Official Website of A. S. Peterson

Promotional

Now Available: The Fiddler's Gun (Second Edition)

Mar - 12 - 2011

Back in December, the demand for The Fiddler’s Gun was a lot bigger than I expected and the book sold out completely right as Fiddler’s Green was hitting the bookshelves. That’s a good problem to have, but it’s difficult to sell the second book in a series when the first is no longer available. Yikes! So for the past couple of months I’ve been scrambling to get an improved second edition off to the printer.

Good news! The books came in today and they’ve now been shipped out to the distributor. If you ordered from the Rabbit Room store, your book is already in the mail.

So the question everyone has been asking is this: “What’s new in the second edition?” . . . Read the entire post

Tags: Promotional

Now Available: Fiddler's Green

Nov - 29 - 2010

Fiddler’s Green is now in stock and shipping from the Rabbit Room store. I couldn’t be more pleased with the final product. It looks, feels, and smells fantastic and I can’t wait for readers to open it up and trip through its pages. I’ve signed about 400 copies in the last 24 hours and they’re being shipped out to patrons across the country (the world even). Until my hand wears out, all orders from the Rabbit Room will be signed. Get yours before the carpal tunnel syndrome sets in.

If you haven’t read The Fiddler’s Gun yet, check out the Fin’s Revolution Bundle that includes both books plus a digital version of The Fiddler’s Gun: Letters.

If you’d like to read it with your book club check out the special bulk pricing of the Fin’s Revolution Book Club Bundle (includes 10 copies of both books plus the digital version of The Fiddler’s Gun: Letters, custom bookmarks, and discussion guides) or the Fiddler’s Green Book Club Bundle (10 copies, custom bookmarks, and discussion guide.)

If you’re just looking for a few to give as gifts this Christmas, there’s also a Fiddler’s Green gift pack available (5 copies).

The book will be available to bookstores nationwide on December 7th and Amazon will start shipping theirs around December 15th. If you want it sooner (and signed), the Rabbit Room is the only option (and my preference, of course, since artists make much more from Rabbit Room purchases than they do anywhere else.)

I hope you all enjoy the book. Merry Christmas! . . .Read the entire post

Tags: Publishing, Promotional

Pre-Order Fiddler's Green

Nov - 08 - 2010

The presses are rolling, the binders are binding, the box-packers are box-packing, the--you get the idea. The good news is that the wait is almost over. Fiddler’s Green is on the way. The books will be delivered next week and the Rabbit Room store will begin shipping them out to patrons immediately.

If you missed the chance to become a patron, never fear, pre-sales are now open and will begin shipping out after the Thanksgiving holiday. The book will be available December 7th from Amazon and bookstores nationwide. Bookstores are unlikely to stock it unless you ask for it, though, so don’t be shy, let them know you want to see it on the shelves.

And just in case you’re not convinced, read what Sarah Clarkson, author of Read for the Heart had to say about the book. Then head over to the Rabbit Room store and secure yourself a copy.

“Fiddler's Green is the sort of story that sated all my desires as a reader. I wanted adventure, and the fiery Fin Button and her intrepid crew whisked me away on an impossible quest. I wanted keenly described, colorful lands full of adventure, and this tale sails into foreign ports and castles, follows knights and pirates from dungeon to high sea battle. Most of all, I wanted the sort of story that would sail me deep into the regions of the soul, and this tale took me right there, filling my heart with the haunting music of the Fiddler's Green. With Fin, I was invited into a beauty that offered a glimpse of redemption, and a step down the road that will take me home. Keen in insight and imagination, redemptive, and epic in scope, Fiddler's Green is a book to be savored again and again.” . . . Read the entire post

Tags: Publishing, Promotional

Join the Revolution

Oct - 10 - 2010

Fiddler’s Green is the end of a story that began a long time ago with a map and a buried treasure. You may recall that I buried my family's Christmas presents in the woods one year, giving out maps so they could find them, and how that was the genesis of the idea for The Fiddler's Gun. But that's not the map I'm talking about. The real map was nothing more than a faint outline in the mind's eye. It was a fleeting vision of a young woman--an American revolutionary named Fin Button.

Over the last ten years, I've trusted Fin's lead and followed her into some strange and wonderful places. I tried my best to keep up and she always kept a few steps ahead, always confident that she knew just where she was going. And like any good map should, she beckoned me toward a fair and hidden place and bade me dig.

I spent most of this year digging, not with a spade but with words. And now that the treasure chest, Fin's story, has been unearthed, and dusted off, and carried out of the wilderness, I'm honored to announce that it's time to start handing out keys so you can all see what's inside. . .Read the entire post

Tags: Publishing, Promotional

Fiddler's Green: Advance Review Copies

Sep - 19 - 2010

A while back I offered to give an Advance Review Copy (ARC) of Fiddler’s Green to anyone who sent me a picture of themselves posed with The Fiddler’s Gun stocked in their local bookstore. I probably should have put a cut-off day on that offer but since I didn’t, Debi sniffed it out and got her picture sent in last week so I’m adding her to the list. Congrats, Debi.

My thanks to all of you who told your local bookseller how much you loved the book and bribed them to stock it. I hope you’ll do the same for Fiddler’s Green this December. It’s people like you that have made the book such a success and I’m grateful. Word of mouth is the best advertising a book can have.

I’m officially closing the door on the free ARC copies, though. The rest of you will just have to wait until the release date. If you sent in a picture, be patient, I’ll be shipping your copies once editing is complete, probably sometime in the next month. I hope you’ll stop by here and let everyone know what you think after you’ve read it. . .Read the entire post

Tags: Promotional

New Book, New Site, New Artwork

Sep - 05 - 2010

Now that there’s a new book on the way, I thought it was only fitting (and necessary) to revamp the website. Take a look around and be sure to check out the Fiddler’s Green page where you’ll find the newly unveiled synopsis of the book.

The manuscript itself is going through its third round of edits and an early review draft has been sent out to a chosen few for feedback and the option of providing endorsements for marketing purposes.

In other news, Evie Coates and I have been meeting for the past couple of weeks to talk up the new cover design and the work she’s done so far is fantastic (see the end of this post for a peek.) She’s finished most of the border that frames the cover (like the first book) and it’s almost as if she reached right into my brian and pulled out exactly what I’d been imagining. . .Read the entire post

Tags: Writing, Promotional, Publishing, artwork

Digital Release of The Fiddler's Gun: Letters

May - 21 - 2010

I know a lot of folks were disappointed that The Fiddler’s Gun: Letters was kept to a print run of only 100 copies. To be honest, I didn’t expect to enjoy the project as much as I did. It took on a life of its own during the writing, providing a couple of fun story arcs and what was, for me as a writer, an enjoyable way of getting to learn more about my characters and explore their lives in ways that didn’t make sense within the context of the novel. What I was left with in the end was a little book that I really loved but had, unfortunately, committed to a limited printing of only a hundred. Well, I told myself, I’ll release the digital version a little later and folks can read it that way.

One of my prime complaints against digital books, however, is that they require a certain sterility of design due to the limitations of the software and hardware that they are read on. It is true that the final worth of a book is found in its writing, in its words, and that’s not something that’s significantly altered by a font or a page margin. I really felt though, that part of the charm of The Fiddler’s Gun: Letters was in its design...Read the entire post

Tags: Writing, Promotional, Publishing

Bookstores Near You

Apr - 18 - 2010

The Fiddler’s Gun is finding its way into bookstores around the country thanks to a lot of you kind readers. Keep up the great work.
Here’s a picture of Matt at the Stately Raven Bookstore in Findlay, Ohio:
MeWithFiddlersGunAtStatelyRaven

And another of Paula at The Book Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma:
Paula

They’ll both be receiving advanced reader copies of Fiddler’s Green later this year. If you want to get your hands on it early as well, talk to your local bookstores, get them to order a copy (or 8) and then send me a picture. Thanks for reading!

Tags: Promotional

Spread the Word

Apr - 06 - 2010

The Fiddler’s Gun is now available to bookstores nationwide. Until now, distribution has been limited to the Rabbit Room Store (still the preferred sales point) and Amazon, but now that Rabbit Room Press is distributing through Ingram Book Company, stores all over the country have the option to stock the book.

That’s good news...

But...

Bookstores need to know about the book and know why they should stock it. They won’t order it if they don’t know it’s out there. So if you’ve read the book, I’ve got a mission for you. Get out there and tell your favorite local bookseller. In fact, don’t just tell them to stock it, insist! And don’t stop there, help them sell it too.

To encourage you to do just that, I’ll offer you a reward. Send me a photograph of The Fiddler’s Gun prominently displayed, cover out (instead of spine out) on the shelf at your local bookstore and I’ll add your name to the advanced reader list for Fiddler’s Green. That means that you’ll receive a free advance review copy a couple of months earlier than the rest of the world. How ‘bout them apples? Extra points if you include a picture of yourself posing with the book in the store.

Tags: Promotional

Join the Club!

Mar - 10 - 2010

Great news!

Ubiquitous book blogger Amy, of the My Friend Amy blog and the decidedly quirky Kate of The Quirky Redhead blog have joined forces to launch what will probably be recorded in history books as “the most quirky and friendly facebook book club in the history of quirky, friendly facebookery.”

I intend to write these history books. So you can’t say it won’t happen.

Further proof that this collaboration is founded in fine good sense is their choice of The Fiddler’s Gun as their launch title. I have it on good authority that Kate has even acquired a number of copies that she’s mailing out to members for a well-nigh unbelievable low price. If you are reading this, and you haven’t read the book then straightaway you’d best join the action, get your copy, and enjoy the coming discussion. Don’t worry, the discussion proper won’t start until April 15th so you’ve still got time to get your nose into the book, download the discussion guide, and formulate your opinions.

If you have read the book. Thank you, you are my hero. And as a good and proper hero I’m sure that you are at this very moment zeroing in on the link below with your mouse, dutifully intent on joining the fun. If nothing else, drop by and let others know what you thought of Fin and her story.

Hope to see you there. Here’s the link:

Kate and Amy’s Facebook Book Club

Tags: Book Clubs, Promotional

Delivering Letters

Jan - 30 - 2010

I’m happy to announce that The Fiddler’s Gun: Letters has finally gone to print. I approved the proof on Friday and the presses are rolling. The book is a collection of sixteen letters and other documents that detail some of the further adventures of Fin Button during the course of the events recounted in The Fiddler’s Gun.

If you followed the “Letters to Peter” feature on the site, some of this material will be familiar to you but it has now been edited, expanded, and bound in one volume. Who is Wilberforce Octavian Albemarle III? What is the mystery of the Boot Snuffler? And what is the Baker’s Grail? These letters hold the answers.

Also, included is a sneak peek at an excerpt from Fiddler’s Green.

This special companion to The Fiddler’s Gun is being printed in a limited run of 100 signed and numbered copies. Each of my Tier 2 Patrons will receive their copy in the mail, free of charge. The remainder will be for sale, exclusively at the Rabbit Room store and when they’re gone, they are gone forever (though I do hope to make a digital version available at a later date.)

Here’s a look at the introduction...Read the entire post

Tags: Letters to Peter, Promotional, Publishing

Now Available

Jan - 13 - 2010

I’m happy to announce that The Fiddler’s Gun is now available at Amazon.com. I’d certainly prefer that everyone bought it from the Rabbit Room Store where artists receive a 75% royalty on sales, but I suppose that not everyone is familiar with The Rabbit Room (yet) and I’ve decided to forgive them.

But wait! There’s more: Amazon.com also has the book available in Kindle format for you e-reader types (like me). You can now own The Fiddler’s Gun for your Kindle for a meager $8.99 and start reading it in less than a minute. Unfortunately, Kindle owners won’t be privy to the fine glossary of nautical terms in the printed book, nor the finely textures pages with deckled edges, nor the beautiful cover artwork by Evie Coates, nor the expertly designed interior layout. Those special touches are reserved for the real book geeks (also like me).

If you’ve already read the book, I’d be eternally grateful if you would take a minute of your time to visit the book’s Amazon.com pages and leave a customer review to let the vast internet masses know what you thought of it and why they also ought to read it without delay. Of course, if you thought it was rubbish I’d be more grateful if you lied and said otherwise. I’m not condoning lying, mind you, just nudging you toward a looser interpretation of the rating system.

Click here to post your review in the Kindle Store.

Click here to post your review in the Amazon Store.

Tags: Promotional

OTEOTDSOD: Audio Book

Jan - 05 - 2010

Right now you are asking yourself, “OTEOTDSOD? That’s one heck of an acronym. What madness could it possibly abbreviate?”

Allow me to enlighten. On The Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness--possibly one of the greatest book titles of our time and certainly one of the longest and most hilariously redundant. This first book of my brother’s Wingfeather Saga is now available in audiobook version on iTunes for the ridiculously low price of $3.95. Yup, that’s eight hours of British-accented Wingfeather goodness for just four bucks!

What are you waiting for? Get ye to this link and find out why children all over America are drawing Toothy Cows, fearing Fangs of Dang, and dreaming of Booger Gruel.

Tags: Promotional

Pubcast Interview

Jan - 04 - 2010

I did an interview last week with fellow Rabbit Room writer, Travis Prinzi. Travis is the ridiculously intelligent mind behind The Hog’s Head (.org) website where he’s dedicated his smarts to exposing the Harry Potter books for the deep and wonderful stories they are. Don’t mistake it for just another fan site, it’s much more. The Hog’s Head is Potter for scholars, Travis foremost among them. He’s also the author of Harry Potter & Imagination and Hog’s Head Conversations.

In the pubcast we talk a bit about the origins, publication, and future of The Fiddler’s Gun. Follow this link to listen.

Tags: Promotional

Fin Button Needs Your Help

Dec - 20 - 2009

I’ve scrounged up an idea for a book trailer for The Fiddler’s Gun and I need your help to pull it off. If you’ve read the book, I need you put the ol’ webcam to use and record your own review of it. It doesn’t have to be a critical review, just tell me what you liked about it, or describe your favorite character, or a scene you enjoyed, or just tell the camera why you think people should read it. You can even read portions if you want, it doesn’t matter. Just get on camera and have fun, be expressive, go overboard, get as crazy as you like. In fact, the crazier the better (extra points to anyone that dresses up as a character.)

Then email the file to thefiddlersgun@gmail.com, or upload it somewhere that I can download it from (you cannot download video from YouTube,btw), or you can send it to me on a CD if you need to (email me for the address). Once I’ve got enough reviews I’ll add some music and Read the entire post

Tags: Promotional

Book Club Bundles

Dec - 14 - 2009

A lot of people have asked me how they can help get the word out about The Fiddler’s Gun. The best thing you can do is to talk about it, blog about it, mention it in your twitter and facebook updates or buy a copy for a friend. A few people mentioned another option, though, and that’s Book Clubs. If you are a member of a book club, or know someone that is, that offers a great opportunity to share the book with other people.

So with that in mind, I’m offering two version of a Book Club Bundle in the Rabbit Room Store. The first is a bundle of (5) signed copies of the book at a discount off $4.00 of the cover price. The second is a bundle of (10) signed copies at a discount of $6.00 off the cover price, that’s nearly half-price. Each bundle-type comes with priority shipping.

This is also a great option for teachers of American History or Literature. If you are interested in buying for your class or your school, please get in touch with me via the contact page. I’ll be happy to work out an agreeable deal for ordering in bulk if you need more than (10).

Book Club Bundle (5)

Book Club Bundle (10)

Read the entire post

Tags: Promotional

Review at My Friend Amy

Dec - 10 - 2009

There’s a new review of The Fiddler’s Gun over at the book blog My Friend Amy. Here’s an excerpt:

“This is an adventure story and it’s a love story. There are pockets of beautiful writing that will still your heart and characters that are impossible not to feel for. And it’s also a bit of historical fiction! Truly, The Fiddler’s Gun is reading at its best.”

Click here to read the entire review.

Tags: Promotional, Reviews

Review at QuirkyRedhead.com

Dec - 09 - 2009

Kate Hinson at The Quirky Redhead Blog has a review up of The Fiddler’s Gun.

Here’s an excerpt:

“This book is not a light, entertaining read that you toss aside once finished and never think of again. It is so much more. There is depth, emotion and characters that you will care about. There is excitement, battles and mutiny. Though full of all these things, it also explores the simple yet universal desire to find a home, a place where you are chosen just for who you are. And that is something that anyone should understand.“

Head over to her blog and check out the whole review.Read the entire post

Tags: Promotional, Reviews

The Fiddler's Gun: Letters

Nov - 13 - 2009

When I wrote The Fiddler's Gun and came to the point in the story when Fin begins writing letters home, I initially thought those letters would be part of the book, part of the main narrative. That idea didn't last long though, it slowed the story down and didn't add enough weight to justify the slackened pace. So while Fin's letters are mentioned in the book, the content of them is left to the imagination.

Later, when the book was written...Read the entire post

Tags: Promotional, Letters to Peter

Article at Curator Magazine

Nov - 21 - 2009

Jenni Simmons at The Curator magazine recently wrote a great review and article about The Fiddler's Gun. Here's an excerpt:

“I’ve stated before that I loathe reading most accounts of history – dry textbooks, facts, and such. But the grand scope of reality, I believe, is that we dwell in history framed by a much bigger story written by One greater than us all. Great books like The Fiddler’s Gun give a lifelike voice to the historic characters on whose fictional shoulders we stand. We peer into Fin’s story through the eve and eye of The Revolutionary War. There’s her best friend Peter LaMee, her foe Sister Hilde; humor, romance, betrayal, grand ships, swearing sailors, pirates, gallows, Red Coats, Tories, and the hunger for American independence. Though within the epic framework, Fin just craves acceptance and love, to be an orphan no longer – to belong.

She has the endearing, headstrong spunk of Swede Land (Peace Like a River), which sometimes...Read the entire post

Tags: Publishing, Promotional, Writing

Rabbit Room Interview

Nov - 13 - 2009

[This is an interview I did a few weeks ago with Matt Connor for The Rabbit Room (www.rabbitroom.com).]

The Fiddler’s Gun is the first in a two-part series, a Revolutionary War tale that’s “not a children’s story,” as Peterson explains.

Here in our latest Rabbit Room interview, we go inside the independent publishing process, the story line of The Fiddler’s Gun, and the hidden classic known as Burger Wars.

Rabbit Room: What’s the timeline on the book’s release?

Pete Peterson: The official release date is December 1st, 2009. I’ll be shipping out orders to my patrons as soon as I receive the books from the printer, which should be a bit sooner.

RR: Let’s start with the basics of The Fiddler's Gun. Can you tell us the genesis of the idea? ...Read the entire post

Tags: Promotional, Publishing, Writing

Time to Pre-Order

Nov - 13 - 2009

Thanks to the support of everyone who pitched in and became a patron of The Fiddler's Gun, the book is off to the printer and the presses are rolling. I received the cover galleys in the mail a few days ago and they look fantastic. Sometime in the next couple of weeks an 18-wheeler is going to roll up and deliver a pallet loaded with crisp new books. I'm anxious for folks to get their hands on the book and finally start reading.

If you didn't get your copy through patronage, you can now pre-order through the Rabbit Room store. Order them now, before they're gone. What? I can't be optimistic?

For those that enjoy reading on their Kindles, I'm working on getting the book formatted correctly so I can upload it to Amazon for sale as an e-book. I've had a couple of folks ask about other e-book formats and I'm all for it. I've got to do some research first and learn all the ins and outs but I'd love to be able to offer it as a download from the Rabbit Room. More news on that when I know more.

In the meantime, get thee to the store and order a bunch of copies of The Fiddler's Gun to use as stocking stuffers.Read the entire post

Tags: Promotional

Be a Part of the Revolution

Oct - 12 - 2009

I’ve got one final meeting with Evie Coates this week before we finalize the cover design but it’s finished enough that I’m unveiling it here publicly for the first time (you’ll have to read the rest of the post to get to it--because I’m wily).

She’s done a fabulous job of conveying the look and feel that I envisioned so many months ago when we first spoke about it. I don’t think I could possibly be happier with the final artwork and it’s a real pleasure to finally let people see it. ...Read the entire post

Tags: Promotional, Publishing

Zounds!

Jul - 28 - 2009

Today I discovered that my email program is trying to take over the world. Its first act of tyranny was to sentence incoming requests for bookmarks to the junk mail gulag. I was able to liberate only a precious few survivors. Who knows how many others have been silenced and lost?

I’m not sure how long this has been going on under my nose, so if you requested a bookmark and didn’t get it, I must humbly ask you to renew your request. The situation is now well in hand and I’m hopeful that disaster has been averted quickly and quietly enough that we can all simply forego the rioting in the streets, the burning of cars and effigies, and the senseless looting of downtown electronics stores.

Tags: Marketing, Promotional

Flawless Bookmarks

Jul - 23 - 2009

Now they’ve done it. The printshop has gone and printed an order of bookmarks without a single flaw. All the art is facing the correct direction, the text resolution is sharp and clear, and they smell like fresh, purply dittos. Okay, I made that last part up. But they do smell fancy and newish. I still have a few of the old “Collector’s Edition” ones if anyone missed their shot. My broker tells me their price on the open market is skyrocketing, so if anybody wants one just click over to the Free Bookmarks page and drop me your address.

The crisp new ones will be included in every order from the Rabbit Room Store. Go on a shopping spree and buy a CD, or a book, or some sheet music, or a Karmen-Ghia T-Shirt. Actually, it’s more like buying a really snazzy bookmark for $15 and getting a free CD, book, or T-Shirt with it. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is amazing.

Tags: Marketing, Promotional

Going, Going....

Jun - 18 - 2009

All the bookmark requests I’ve received so far have been mailed. I put a couple of extras into each envelope so you can give them out to friends.

I read today in Scott’s Compendium of Collectible Bookmarks that the value of these has tripled just in the first week and their worth is expected to increase exponentially in the next few months. I’m no mathematician* but at that rate of return you might be able to retire in a few months. Get them while they last! Just send me an email (via the Contact page) with your mailing address. Each collectibly misprinted bookmark is guaranteed still warm off the presses and smelling like an old fashioned ditto upon delivery.**

*I never mastered the whole multiply and divide by zero concept
**Guarantee not guaranteed

Tags: Promotional

Bookmarks: Collector's Edition

Jun - 11 - 2009

The FedEx man dropped off a little box last week and I tore into it like a kid on Christmas morning. Bookmarks! But wait, what on earth have they done? They are printed wrong. The knuckleheads at the printshop got the front and back image turned in opposite directions so that you have to flip the darned thing over end to end to read the other side.

My first reaction was to call and complain but then I remembered how I declined the option to have a proof sent before the printing. I bet they did it on purpose.

It’s only a first printing of a hundred and it didn’t cost much so I can’t really complain. I guarantee I’ll say yes to that proof option next time though.

But all is not lost. Like anyone who’s ever collected stamps or coins knows, flaws are not always a bad thing, not when they are the fault of the manufacturer. Yes, that’s right, the print error on these bookmarks has rendered them rare collector’s items. They will probably be worth hundreds one day, if not millions. Hundreds and millions of what? I’m not at liberty to say.

If you want one, send me an email with your address. Guaranteed in mint condition*.

*not liable for folding, crumpling, wetting, or other detriment caused by the postal service.

Tags: Marketing, Promotional