Category Archives: The Adventures of The Princess and Mr. Whiffle

Published: July 2, 2010

Protecting Our Nation’s Youth

So a couple months back, I went to the Detroit area for a convention.

Whenever I’m at a convention I find myself thinking, “I need to mention it this on the blog.”

The problem is this: When I get back from a convention, I’ve usually got a bunch of catching up to do. Revisions. Sarah needs kissing. And I usually have about 500 emails to sift through.

So I put off writing the blog for a couple days. But then something else always seems to come up. The convention stories get pushed back and eventually I give up on telling them.

But today I’m going to break that bad habit and tell a few of the stories from Penguicon.

I got a chance meet Randy Milholland in person for the first time. Randy does a webcomic I’m terribly fond of. He’s also one of the first webcartoonists to mention The Name of the Wind to his readers. It was a really big deal for me at the time, as it helped spread the word back when not a lot of people knew about the book.

We didn’t get to hang out as much as I’d hoped, but it was still cool to see him. I also took this picture:

That’s Randy drawing on the head of one of his fans. I took the picture because at the time I was a little jealous. But now that I’ve thought about it some more, I’m not so sure I’d like that sort of artistic responsibility.

I also had a lovely little adventure with Howard Tayler of Schlock Mercenary. But rather than re-tell that story, I’ll just link to his version of events. I honestly do not remember dropping the f-bomb on him. But Howard is a lovely guy, and I trust his memory more than mine.

I got to hang out with John Scalzi a little bit. He was delightful as ever. At one point he gave me an onion ring.

I honestly cannot remember why I took a picture of it. I think I was joking about selling it on e-bay.

Scalzi also told me a story.

Apparently, (Scalzi said) Subterranean Press sent him an ARC of The Adventures of The Princess and Mr. Whiffle.

The package showed up at his house, and his wife opened it. She flipped through it briefly, then set it down.

Later, his young daughter Athena wandered by. She saw the book and was curious about it. Understandable, really. On the surface, it looks like something every child would love:

(Warning: Do not allow book to come in contact with actual child.)

Anyway, Athena was lured in. She picked up the book, read it, and was a little… disturbed.

Athena then took the book to her mom and said, “I don’t think I like this.”

Luckily, mom was on the ball. She sat down with Athena and they chatted about the book. Processed it. Afterwards Zoe felt better, and, apparently, became rather fond of the book.

So fond of it, in fact, that Athena took it to school and asked the teacher if they could read it during story time. The teacher read the book and said “Hell no.” Though she said it in a much politer teachery way.

After Scalzi told me the story, I had a premonitory sweat. I shook my head and said, “I really need to put a sticker on the front of the book that says: This shit is not for kids.”

The idea rolled around in my head for a while, and so I talked to the illustrator, and we came up with this:

Then I had my best idea ever that week. Why not make the sticker really eye-catching? That way, people couldn’t help but notice the sticker and be fairly warned about the non-kid content.

I have to say it turned out perfectly. What’s more eye catchy than a gold-foil sticker? I’m sure when this is properly affixed to to the front of the book, people will be amply warned. Our nation’s children are now safe. Only the most foolish and lazy-minded of parents would ever mistake it for anything other than a warning label.

If you ordered your book from Subterranean Press, rest assured that you’ll be getting a sticker shipped to you along with your book. For the children.

In closing, two quick related notes:

1) Don’t hassle the folks at Subterranean Press, asking them if your book has shipped. They’re shipping them out as fast as they can. Be patient.

2) Subterranean is also shipping out their prizes from the Worldbuilders raffle. They’re sorry about the delay, but it was unavoidable. So if you get a couple unexpected books in the mail, it’s not a mistake, it’s a prize. Enjoy.

pat

Also posted in conventions | By Pat72 Responses
Published: June 17, 2010

A New Addition to the Family

Much to my delight, something arrived in the mail today:

(Click to Embiggen.)

That’s right, I was so excited about finally holding a real-life copy of The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle that I actually went outside to take a picture of it.

It was strange outside the house. Everything was very bright and green. There was some sort of fiery orb in the sky that burned me….

Seriously though, I’m so happy with how the book turned out. It’s gorgeous.

Best of all, since these boxes of books showed up today, I’ll be able to take them down to my reading near Milwaukee this Saturday.

That means if you swing by the reading, you’ll be one of the first people to hear me read the whole story. And, if you want, you can buy a copy before they’re even in stores.

The books literally just got in from the printers. So the folks at Subterranean Press are still busy processing them. That means they won’t be shipping for a little bit. But the good news is that if you haven’t ordered it yet, you still have a day or so to get free shipping.

Or you can come down to Waukesha on this Saturday and pick up a copy. Did I mention I’m doing reading and a signing there? I’m pretty sure I did.

Man, I really need to get some sleep. Even new-book excitement can’t change the fact that I’ve been up for 40 hours.

Sweet dreams everyone,

pat

Also posted in appearances, cool things, side projects, signing books | By Pat58 Responses
Published: April 16, 2010

And it’s off to the printer….

For those of you who haven’t heard the news, my new pet project is going to be coming out at the end of June.

While I’ve mentioned the book on the blog before, it’s only been while talking about something else, like the fundraiser or my recent road-trip.

Today, after talking about the final edits before we send the book off to the printer, I figured it was time that I give The Princess and Mr. Whiffle its very own blog. Especially as it will be coming out in just a couple months.

The other reason I wanted to mention it here is so that you folks who care enough about my stuff to check the blog regularly have a chance of actually buying one.

So here’s the brief pitch. It looks like a children’s book, but it’s really not. Seriously. It’s more like an old-school faerie tale, and I’m profoundly, almost ridiculously proud of how it’s turned out. If you have a dark sense of humor, odds are you’ll enjoy it. If not, you probably want to avoid it.

Here’s the deal: this book’s print run isn’t very big. And I have a lot of readers. That means there’s a very decent chance that the book will sell out.

In fact, there’s a good chance it might sell out really, really quickly.

That means if you want to make sure you get one, you should probably pre-order a copy. Here’s a link to the publisher’s website.

And before somebody says, “why don’t you just print more books?” let me explain that I’m just the writer here. The publisher makes all those decisions. I don’t have any say in how big the print run is.

Okay. My work here is done. Consider yourselves fairly warned.

Hope y’all have a lovely weekend, folks. Myself, I have to go dress up as Zeus for a parade….

pat

Also posted in cool news, Nathan Taylor, upcoming publications | By Pat132 Responses
Published: March 1, 2010

Upcoming Appearances

For those of that might be interested, I have a couple appearances coming up in the next couple of months. You can see details on the tour page.

I’ll be adding more dates to the tour page as new things get scheduled. I’m cutting down on my conventions a little this year because of Oot. But I will be attending PenguiCon this year. (And San Diego Comic Con, if I can somehow get hold of a badge.)

Plus, I’m thinking of taking a little road trip.

You see, Sarah has a family wedding that she really wants to go to down in Virginia Beach. Since I’m not thrilled with the thought of taking Oot on a plane, we’re going to be driving down.

This means I’m going to be traveling through a big piece of the US I’ve never visited before. And whenever that happens, I wonder if there might be a bookstore or a library in the area that would be interested in hosting a reading/signing….

The wedding is on the 21st of March. That doesn’t leave us a lot of time….

So here’s the deal.

Here are the two potential routes I can take down to Virginia beach:

(Click to Embiggen)

You can also go look at the google map directly if you follow THIS LINK.

If you live in this part of the country and want to help set up a reading/signing there are two options.

Option One:

If you happen to own, manage, or work in a bookstore or library somewhere on this blue line, and you’d like to set up a reading/signing, you should drop me a via the contact form on the webpage.

Option Two:

If you don’t manage a bookstore or a library, but you still want to help lure me into your neck of the woods, you could go ask your local bookstore/library to see if they’d like to host an event. Then, if they’re interested, you can have them drop me a line. Again, using the contact form.

I know this is a relatively tight timetable, but I think we can make it work.

As an added incentive, if we do set up a reading or two, you can be relatively sure that you’ll get to hear a bit of The Wise Man’s Fear, as well as get a sneak peek at The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle.

(I’m so friggin excited about this book.)

A few helpful tips:

1. If you post a comment below that says, “Come to Cleveland!1!!!” it will not in any way facilitate my coming to Cleveland.

Like I said above, I need to get in contact with someone who has the authority to set up an event.

1b. Ditto about sending me the phone number of a local bookstore. I just don’t have the time to call 100 places and track down the two or three that might be interested. It’s way better if YOU call them and ask them. Then, if they’re interested, you can send me a message with their contact information.

2. Please take note of the blue line in the map above. If your hometown/bookstore isn’t on that blue line, it’s going to be a lot harder for me to make the trip. I’m spending 40 hours driving down and back to Virginia. Since I have my baby with me, I’m not eager to add a long side trip.

2b. New York and Boston are not close to the blue line, just in case you were wondering.

2c. If you want to lure me off the blue line, it will probably require some manner of lavish bribe or exceptionally exciting venue.

2d. I will make one exception to 2c. If there’s a willing bookstore in Canton, OH, I’ll make the trip. Because it will give me an excuse to wear my Jayne hat, and sing “The Hero of Canton” at the reading.

3. Your house is not a viable venue for a reading. A good venue should have seating for at least 40 people and hopefully some way of selling books. A nearby coffeeshop is also a plus.

I honestly have no idea if this will work. But I’m guessing out of the thousands of people who read the blog, at least a few of them have to work in bookstores and libraries. I love doing readings and signings, so I’m hoping we can set up at least a couple appearances so I can meet some of y’all down there in the southeast.

Rest assured I’ll post up a blog as soon as we manage to set anything up.

Thanks for your help,

pat

Also posted in appearances, calling on the legions | By Pat151 Responses
Published: January 5, 2010

Auctions: Golden Ticket and an ARC of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle


This is a Worldbuilders blog.

Let’s deal with the simpler auction first, shall we?

  • An ARC of The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle: The Thing Beneath the Bed by Patrick Rothfuss and Nathan Taylor. Signed by the Author.



(I think of it as Coraline meets Calvin and Hobbes.)


I’ve already talked about the Princess book over on this blog. If you’d like more details on it,you can head over there.

Simply said, if you win this auction, you can get an Advance Reading Copy of this book now, rather than having to wait until July when it’s coming out through Subterranean Press. I’ll sign it for you too.

Interested? Here’s the link to the auction.

Note: for those of you interested in buying a copy of this book, you might want to do so sooner rather than later. Last I heard the print run was already more than half sold out…

  • The Golden Ticket.



(Note, contains no actual chocolate.)

Ever since I mentioned I was donating the Golden Ticket in one of the early posts of the fundraiser, people have been asking me questions about it.

Now that I’m auctioning one off, I should clarify a few things to make sure there’s no confusion or hurt feelings after the bidding’s done.

In the previous post about the golden ticket, here’s what I said.

“If you win this prize, I will owe you one (1) favor. You can cash it in however you like.

You want your name in book two? We can do that. You want me to read your book and give you some criticism? No problem. You want me to attend your local convention, perform your wedding ceremony, or just give you a nice backrub? Consider it done.

A few stipulations:

* The favor has to be legal. (More or less.)

* It has to be something I can actually do. (Duh)

* I can’t make anyone fall in love.

Other than that, I’ll do my best to grant your wish….”

Aside from the last two sentences (which were really just a joking reference to Aladdin) I thought this was pretty clear. But since then, people have sent me e-mail asking questions that made me realize the wide scope of things people *could* ask for as a favor.

So here’s a few more formal guidelines.

Examples of things you could use the golden ticket for:

  • If you missed the previous auction, or just didn’t manage to win, you could ask me to read and critique your manuscript.
  • You could ask for one of the numbered museum quality copies of the Luring the Draccus posters. Phil was nice enough to give me a couple, and I’d part with one for this.
  • You could ask to get an early look at The Wise Man’s Fear. (As soon as it’s ready to show around.)

Examples of things you *can’t* use the Golden Ticket for:

  • I won’t give out details about what happens in the third book. I don’t go in for spoilers.
  • You can’t ask to change the course of the book so that, say, Kvothe and Elodin have a sex scene. Or Kvothe and Ambrose have a sex scene. Or so that someone dies, or doesn’t die, or has a threesome with Bast and Chronicler, or whatever. Sorry.
  • I won’t blurb your book. I’d gladly *read* your book and consider blurbing it, but that’s not something you can buy, at least not from me. I decided years ago that I didn’t want to be a blurb whore, and that I’d only blurb books I truly enjoyed and could recommend wholeheartedly.
  • I won’t re-name my child, buy you a car, beat up your ex-boyfriend, or become physically intimate with you.
  • Well… let’s call that last one a maybe. Anything more than a kiss and backrub would have to be approved by Sarah.

As you can see, there’s a lot of room between these two extremes. Someone asked if I would come out to their house, make them dinner, and tell them a story. My response was that that sounded fine to me so long as:

1) They didn’t mind waiting until I can work it into my travel plans.
2) They like pasta.
3) They don’t kill me and wear my skin like a coat.

See how easy I am to work with?

Here’s the link to the auction.

Remember folks, for every 10 dollars you donate to Heifer International, you get a chance to win fabulous prizes. Plus there’s the whole helping make the world a better place thing. That’s nice too.

And don’t forget, I’m matching 50% of all donations made. So why not head over to my page at Team Heifer and chip in. Trust me. You’ll feel great afterward.

Or, if you want to go back to the main page for Worldbuilders, you can click HERE.

With thanks to our sponsor, Subterranean Press.

Also posted in Golden Ticket, Subterranean Press, Worldbuilders 2009 | By Pat28 Responses

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