A Most Excellent Cave Blat

Two quick things:1) THANK YOU for all the kind comments you guys have left. It's a dream come true that this story has connected with so many of you.2) My son Aedan (12) is quite the artist. He spends a ton of his time painting watercolors and penciling, and has even had a few official commissions. More than once, folks have come to our house, fallen in love with one of his paintings, and paid him to paint something for their house. It's amazing. I drew like crazy when I was his age, too, but he's way better than I ever was back then. I offer this drawing of a cave blat as evidence. He posted it on his art blog, The Crimson Phoenix. He also just posted another Wingfeather drawing--a fierce Grey Fang from the climax of North! Or Be Eaten. Visit his blog to see it. If you dare.   

Wingfeather Contest Winners Announced!

First of all, I spent the last four hours or so reading all your reviews, and I've cried about four times. That's partly because I'm a crybaby, and partly because I prayed almost every day of the writing of The Monster in the Hollows that the book would connect with you, Dear Readers. What a joy it is to see that, in at least your cases, it did.Second of all, it was HARD to choose a winner. There were so many well-written and thoughtful posts to read, and even after I narrowed it down to five reviews it wasn't easy. At the bottom of this post you'll find a list of all the blogs, and I encourage you to visit them when you get a chance. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for telling your friends and relations about these books.Now. On to business. The winner of the blog contest is eleven-year-old Will Silander, whose stop-motion Lego trailer pushed me over the edge. My sons went through a phase of making videos like that so I can attest to how much time it takes to make one. I loved it. Check it out:Congratulations, Will! Send an email to [email protected] and let me know what you want me to draw. I'm no Justin Gerard, so I can't make any promises, but I think we'll come up with something pretty cool.Second place goes to Jim Hamilton. Jim and his kids were among the first to review the book, and have been enthusiastic about the story since they discovered it. In fact, they emailed me an uber-cute video earlier this year in which they pleaded with me to send them an advance copy. Thanks, Hamiltons! Will gets the original, but I'll send you and the other runners-up a signed copy of the drawing.Here are the rest, in no particular order:Nathaniel Miller (good writing, Nathaniel)Carrie Luke (with a GREAT picture of her daughter reading in a treehouse)Jeanne ? (includes hilarious "happy dance" pictures)Joe Thacker (kudos for the copious Scripture references, Joe)Sarah Sawyer (if Galadriel blogged)Christina Szrama (complete with a reading guide--thanks, Christina!)Brian Wilhorn (honored, especially in light of how many books you read)Hot Dogs and Marmalade (an open letter that cracked me up)Justin Hase (wow. Thank you, Justin)Trish Hixon (great pictures!)Amateur (you must be a librarian)Honey and Locusts ("pogonophobia" = funny)Abiding in Grace (thanks, Sarah)Marshall Benbow (well done, Marshall)The Pickwick Portfolio (more great pictures)Dan K (movies would be fine and very fine)Moriah Potter (thanks, Moriah)Loren Warnemuende (includes a great list. I like lists)Heather Rose (the Wingfeathers get their own page!)Sarah Newell (I plan to steal the "book date" idea)Jim Daniels (hilarious picture, Jim)Mark Collins (well-written, thoughtful review)Again, this was really difficult, you guys. I wish I had time to draw you all pictures. Thanks so much for writing these.Next up: the Amazon review contest. This was much more random, since there were so many reviews.I chose Kelly Fulcher, because she mentioned Where the Red Fern Grows, Narnia, AND orcs in one review. To be included in that company was a fine compliment. Well, not the orcs, but you know what I mean. Kelly, send me an email at [email protected] and let me know what you'd like me to draw. There was a tie for second place at Amazon with reviews by Jeri Tanner (for describing the books as "heinously awesome" and saying that a picture of Artham on her wall would be "trollin", a word I'm troubled that I'm too old to know) and Nora Wait. Kelly and Nora, you'll each get a signed copy of the picture.Thank you all so much! Hopefully the contest and your reviews spread the word about the books. I couldn't do this without you. 

Win an Original Wingfeather Saga Drawing!

This is the official release week for The Monster in the Hollows, so we're celebrating by having a contest. Nay, we're having TWO contests. Contests which are really just a way for me to beg you guys to spread the word about the new book and the Wingfeather Saga in general.Contest the First: For the Bloggers. All you have to do is write a review of The Monster in the Hollows (and the Wingfeather Saga in general) for your blog. (Psst! Try not to include spoilers.) Then post a link to the blog as a comment to this post, and on Wednesday, June 1, my cohorts and I will choose our favorite. You get extra credit if the blog includes a creative photo of you and/or your family with the book. (Oh! And if you can, link to the Rabbit Room store (or Amazon) so they can order the book.)Contest the Second: For the Amazonians. This one's pretty much the same as above, only I'm asking (begging) you to leave a good review on Amazon.com. We'll choose a favorite on June 1 and either leave you a comment on Amazon or email you. (Note: You needn't have bought the book on Amazon to leave a review there.)Here's the fun part: Each of the two winners will receive an original hand-drawn picture from the Wingfeather Saga. Hand-drawn by me, that is, just for you. You're welcome to make suggestions via email about the characters, creatures, or scene you'd like me to draw, but I reserve the right to make the final decision, mainly because I'm not sure I can draw, for example, a gargan rockroach. When the picture is finished I'll mail you the final piece in a frame-ready mat.That's it! Thanks for your support with this. We have six pallets of books (which is a lot of books), and my goal is to get every last one of them into the hands of readers. The trick is, I can't do it without your help. Thanks for letting me tell this story. In the words of the Sage of Brivshap, "I can hardly believe it. Seriously."

There's a MONSTER in the Hollows!

Reader,I'm so glad to tell you that a few days ago, I opened a box of pretty, green books. The Monster in the Hollows is printed, published, pressed, and waiting in the queue to be mailed to everyone who pre-ordered (and some of you have already gotten yours!). I confess, one of the best things about being an author is the immense satisfaction one feels to hold in one's hands a handsome book with his name on it. It's something I dreamed about as a kid, and I don't take that blessing for granted.Part of it is a feeling of anticipation; I can't wait for folks to read it, and I'm anxious to know if the story connected. It's also a feeling of pride; I'm sure it could (and has) turned into a sinful pride, but right now it's the good kind--like the pride a parent feels for a son or daughter about to strike out into the world. I did the best I could to get it ready, and now it's time to sit back and see if it can fly.It's also a feeling of gratitude, to God for letting me do this and for the community that came together to help me tell the story. My brother, A.S. Peterson is a much, much smarter version of myself, and was extremely helpful in the editing process. My editor Jessica Barnes helped me steer the ship when I was off course. Jennifer Trafton, author extraordinaire, copyedited it (and made a lot of great editorial suggestions, too). Brannon McAllister did an amazing job of putting together the design so it would look just right sitting on the shelf next to the other two books. Justin Gerard's illustrations are geek-worthy in the extreme.So when I hold the book in my hands, my excitement is for you, for them, and for me. In a really weird way, I'm also excited for the Wingfeather children. The story I made up a few months ago is about to be lived out in a lot of different imaginations, at different times, in subtly different ways. The same adventure is going to be underway all over the country, and the really strange part, the mind-bending part, is that for Janner, in each case, it'll be for the first time. How weird of a thought is that? (I'll answer for you: very.)Earlier this week I did my first school visits in support of The Monster in the Hollows. Don't get me wrong; I love to play music. But I also love talking stories and books with a bunch of eager young minds. The students in LaGrange and Augusta, Georgia were delightful. Favorite questions: "If the book is more than 300 pages long, were you worried that you'd run out of paper?" (Answer: "Nope. I was worried I'd run out of coffee.") And "Who is the monster in the Hollows?"(Answer: "You'll have to read the book to find out. But I'm pretty sure it's not what you think.")Thanks, everybody, for your many tweets, re-tweets, posts, and emails. With your help, Janner is living his story again and again all over the world. Can't wait to hear what you think of the book!Sincerely,AP

A Jolly Good Audiobook Announcement

Dear Reader,At long last, the audiobook for On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is available in the Rabbit Room Store. You won't find it cheaper anywhere else, so I suggest you go ahead and snap up every copy you can. Here's the link.In other exciting news, we're about to begin production on the audiobook for North! Or Be Eaten, and Peter Sandon, whose rich voice and British accent were put to good use in the first one, has agreed to do it. Yes! I know a lot of you have kindly asked to hear me read it, but you have to believe me--Peter will do a better job. Hopefully soon, he'll be cozied up in a studio in London reading about Janner, Kalmar, and Leeli. I'll keep you posted.Here's the review I gave him over at Amazon.com:"I've narrated three or four audiobooks over the years and enjoyed the process (and not just because it paid pretty well). When my kind publisher asked me to narrate my own book and I declined, they were understandably surprised. 'But,' I told them, 'I wrote this book with a British accent.'"It's true. For the third or fourth self-edit of the manuscript, I read the entire book aloud in my cheesiest Oxford brogue, hoping my wife and children were fast asleep and couldn't hear me. (Reading your book-in-progress aloud is a great editing tool, by the way.)"After quite a bit of my begging, the publisher succumbed and hired Peter Sandon, an esteemed Englishman, to read On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. His voice is rich and deep, and with the exception of a few pronunciations that got lost somewhere in the Atlantic between here and the British Isles (he sounds the "G" in Gnag and Gnorm, for example), his reading of the novel is, as they say, spot on."Lately, my second son (who's not much of a reader) has been following along in the book while Mr. Sandon's warm voice narrates through the CD player. More than once I've stopped on my way through the room thinking, "Is that really my book?" It sounds timeless--which, in my wildest dreams, is what I wanted this story to be."I hope you enjoy it."

Last Night's Sketches: A Ship and a Sheik

Okay, so I'm still on this drawing kick. I was up late last night watching that same sword-swinging movie on Netflix (it was a Swedish film called Arn, if you must know--not a great film, but the cinematography was excellent).

This time I made sure and sharpened my pencils. And so you don't think I'm totally shirking on my writing duties, I'm still cranking away at The Monster in the Hollows. In fact, that's what I'm going to do right this minute. Adios, amoebas.

Sketches and Progress

Hello, folks. It's Monday and I'm back in the writing chair. I spent some time drawing this weekend, so I thought I'd share a few of the pictures. After Jamie and the kids go to bed I usually stay up answering emails, reading, watching movies, or drawing. This weekend I figured out a way to do two at once.I was watching some random sword-swinging movie and decided to pause it on a few of the striking shots and draw what was on the screen. It gave me a chance to study lighting, especially on faces. I'm most definitely an amateur at this, but it's good for me to exercise this particular creative muscle. Not only do I enjoy it for its own sake, but I want to get my chops up so I can illustrate The Monster in the Hollows.As for the writing, I'm in the thick of chapter 20. I'm making good progress, and getting close to a few scenes I've had in mind since the start of the story seven years ago. Thanks for reading!AP(Click on the pictures to zoom in a little.)

This one's my favorite. The horse and the bearded dude both look old and archaic, partly because when I turned the sketchpad over to draw the next one it got pleasantly smudged.

The sheik on the left was sitting at a campfire, so it was good to study the lighting. It bugs me that his eyes are too high.

This guy doesn't look anything like the dude I was actually trying to draw, but he still looks like he could beat me up.

By now my pencils were all dull, and I was too sleepy to get up and sharpen them. That's partly why it looks so cartoony compared to the others.

The stories are true.