As I sit down to write this, the new book has been out for a full day and some change.
Launch day went pretty well. It felt… odd. For my last two books, I did signing tours. And while I don’t miss the thought of spending my time in airports and hotel rooms… I do miss the thought of getting to meet a lot of you. Tours are exhausting. But the one part I never got tired of was meeting you guys…
But various things made a tour impractical for me this time around. So when my book came out and it felt a little… different. Not unpleasant, just not as eventful as if I met up with 500-600 of you in Seattle…
That isn’t to say it was a bad day. I fit it what promotion I could while helping the boys with their homework and otherwise dadding it up. I even took a brief field trip with my kiddos to the local bookstore.
(I *really* should have straightened out those books before taking this picture. It’s bothering me…)
Oh! Speaking of which, let’s take a moment to enjoy some good news in a world that’s… well… let’s just say not as good as I think it should be.
After years of being bookstore-less, Stevens Point (the town where I live) has not just one, but TWO local bookstores.
Point’s last bookstore closed *years* ago. It was deeply depressing, as I knew deep in my heart that this town would never have another unless I personally intervened in some way to make it happen….
…Fast forward to my delight at being proven wrong. A couple years back, some amazing local folk opened Bound to Happen books. A local bookstore right on main street. The fact that they survived their first couple years AND covid warms my bitter old heart.
I stopped by to enjoy the book birthday with my boys. Not only did the store have a Draccus pushie on the front counter and the promotional postcards to give away, they had this:
Unknown to me, they’d collaborated with Worldbuilders Market to have some a whole shelf of Kingkiller-related stuff for people who might be showing up for the new book. I had no idea that was happening, and it made me look *very* cool in front of my kids.
Unfortunately, the boys and I were a little rushed, so I didn’t have time to take pictures of the other, even newer, bookstore: Sojourn Booksellers. But picture or no, I’d feel bad not giving them a mention too. They have some of my books as well…
Aaand since I’m splashing around local bookstore love, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout to A Room of One’s Own down in Madison. They sent me a picture of displaying not just the new book, but the sexy Bast calendar, too…
Which brings me to my next piece of good news.
- Calendars are back from the printer.
In fact, I’m guessing a few of you have already gotten yours in the mail if you pre-ordered them from Worldbuilders, or got them in one of the bundles.
The boys think it’s the funniest thing ever, and wanted to show off their favorite Bast pictures:
(Oot had trouble deciding, so he picked two.)
Launch day wrapped up with a lovely stream with Nate where we got to show off the art and celebrate the book finally being out. If you missed it, you can see the archived video over on my twitch channel.
For those of you who aren’t into streaming, there’s one thing Nate and I announced that I want to let you know about here…
- Surprise! Extra Signed Books (Feat Nate Taylor)
As I’ve already mentioned in a bunch of places, the publisher and I worked hard so those of you who pre-ordered books could get signed copies. I signed a *lot* of books. A very lot. Enough so that you could get them from your local bookstore, or B&N, or Books-A-Million… pretty much anywhere.
You could also pre-order it over at Worldbuilders Market, the online store for my charity. If you did, you could get the same promotional postcard and signed book.
We really appreciate y’all who support the charity, and we know you can buy the book online for a discount, so we wanted to do something a little extra for you who were willing to pay a little more to help make the world a better place.
So… a month or so ago, Amazing Illustrator (and even better friend) Nate Taylor flew out here to Stevens Point. Partly to visit, but also to sign some books.
What this means is that if you pre-ordered a copy of Narrow Road from Worldbuilders Market, you got a book that was signed by me AND Nate.
And not to put to fine a point on it, but there were a *lot* of you:
It’s hard to show you how many packages they got ready in the weeks leading up to the book’s launch…
Because there were too many to get a picture of all at once…
All told, they shipped over 2200 packages on the Monday before publication so y’all could get your books as quickly as possible.
(Child shown for scale. I swear our employees are of legal age.)
What’s more, on publication day, y’all came storming into the store again. And then yesterday too.
At times like this, I’ve asked them to focus on getting people’s packages shipped out as quickly as possible. And they’ve been doing a bang-up job. But since they’re focusing on that, we haven’t had time to switch our two big pre-order items over into the NON pre-order versions yet.
So… congratulations! All y’all who ordered books, calendars, or bundles over the last couple days still managed to get the lower prices and the double-signed books too!
The team says they’ll be getting items switched over as soon as they’re caught up with shipping tomorrow. If you manage to order a Signed Copy of Narrow Road, or any of the bundles containing Narrow Road before they change it, you’ll still get:
- The lower pre-order price.
- A copy of the book signed by me AND Nate.
- One of the promo postcards.
(So long as we don’t run out, of course.)
So if that sounds like something you’re interested in, or if you’re just looking to do some holiday shopping, jump in quick. Because they tell me the pre-order items and prices will definitely be going away by the end of tomorrow.
Oof. There’s more news to share, but this blog is already crazy long.
I’ll post the rest up in a day or so, folks. For now? I rest…
Thanks again for being amazing…
pat
26 Comments
Wow, I can’t believe how big your boys have gotten.
I mean, I know it had to happen – my eldest is in college and my younger one is graduating this spring – but wow it still surprises me!
I’m so glad your book is being in sold in not one but TWO local bookstores. That’s awesome. I am looking forward to receiving my copy soon, but I swear I think they use donkeys to get over the Rockies with mail and such (my mom’s birthday is today and she hasn’t gotten my card. When will I learn to send it two weeks early??)
It came! I think it came yesterday. I will read it tomorrow, if I can resist opening it up as soon as I get home tonight.
I really hope I got a double signed in time by ordering now! I had asked a few times and checked some places to see if there was anywhere offering ones signed by both you and Nate and was sad to see that wasn’t the case. That’s most of why I was waiting since I couldn’t afford to preorder/order multiple times! Wishing you and your family the best. Looking forward to reading it. I loved the original short story and Bast!
This book is gorgeous! I look forward to showing off the Bast calendar when it arrives. I told the ladies at work alllll about it. Thank you for giving me a reason to step back and get into reading again. I’ve been struggling with managing my work/life balance, and for some reason reading has seemed impossible. I am so excited for The Narrow Road. I just put the kettle on… and once I’ve finished this post I will make a tea (in my favorite Anker’s mug, naturally), sit in my comfy chair, light a crackling candle, and read a beautiful story. <3
My Worldbuilders copy of the book came in earlier today and I opened the package just after reading this blog post! What a nice surprise to see both your names there, and I look forward to diving into the book!
I am SO EXCITED for this book, thanks for the awesome surprise, Pat and Nate!!
Can’t wait to receive mine and start reading it!
I was at *that* book signing in Seattle, in 2012. There were a LOT of people. Nate and you stayed for a VERY long time. The waiting was agony. I was tired and cranky. Also, hungry. In hindsight, Im not sure how Nate and you sat there, probably in agony too!
I also don’t think I ever thanked you both for staying.
So, thanks to both of you for staying! I hope our paths cross again, one day. Maybe for the 3rd book tour! That would be sweet!
It’s not book three and a story I read so long ago but Pat’s new prose and Rupert’s narration are like a balm to my soul right now. I love it. Thanks Pat :)
This is awesome.
Always great to hear from you, Pat! Hope you and your family can find the time to enjoy such a special moment (and not just get overloaded with all the hard work it requires). Well deserved.
Cheers!
Was that a hint of facial hair on Oot?? I remember when he was a tiny baby still nursing and attending your signing event back in the day. I can’t believe he’s gotten so… Old.
Ahhhhh this is so exciting! Thank you and your team so much for doing all of this!
Already consumed this book twice on audio. Nick Poedel is an amazing compliment to your wonderful stories. Your books are on a very short list of ones that I can immediately re-read (listen to). So excited to see you more active online!
I was really excited about this, and pre-ordered the audiobook, and then while listening to the forward, became disappointed. I didn’t know that it would be illustrated! I already finished the book, and even though I have a copy of the lightning tree, I still enjoyed this book. The additions were really nice, and I felt like it was a good way to get to know the characters.
My only disappointment was I felt that Nick didn’t match the voices of Bast and Kvothe from the other books to this one. The voices were okay, but not identical.
Overall, happy and can’t wait to see the book when I order it!
I just finished the audiobook over my lunch hour on a day in which, coincidentally, I am scheduled to go read to my son’s 1st grade class. Luckily, I have about an hour to finish crying, clean my face up, and appreciate the unbridled joy of reading to my kids. I met you once at GenCon, and tried, haltingly, to tell you how much your treatment of Rike meant to me. You said that you worked very hard to get him right. The fact that you took such care with our hearts meant a lot to me. And now that I’ve finished this book, I can see how much harder you’ve continued to work.
I read your first two books to my daughters when they were young. Now my oldest daughter re-listens to Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear in her berth on the aircraft carrier she is serving on.
Thank you for Bast,
Thank you for Rike,
Thank you for stories I can share with my kids. You’re a good wolf, Pat.
Hi Pat!
Sorry for a “kick in the slushy”, but I wanted to reach out as I haven’t heard back from the folks at worldbuilders market in a few days. I ordered your book back in May as I was super excited to get new writing from you. However, nothing has shipped. I’m assuming your team is super busy, so I probably just need to be patient (please also feel free to delete this comment, I’m not trying to start a bash Pat session), but i’m not sure where else to reach out?
Thank you so much for fun new things!
Expectedly, excited and waiting fan,
Larry
Hey Larry,
Thanks for the comment, your suspicions are correct that the Worldbuilders staff is working extremely hard to get things out the door. I’ve gone ahead and passed along your message and someone from the WB team will be reaching out to you right away.
– Ari
They did, thank you Ari!
Like I said, thank you so much and please feel free to delete this whole comment/thread. Happy Thanksgiving! I’m excited to read!
Larry
Starting this novella felt like the zip of that first sip of hot coffee after a long night. Reading this novella felt satisfying like easing into freshly washed sheets at bedtime after a shower. Finishing this novella felt like getting flowers on an unexpected day. Reading stories from this world is always satisfying.
Hi Pat,
Just finished reading The Narrow Road Between Desires. Wonderful, awesome, fantastic, and just plain happy! Bast is just happy to follow around. Rike was working on one of those adult problems children shouldn’t have to deal with. It had a happy ending. Then, my calendars arrived today and made the day even better!
Thanks to both you and Nick for signing so many books. My Worldbuilders copy arrives tomorrow and I read my copy from The Signed Page today (again, thank you Nick for the signing).
The educator in me wants to compliment you on the “family first” approach you have. Books can wait, big meals can wait, (crafting waited in my life) but you have to enjoy the growing up stuff while it’s happening. It flies by so quickly.
Thank you for the words.
Lyn Kaufmann
Hey Pat (and admin(s)),
It’s so cool to see you writing new, imperfect blogs. It really warms my heart, not just because it is always so exciting to read one of them, but also because it brings me incredible joy to see someone fight their fears and win. Wishing you lots of courage and strength on your journey!
All the loves,
Flip
Just wanted to say I was so pleasantly surprised to see this book was even a thing. I had no idea. I can’t wait to return to this world!
Thanks for all your hard work and for sharing these stories with us!
Pat,
I loved it. Bast is the best and as always your writing is stunningly good. I read it on Kobo but will have to buy the hard copy as well because it’s such a gorgeous book.
Hope you are well.
Is there a way for a person who already has the US audiobook to acquire the UK version. As much as I live Nick’s narration of your world, I think I need to hear Rupert’s version. I realize theses things can be complicated.
I pre-ordered two, but only see one signature. I feel blind, where is the other one?
Thank you for creating and sharing these stories with me.
You make me sick. You are selling box sets on Amazon with the first two books and slow regard and calling it the series. You are purposely lying to your readers to sell more books. If there was any chance that I might read anything else by you it died when I saw that. I hope you get sued for fraud. It has been nearly 15 years since you wrote the last king killer book stop selling them and leaving people hanging it’s wrong especially selling them as a box set and calling it the series.I hoped to see the final book someday but I have given up hope and you should stop creating fans so you can dash your teeth against the rocks.