readers come away with after reading Wine Runs deep?
Patrick Ember: I
hope readers come away thoroughly entertained. I tried to push all of the emotional
buttons, intent on making every page compelling. Readers should laugh, cry,
cringe, be touched, be terrified, and develop a thirst for fine wine.
IAN: Are
experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Patrick Ember: The
plot is mostly imagination, from the murky recesses of my twisted mind, but many
of my life experiences inspired scenes within. There is a hilarious wine tour
where the uncouth villains don't mesh well with high-society and some other colorful
happenings that are inspired by actual events. Even one of the darkest scenes
in the book is based on tragic events I witnessed.
IAN: How is Wine Runs deep different from others in your genre?
Patrick Ember: Wine
Runs Deep is unique in its depiction of wine country. Many other wine related
books are either silly and don’t necessarily portray the wine world correctly,
or are overly technical. As such, they tend to appeal to beginners or experts,
but not both. I have received rave reviews about my portrayal of wine country
from rookies and from esteemed wine educators and believe I have walked the
line of educating but in an entertaining way that anyone will appreciate.
IAN: Who
is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their
work?
Patrick Ember: Elmore
Leonard, arguably the greatest crime fiction writer of all time. I enjoyed his
gritty, sparse prose and entertaining plots, but it was his villains that stood
out. My writing style is lighter than his, but I believe I have brought a
little bit of him into my bungling but dangerous villains. As homage to Elmore
Leonard, I dropped many of his book titles into the text of Wine Runs Deep. At some point I will
hold a contest where to win, you must correctly guesses how many titles of his I
used.
IAN: Who designed the cover?
Patrick Ember: Teracita
at Friesen Press. The cover design was one of the most enjoyable phases of
publishing. We batted around several concepts and tried four or five before we
settled on the final proof. I love the way this cover plays up the wine/blood
dependency.
IAN: Do you have anything specific
that you want to say to your readers?
Patrick Ember: Please
give Wine Runs Deep a try. There is something for everyone and feedback has
been overwhelmingly positive. If you ever want to curl up with a glass of wine
and a good book, this one will make a perfect pairing with whatever your choice
of vino may be. Cheers.
IAN: Tell us about your next book or a work in progress. Is it a sequel or a stand-alone?
Patrick Ember: My second manuscript is complete. It is a
stand-alone story. I wanted to try something a little grittier so I’ve written
a new-age mob story set in NYC. In Come
Heavy, unbridled youth is a powerful force wielded with the desire for
unfathomable evil when Korean and Italian mob descendants band together,
hell-bent on returning their crime families to the glory days. It falls on an
emotionally damaged detective and his eclectic co-workers to stop them. It
becomes apparent that rules and regulations are a hindrance the detectives
can’t afford and they explore non-traditional alternatives. But even if they
succeed in stopping the evil factions, how damaging will the personal toll be
on NYPD’s finest.
