I have big dreams for the Rabbit Room. I dream of a place with a roaring fire and a stone hearth. Books line the walls. The air is full of the sound of happy chatter and the smell of warm drinks. There’s a little stage where songwriters and storytellers can work their magic. Also, there are desserts. Hot apple crisp, per the Proprietor’s request.
But there’s more. In the back, through a set of old wooden doors, churns a printing press, publishing works of literary worth and wonder authored by men and women who value apple crisp as much as the .
So far, the Rabbit Room only exists online (and in Oxford, England). But behold, the gates have swung wide on the virtual back room where the virtual printing press steams and clatters and spews grand works of (virtual) genius into the world.
What, Proprietor, is this first book? Is it an illustrated edition of Chesterton’s Orthodoxy? Is it a graphic novel of George MacDonal’s Lilith? Is it our own Pete Peterson’s swashbuckling adventure (and romance!) novel The Fiddler’s Gun?
All in good time, dear readers! All in good time.Proprietor
No, the first ever Rabbit Room Press publication is none other than an Epic Space Adventure compressed into a Ten Page Children’s Book. I present to you Revenge of the Birds.
(The cover, featuring genuine 1983-era faux wood wallpaper and blue punch-tape lettering.)
It features a courageous main character named Geolly (pronounced gee-olly). It is fraught with foiled plans and daring infiltrations and a race of alien birds. It is a limited edition pressing of Eric Peters’s harrowing tale, written in 1983, when the author was in the 5th grade, and beloved by fans ever since.
In all seriousness, the book is an exact page-for-page facsimile of the book Eric wrote and bound for his dad. For an autographed (and personalized, if you wish) copy of this luminous work, visit the Rabbit Room Store. It’s the perfect addition to your Eric Peters library, and it would make a grand Father’s Day present. Hurry, because the first printing is only a hundred books, and they’re going fast.
Your kids will love it. And you will laugh. When you read the touching dedication from a 10-year-old to his dad, you might cry too. But you’ll probably just laugh.
Andrew Peterson is a singer-songwriter and author. Andrew has released more than ten records over the past twenty years, earning him a reputation for songs that connect with his listeners in ways equally powerful, poetic, and intimate. As an author, Andrew’s books include the four volumes of the award-winning Wingfeather Saga, released in collectible hardcover editions through Random House in 2020, and his creative memoir, Adorning the Dark, released in 2019 through B&H Publishing.
5 Comments
LauraP
OK, I’m a sucker for first editions — and this one counts not only for the book, but also for the author, AND for Rabbit Room Press. It’s like hot apple crisp with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream on top! How could anyone let such an opportunity pass by unseized?? Carpe apple crispem! My order has been placed!
Peter Paulson
I just ordered my much anticipated writing from EP. I am very excited to read it to my little girls when it comes. Eric if you hand deliver it, you’ll find some nachoz for you.
My only question is, does it actually come with the apple crisp? That would be great.
jtilton
I think that picture was taken at Olan Mills. I have one with the same background!
Eric Peters
Laura, kudos to you and your delighting, as do I, in first editions.
Peter, thanks for supporting my trembling, quirky start as a newbie writer. Aren’t your girls and my boys to be betrothed in the distant future? Zave a zlice of pizza and zome nachoz for me.
jtilton, if I look uncomfortable in this photo, it’s because I am/was. Those school photographers (yes, probably Olan Mills) of yore must have gotten a certain twisted thrill out of contorting their elementary subjects into nearly unrecognizable and stiff forms. Cheers to the universal autumn backdrop.
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