Andrew Peterson's Blog, page 54

What in the World is a Hutchmoot?

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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 ...

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 Visits = Confluence

The schoolchildren of Omaha, Nebraska have been warned. I can now sleep well, knowing the many evil plans of the many sinister cows of Nebraska will fail. The children of elementary schools Ackerman, Manchester, and Reagan listened as I described the many dangers of Aerwiar, showed them the maps, read chapters from On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness and North! Or Be Eaten, and answered many questions about Gnag the Nameless, Peet the Sock Man, cave blats, and, yes, toothy cows (woe!).

The...

A Sketch

I've been avoiding this for weeks, but the rubber has just met the road. The time for games is over. The race is on.  I've put it off by writing a lot of backstory, sorting out the Wingfeather family tree (this actually became pretty important in order to be sure I had my facts straight on some things), and having a long conversation about the book with my brother, who's a fellow story nerd.

And finally today I made progress on chapter one of The Monster in the Hollows (a title I'll probably c...