It's been a long time since I've posted here, and my only excuse is a good one: I've been working hard on music for most of the year. Music and bees. And pumpkins and butternut squash. You see, I finished up the actual recording of Light for the Lost Boy sometime in the late spring, eager to get started on the final Wingfeather book. But instead of getting started, I planted seeds and inspected the beehive and spent a lot of great quality time with my family. Don't get me wrong, I wrote quite a bit, and mostly made notes on all the aspects of the saga that I need to address. But for the most part I allowed myself to recuperate from the two Steven Curtis Chapman tours and the writing and recording of a new album; the season wore me out completely, and I missed my family a lot. (They missed me, too.)Then sometime in July, the hard drive on my computer had to die. And I mean dead. It was actually rattling like a maraca. I lost about six months of work, Wingfeather Saga and otherwise. So let this be a lesson to you all: IF YOU'RE EVER WRITING A BOOK, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER EVERY FIFTEEN SECONDS. Here's the weird thing: I didn't mind so much. For some reason I was relieved. It was as if God was saying, "Hey, kid. Take a break. You don't want to write a lousy book, do you? Then rest a while, and write it when you're ready."Now it's September, and I'm happy to tell you that my newest album is officially out in the world. It's been set loose. That means I'll be touring and interviews and doing all I can to tell people about this new batch of songs. Hopefully, once the tour starts and I'm rolling across America in a bus, I'll pop open my computer and rewrite the first several chapters--and hopefully they'll be better than the first attempt. In the meantime, please head to iTunes, Amazon, or (preferably) the Rabbit Room to pick up Light for the Lost Boy. Hopefully it'll tide you over until the spring.As always, thanks for reading! I've gotten a few great drawings from fans lately, and I'll post them as soon as I'm able.
An Update and a Drawing from a Fan
Dear Reader,I'm writing from the dregs of summer. The weather at the Warren has been in the mid- to upper-nineties for weeks, and there's been very little rain. I've managed to keep the pumpkin patch watered, but there's too much corn to spray. I went to check on my poor thirsty stalks this morning and saw, to my delight, silvery-green tassels bursting from a few of the crooks. That tells me the roots are getting enough water from the soil without my help, and it won't be long before I see beautiful new ears of corn in the garden, drought or no drought. Why am I surprised?That brings me to The Warden and the Wolf King. One could argue that I'm only writing this post because I'm procrastinating. Well, the corn in the garden reminds me that things take time, and grow at their own speed. I'm not procrastinating as much as percolating. I'm not ignoring the story--I'm waiting for it. The crazy part about writing a book is that a lot of the work is done not just when you're banging words out on the computer, but when you're doing the dishes, riding your bike, reading your bible, and eating dinner. On the other hand, no amount of thinking can take the place of banging words out. We plant the seeds, but God makes them grow. Spirit and flesh.All that to say, I'm working on the new book. Can't wait for you to read it.I was tending to old emails this morning and found one from 12-year-old Maggie Rice, which included an excellent drawing of Chimney Hill that I wanted to share with you guys. Thanks for reading, Maggie! This picture is so good.
Announcing the Arrival of the North! Or Be Eaten Audiobook
I'm sitting here in amazement that after more than a year of recording, editing, and mastering, the North! Or Be Eaten audiobook is here. I know I told you guys that it would be here a long time ago, back in 2011 when Englishman Peter Sandon was sending us files from his London studio. But then life started happening, and more than that, we at Rabbit Room Press discovered that putting together an audiobook is a lot more work--A LOT MORE WORK--than we could have imagined.But it's here. It'll be on iTunes in the next few weeks, but for now you'll have to head straight to the Rabbit Room and download it. Thanks, folks! Happy listening.
The Great Library of Ban Rona
Patient Readers,At long last, I finished the drawing for Will Silander, whose Lego stop-motion film won last year's review contest for The Monster in the Hollows. (Click here if you want to relive its awesomeness.) Last week I found the time to tackle drawing that intimidating tree and delivered the finished product to Will a few days ago. Jim Hamilton and family, your print of the drawing will be making its way to you later this week. Here's a photo of the picture:
I'm putting the finishing touches on Light for the Lost Boy, my newest album, then it's Wingfeather Saga, all day, every day. Can't wait to get cranking on this next book. Stay tuned, because there's another fun announcement in a few days. Something about a North! Or Be Eaten audiobook, maybe?Gratefully,AP
Bricks and Feathers: An Update for Will
I was able to carve out a few hours Monday afternoon to work on the drawing. I had no idea how to convey the stonework of the library's face, and to be honest, I was dreading having to draw every brick. As I said in the last post, I had too little patience when I was a kid.But to my surprise, I figured out a way to make the building look like it was of hewn stone, not of a zillion identical bricks (like the left side where the tree is), and it didn't take as long as I feared. That's the good news. The bad news is, I like how the new stonework looks so much that I really ought to go back and use the same approach on the left side. Patience. Patience. PATIENCE.Speaking of patience, I drew quite a bit of inspiration from a documentary I stumbled onto from Netflix, about John James Audobon, the famed bird artist. It kept me company while I worked on this, and helped me to appreciate not only how amazing his bird paintings are, but the value of details. The historians in the documentary marveled at the way he drew or painted every single strand of every single feather on every single bird--thousands and thousands of lines. So I guess I shouldn't complain about a few bricks here and there.I'll be home all weekend, and I hope to find another chunk of time to finish this up. Soon and very soon, Silanders and Hamiltons.AP
A New Drawing for Will Silander
You guys may remember a contest we held last year, in which two reviews of The Monster in the Hollows were chosen (one for blogs, one for Amazon reviews). The two winners were to receive an original Wingfeather Saga drawing, and if I could swing it I'd try to draw whatever they wanted. The two runners-up were to receive signed prints of the same drawings. WELL. Last year was busy, and I had a hard time getting into a sketching frame of mind, so I'm just now getting to work on the first drawing.(So sorry, Will, Hamiltons, Kelly, Jeri, and Nora!)Will Silander was the winner of the first contest, thanks to his most excellent stop motion video (scroll down a few posts to see its coolness), and he requested a scene from the library at Ban Rona, hopefully featuring the creepy librarian. What I came up with is a picture of the Great Library, with Janner and Oskar approaching on a carriage. Hopefully that'll work. I got several hours in last week, then my tour started and everything was put on hold till I get back this Sunday. I thought I'd share my progress with you guys.
This is the rough sketch. In the book I described how people were strolling from the balcony straight to the limbs of a giant tree, reading books in the boughs. I liked how these tree branches turned out so much that I chickened out and didn't draw any people up there for fear I'd mess up and have to start all over. If I were a real artist, I'd have gone for it.
Here's a closeup of Oskar and Janner on the carriage. I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to illustrate the faces of main characters; I'd rather you fill in the blank and let Janner be your Janner rather than mine. I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't spend much time describing the details of the main characters' features for this reason, and in several of Justin Gerard's illustrations the characters' faces aren't visible. So I wanted to frame this picture so that we didn't see Janner and Oskar too clearly.
Now I've tightened up Janner and Oskar. I showed the drawing to Aedan, and he said Janner didn't look quite right. I happen to agree. Maybe he looks too small next to Oskar? Or maybe it's that Oskar really is as squishy as I describe him. Either way, I was too invested in the picture to turn back.
I've officially spent more time on this tree than any tree I've ever drawn. One thing I've learned between now and when I was an aspiring Batman penciller in high school is PATIENCE. It takes a long time to write a book. It takes a long time to write a song. And it takes a long time to draw a good tree. Twenty years ago I went crazy after the seventeenth leaf and got sloppy. This time I kept reminding myself to slow down, and I think you can tell a difference.
Here's where I left off Monday night. I spent a while drawing the stones on the face of the building, and to be honest, I'm dreading filling in the bricks on the rest of it. Aedan pointed out that drawing every little line on the next section of the building might make it look too busy, especially since I don't want to draw too much attention from Janner and Oskar in the foreground. Once I finish tightening up the rest of the drawing ("tightening" is a what Justin Gerard calls it, so I feel a little pretentious as a hobbyist using professional lingo). I'll add the shading, which scares me silly. If I screw up the shading, I might have to start from scratch. We'll see.Anyway, Will, I hope you like it so far. (And you too, Jim Hamilton and family, since you'll get a print of it.)Thanks for reading my stories, folks. I'm getting excited about starting The Warden and the Wolf King later this month.
Great News for Kindle Users!
Hey, folks!As of tonight, The Monster in the Hollows is available on the Amazon Kindle. I've gotten quite a few requests over the last few months, and I'm happy to announce that it's finally live. Of course, nothing can replace the fine feel of a real book--but for the folks who live overseas or who have made the full transition to eBooks, now you can find out what happens to the Igiby Three.Click here for the link.Thanks, everybody!AP
The Warden and the Wolf King?
Hello, Dear Readers.I'm writing this from the Honda dealership, where our minivan is getting a much-needed oil change. The pressure's on, because we're about to drive down to Florida for Thanksgiving, the last real family time I'll have before I hit the road for the Behold the Lamb of God Christmas tour. We're doing 16 concerts in 18 days, traveling everywhere from Texas to North Carolina to Alabama to Ohio, and I hope some of you Wingfeather fans can come out to the shows. I'm always eager to meet readers, and one of my favorite things to see is a beat-up copy of one of my books in the hands of a kid (or grownup).Lots of people have been asking about The Warden and the Wolf King, so I figured I'd let you know the plan. During the Christmas tour I'm planning to write songs like crazy in order to be ready for the studio in January. I'll start recording a new album then, which will hopefully be finished in the early Spring (in between concerts with Steven Curtis Chapman). There's usually a short lull between finishing the record and releasing it, and that's when I plan to sit down and dig in to that most terrifying and daunting and thrilling of things: CHAPTER ONE.That's the good news. The bad news is, I can't write a whole book in a recording or touring lull. There will probably be promotional stuff and more touring in the summer and fall, which will make it really hard to do any serious writing. But as soon as the fall tour is over and my brain is sufficiently un-fried, I'm hoping to set aside a few months just for writing. If some strange alignment of energy and inspiration and time occurs before next fall, I may be able to finish the book in time for a Christmas release. But knowing what I know about my limits, I doubt that will happen. Which means (sorry!) The Warden and the Wolf King will probably be published in spring of 2013.I just slumped my shoulders while I typed that last sentence. In fact, even now I'm rethinking the whole thing, and will probably spend some time today with a calendar, trying to find a way to finish the story sooner. I don't want you guys to be all grown up by the time I finish!To sum up: I'm recording a new CD after Christmas, to be released in the summer or fall. I'm going to do my best to finish the book in time for next Christmas, but I'm preparing myself for a 2013 book release (again, that sounds forever away, and I wince at the thought). In the meantime, please continue to spread the word about the books! It's been so exciting to see the story continuing to make its way into the world, and that's all because of you. THANK YOU.Final notes: I still haven't found time to draw the two pictures for the contest winners. Don't worry! I'll do it as soon as I can. Also, the audiobook for North! Or Be Eaten and the Kindle version of The Monster in the Hollows are both still in production. We're close, but as busy as Christmas/Thanksgiving can be, it might be a short wait. So many projects, so little time.Thank you again. May your Thanksgiving be free of thwaps, gribbits, and all manner of toothiness.AP