Alanna Peterson's Blog, page 2

Virtual Launch of What We Bury

The final book of the Call of the Crow Quartet has now hit the shelves! This is a bittersweet day for me. It may seem like I’m rapidly cranking these books out (all four have been published during the past two years, during a pandemic at that!), but in reality, today is the culmination of ten long years of incredibly hard work.

So it is with a heart both heavy and light that I bring you Book 4, What We Bury!

The paperback edition of What We Bury, propped up against the trunk of a birch tr...

Magical Mocktails

To toast the finale of my book series, I wanted to craft a delicious beverage that tied in with the books and was a little out of the ordinary.

Enter the color-changing magic of butterfly pea flower tea!

A squeeze of lemon turns an indigo-blue drink into a purple-pink beauty

Though I’d heard of this drink through the interwebs, I hadn’t ever tried it myself. So I ordered some dried butterfly pea flowers, and once they arrived I infused them in hot water inside a big Mason jar. The deep b...

What We Bury Cover Reveal

WOW IT’S DONE I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!! The fourth and final installment of the Call of the Crow Quartet will be hitting stores on July 22, 2022, and I couldn’t be more relieved. It’s been a long haul, and the final stages of bringing this book into the world have been downright painful—I finished my final tweaks while recovering from Covid, which weirdly feels appropriate.

Today, though, I’m excited to reveal the amazing cover! Before I get to that, though, here’s a peek at the notes I provided ...

4 Tips for Tackling Big Projects

Writing a book is hard. And it takes a ton of time. As I wrap up work on What We Bury, the last book of the Call of the Crow Quartet, I thought I’d share a few of the things that helped me manage this massive project in the midst of global turmoil and an ongoing pandemic.

Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington. Photo by my son.#1: Work on your project every day (if you can)

When I’m about to dive into a new project, I always feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work ahead ...

Joy on Wheels

The following letter was sent to my newsletter subscribers at the end of March. It seemed to resonate with lots of readers, so I’m re-posting it here. If you’d like content like this delivered to your inbox each month, make sure to sign up for my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

My green and pink skates on the grassy beach at Seward Park, with the lake and city in the distance

Hello, friends! 

Every time I sit down to write this letter to you, I’m faced with a conundrum. All the t...

Call of the Crow Quartet: A Review by Gina Siciliano

When my friend and amazing author/artist Gina Siciliano mentioned she was working on a review of the first three Call of the Crow Quartet books, I couldn’t wait to read it – and I’m excited to share it with you all today (with Gina’s permission). I love how it brings in some Seattle history and context that underlies the books, even if it isn’t discussed on the page explicitly, and how Gina weaves in some of her own experiences throughout. Note, the review is not too spoilery, as it’s more focus...

Day Trip to Whidbey Island

I’ve been holed up in my writing cave since the year began, working hard on the fourth and final installment of the Call of the Crow Quartet. Sometimes, when I’m in the thick of a project as intense as this, it’s really hard to come up for air. I’m so tempted to keep going and going until it’s done… but it’s physically impossible to crank out a 400(ish)-page novel without any down time.

So, one recent weekend, my family and I took a spontaneous day trip to Whidbey Island. It’s not far from u...

My Top 5 Photos of 2021

Last year, I chose 5 photos that encapsulated aspects of my 2020. I think I’ll make this an annual tradition, because it’s a good excuse to go through the pics I’ve collected and try to sum up the year through images.

I meant to post this before the year ended, but as it worked out I was sick for the last week of 2021 and couldn’t muster the energy to do much of anything. Which leads me right into my first photo…

#5: Languishing

That was the word of 2021, right? So many of us found ...

Virtual Launch of Within Every Flame

Today’s the day!!! BOOK THREE IS HERE!!!

The book stands against a black backdrop next to an open pomegranate, a sprig of yarrow, and a lighted beeswax candle.

Release days, for me, are always fraught with emotion. I want to be overjoyed, proudly shouting my accomplishments from the rooftops, because dang it would be nice to feel satisfied with something I worked on for years. Besides, isn’t that the kind of person that others want to buy a book from? Someone whose joy spills into their vo...

Pomegranate Mocktails

When I was brainstorming ideas for a launch event to celebrate the release of Within Every Flame, I knew I wanted to include pomegranates in some way. They are featured on the cover and appear at various points throughout the book. When I did the final read-through, I paused at a scene when a character sips on a pomegranate mocktail and thought, yes! that’s it!

The next hurdle was to find (or develop) a good recipe. I kept putting this off, figuring I’d get around to it eventually. And then o...