Alanna Peterson's Blog

To celebrate the release of the When We Vanished audiobook, I met up with the narrator, Dana Wing Lau, for an Instagram livestream on March 19, 2023. We had a great time chatting about the book and many other things, including the joys of sharing meals together, working science into fiction, writing and performing diverse characters, and the pitfalls of leaf-blowers.

You can watch the full video, or read through the transcript below.

Transcript

This transcript has been edited fo...

Today’s the day: When We Vanished has come to audiobook format at last! For less than the cost of one restaurant lunch (based on Seattle prices, anyway), you can enjoy nearly 12 hours of action-packed, character-driven storytelling. Just search the title in your favorite audiobook player, or click here for direct links to WWV on retailers’ sites.

I will be donating 20% of all audiobook royalties earned during March & April to #CookForIran’s partner the Center For Mind-Body Medicine, in s...

The audiobook version of When We Vanished is coming out on March 14, otherwise known as pi day, so you bet I’m taking the opportunity to bake some pastry! In fact, cherry turnovers are mentioned in several of the opening chapters, and since three of the main characters are Iranian-American, I wanted to give them a Persian spin. Thus, these cherry-rose turnovers were born!

This recipe is a twist on the more basic (but also delicious) Cherry Hand Pies I posted way back in 2020. Choose the ve...

The audiobook version of When We Vanished is coming on March 14, 2023, and we’ll be adding sneak previews to Rootcity Press’s YouTube channel every Friday leading up to the release! The videos are also embedded below for your listening pleasure.

Please like, comment, subscribe, share widely, etc.! I need all the help I can get with promo

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Coming Friday February 24

Chapter Three

Coming Friday March 3

Chapter Four

Coming Friday March 4

The pos...

It’s official: the audiobook version of When We Vanished will be hitting the digital airwaves on March 14, 2023!!

This was my first foray into the world of audiobook production, and I’ve learned a lot along the way. While it’s all fresh in my mind, I wanted to share a rundown of how the process works, along with a few takeaways. Note that these are specific to this particular book/project, though. If you’re an indie author who’s been through this and you have more to add, comment away! (O...

This year I’m continuing my annual tradition of choosing 5 photos from my camera roll that captured aspects of my year (previous installments: 2020, 2021). For some reason I found it extra challenging this time around. Maybe because 2022 felt a little all over the place? In any case, I present to you my top five pics of this hard-to-sum-up year!

#5: All Grown Up

There was a time when Halloween was a stressful frenzy for me. Particularly when the kids were in preschool, there was a lot o...

I recently took off on a solo retreat that, for me, was pretty momentous. It was the first time in my life when I vacationed alone without attending a work conference or visiting family. As a parent, it’s always hard to justify stepping away, but I really needed a break (and was lucky that my family understood and supported that).

So I packed my bags and headed over to the Olympic Peninsula for what I hoped would be a restorative weekend. The first day was a bit hectic and involved a lot of d...

It’s official: production has started on an audiobook version of When We Vanished! I know that audiobooks are the preferred (or only) option for many readers/listeners, so I’m incredibly excited to announce this

To be transparent, this move is a bit risky for my lil publishing company. The up-front costs of producing a high-quality audiobook are significant. While there are some ways to lower these costs (royalty-sharing agreements, AI narration, etc.), When We Vanished is a complex, multili...

On July 22, the final installment of the Call of the Crow Quartet was released. A decade of work had gone into that series, so finishing it felt… kind of bizarre. What was my brain supposed to do without plot knots to detangle, sentences to hone, beloved characters to hang out with?

When I first started writing the series, my kids were two and four years old. The three of us would spend long days at home. As much as I loved the time we had together, it was also exhausting, and I craved int...

Earlier this summer, I managed to get away for a vacation / family reunion in San Diego. I can’t believe how much I missed warm sun and ocean waves! Here are a few photos from our adventures.

Palm trees, sandy dunes, and cloud-mottled sky at Tourmaline Beach ParkNighttime on the patioFerris wheel view of the San Diego County Fair. I’m surprised I got any clear photos – we were up so high that my hands were shaking!Baby pomegranates growing in someone’s beautiful front yard / food for...