River signs

Patricia Briggs

Patricia Briggs' first novel, Masques, was published in 1993. The book was not successful, and her career almost ended before it began. Fortunately, her second novel, Steal the Dragon (1995), sold much better, and her writing career slowly took off. The growing popularity of her books, combined with her ability to create vivid, convincing characters, inspired her publisher to ask her to try writing modern urban fantasy. Briggs accepted the challenge and signed a contract for a series of novels starring Mercy Thompson. Smoke Bitten (2020) is the latest, twelfth instalment in the successful series and universe. The first book in the Mercy Thompson series (Moon Called) made it onto the USA Today bestseller list. The second instalment, Blood Bound, appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. Iron Kissed, the third book, even reached number one on this prestigious list. The success was so enormous that further instalments of this still-ongoing series are being created. The author also came up with a companion series, Alpha & Omega, which is also published by Fantom Print along with the main Mercy Thompson series.