Well, if you'll put on your nerd hats, boys and girls, you'll remember the Entmoot in The Two Towers. "Moot" is an olde English word for "meeting". And as you probably know, rabbits live in either hutches or warrens. You may have noticed my affection for rabbity things: Watership Down is one of my all-time favorite books, our little homestead in Nashville is called the Warren (and we have a sign to prove it), and the website for our writing community is called the Rabbit Room.It was high-time we brought the Rabbit Room out of the cyber world and into reality, so my brother Pete and I put our heads together and came up with Hutchmoot 2010. (We didn't come up with the name--Sarah Clarkson's dad did.) We'll be talking about great stories, the Gospel, music, writing, fellowship, kinship, art, and all the while drinking good coffee and eating good food.I'll be reading a bit from the Wingfeather Saga on Sunday, along with Jonathan Rogers (of the Wilderking Trilogy fame) and my brother A.S. Peterson (author of The Fiddler's Gun). If that sounds fun to you, be sure and keep your rabbit ears open for the announcement for next year's Hutchmoot.This year filled up in just three weeks and we've had a long waiting list.Last order of business: I just got home from my radio promotional tour for Counting Stars, and tomorrow morning my duties at Hutchmoot begin. But after this weekend is over, the calendar is gloriously open. And that means I get to check in on Janner, Tink, and Leeli. I made a few false starts earlier this year. I drew a few pictures, did some research, and mapped out a lot of the story--but I never really started writing. Well, good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, I'm going to make some headway next week.That's the news from the Warren. If you're the praying type, please pray for our Hutchmoot event this weekend. Pray that it'll be a sweet, rich time for everyone involved, and that we'll all catch a bit of the wonder of the Great Story.
Two New Pictures of Note
Hello, Dear Readers.It's 1:44 a.m. and I'm here, declaring my unrivaled appreciation for your support by posting the following pictures WAY past my bedtime. The first is from a creative young man named Peter Fitzsimmons. He sent me this horrifying amalgam of Aerwiarian beasts in February, declaring the creature a "Fangnubbon"--a name which made me laugh aloud. I immediately flagged the email with the intention of posting it here shortly thereafter. But by April I still hadn't done it. Peter sent me a gentle reminder, with the picture (horrifying!) attached once again. I flagged the email again and sent Peter a note promising to post the picture soon, and very soon. Well, here it's July and I still haven't done it! So tonight Peter sent me another nudge, this one a little firmer (both the email and the subject said simply "WHY ISN'T MY PICTURE UP ON THE SITE?") so I decided I'd better follow through or he just might sic the dreaded Fangnubbon upon me. Here you go:
Great work, Peter. I hope you'll forgive my slowth in getting the picture up on the site. I actually have quite a collection of fun and frightening pictures to post, but I haven't had the time. My new album releases in just a few weeks and the prep work for that has occupied most of my brain space. What I need, frankly, is someone like Peter to persist.The other picture was posted on Facebook recently, of someone named Laura Janssen reading On the Edge at Yellowstone National Park, which happens to be one of my favorite places in the world. That she would think to bring the book along when she might have been mauled by a grizzly or gored by a buffalo at any moment was a moving gesture. Thanks, Laura. I'm glad you made it out alive.
If any of you would like to send pictures of yourself reading either of the Wingfeather books in strange, interesting, or completely boring places, I'll post them here for the enjoyment of your fellow readers. If you remind me three times.
Another New Drawing: Escape from the Phoobs
So today I had two interviews, did quite a bit of writing, answered a handful of important emails, read two chapters of Wangerin's The Book of the Dun Cow with my family, and harvested the first tomato of the year. That called for some brain-time in Aerwiar with my sketch pad.I started this sketch without knowing what it would be. I just drew a wing, then the rough outline of the body attached to it, which made me think of Artham, which made me think of the scene where he rescues Kalmar from the dungeon at the Phoob Islands. If you haven't read North! Or Be Eaten, this may spoil things for you a bit.Now that I've uploaded the picture I realize I should have drawn a few Fang arrows whizzing past, and maybe some cool clouds in the background. I should also point out that I cropped out Artham's right hand because, well, it was pretty terrible. Need to work on hands--strike that--talons.
A New Drawring
So when I have too much to do (which is too much of the time), I've lately started hiding in a sketchbook. It's good for the brain to get away from the busy work and spend thirty minutes or so using a completely different part of the gray matter.This afternoon before company arrived I seized a little window of time and slipped out to sit under this big, shady pin oak in the backyard. Here's the picture that came out. Any guesses as to who this fella might be?
Don't know why he's wearing a button-up shirt. Maybe he had a job interview or something? Weird.
Christy Award! Or Be Eaten
Hello, Dear Readers!I'm writing from Sweden with happy news: North! Or Be Eaten won the 2010 Christy Award for Young Adult Fiction. On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness was nominated last year and didn't win, but North!, in the words of Glimplesby Thwack, "emerged triumphant among worthy and formidable opponents, may they live long and eat well."As I said, I'm in Sweden right now, land of my great-grandfather, playing a week of concerts with my partner-in-crime Ben Shive. I'm actually writing this from a train as it glides across the countryside, and I can't help but think of the Hogwarts Express. I'm craving a chocolate frog about now. There's no magic here, but there is Wi-fi, which allows me to call home, check email, and--wonder of wonders!--discover via Facebook that North! won the Christy Award. Hopefully, at the least, it means more people will learn of the horrors of bovine toothiness and Gnag the Nameless's ruthless plot to be evil, evil, and evil.All kidding aside, I'm deeply grateful. Many thanks to Waterbrook Press and whoever else went to bat for the book.Now, I need to answer three questions I keep getting:1) The audiobook for North! Or Be Eaten is in the queue. I'm not sure who'll be narrating it. I'd love to hear Peter Sandon's deep British baritone again, but if I can't get him I may do it myself. But it won't be nearly as awesome.2) Yes, I'm working on book three. I've been in Music World lately, gearing up for the release of my new album Counting Stars, which has left little creative energy for writing. But as of about two weeks ago my kind neighbor agreed to let me use part of their 140-year-old log cabin as a writing studio/office, which will hopefully allow me better focus. It's a great setup--all I have to do is climb the hill behind the Warren, thank God for the beautiful (and convenient) writing space, and spin the tale. The plan right now is to release the book in early 2011.3) No, it's not a trilogy. Since the beginning I've imagined a five-book story. I'm not too meticulous, so I don't have it mapped out exactly--I know the general story arc and have certain scenes planted firmly in my noggin, and I'm doing my best to follow Madeline L'Engle's sage advice to "serve the work". That means the story will morph a bit, and key events may appear un-looked for.For example, I thought Kalmar's transformation was going to happen in book three. When I sat down to write North! I thought the Igibys' journey to the Ice Prairies would be story enough, but, true-to-character, Kalmar started behaving unpredictably. I didn't know Sara Cobbler would appear all blue-eyed and desperate in the Fork Factory. And I thought Janner would spend a few weeks in a cowl and cape, terrorizing the Fangs in Dugtown with the Florid Sword a la Batman and Robin. (I still think that would've been cool.) But the story didn't want it.All that to say, I'm engaged in a tricky dance with the tale, learning when to lead and when to follow. If all goes as planned, there will be five books. But who knows? Maybe there will be twenty-seven.
Oregonian Cow Repellent
Last week I had a concert with Ben Shive and Randall Goodgame in Eagle Point, Oregon. We drove through the rainy, green mountains without spotting a single monster. Truth be told, it worried me. Were the carnivores more cunning in this part of the country? Had they found a way to disguise themselves? Were they grinning toothy grins from under interstate bridges, waiting for some poor traveler's car to break down? Randall and Ben chatted away while we listened to music. But I was fraught with foreboding, and I dared not speak of it, lest the toothy beasts hear and attack!When I reached the church, however, all became clear. Brad Richardson and his family, you see, have read The Wingfeather Saga, and thus knew exactly how to protect themselves against prowling predators and crunching critters. I walked into the dressing room and found this most effective means of toothy cow repellent.Thank you, Richardsons, for keeping us safe.
Icee Pops + Wingfeather = An Awesome Grandma
Someone recently posted this picture on Facebook. Yes, it's an author's dream.
St. Louis Hath Been Warned
The intelligent, well-behaved students of Central Christian School in St. Louis have been told of the dangers lurking in Glipwood Forest. As you can see in this photo, they were grateful.
It's been a long day, so I don't have it in me to write a full-on post, but I wanted to drop in and let you know what a grand time I had with these students today. Mr. Crane, Nancy the Librarian, the teachers and staff, and the 1st through 6th graders reminded me once again why I love writing books. This school hosted my first ever actual school visit back in 2008 when On the Edge was first published. It was fun to come back to tell them about North!. Hopefully next year I'll be back again with book three. Tomorrow morning I head back home, at which point I plan to carve out a few hours to make real progress on it. There's a monster in the Hollows, you know. It must be stopped.AP