The Narrow Road Between Desires, page 13
In conclusion, I want you to know this. As proud as I am of these kids that I created for this story, they don’t hold a candle to you. You are so much more wild and wicked and wise. So much more clever and kind. You are amazing to such a degree, that if I told the world all there was to tell, they would not believe it was true. This is because you are fantastic in every sense of the world.
Those of you reading this who aren’t my children? I appreciate you too. Thank you for your kindness and consideration. Thank you for your patience. Thank you.
Everyone out there reading this, especially my children, I hope you know this truth down in the middle of your bones: You are amazing. You are fantastic.
You are beautiful and brave and full of love.
You are as lovely as the moon.
—Pat Rothfuss
July, 2023
P.S. If you’re curious about the author’s notes I didn’t use, I’ll be posting some of them over on my blog at blog.patrickrothfuss.com.
A lot of what I wrote will surely go to the cider-apple heap, but I’d hate to lose the good bits. Like the story of how “The Lightning Tree” came into existence and eventually became this book. Some of the anecdotes about titles, revisions, or faerie tales hold up too. There’s also an odd maunder about Robert Frost, spoilers, and the purpose of art that might bear saving….
Best of all, there’s a conversation where Nate Taylor and I tell stories and talk about how we do art together (spoiler: Nate does the art and I’m a nuisance). We also show off some early sketches so you can see how much things change, and take the opportunity to reveal some of the illustrations we loved, but still had to cut from the final version of the book.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Nate Taylor spent his childhood in snow caves and learned how to speak by watching Star Trek. He now lives with his family in the Pacific Northwest, where he freelances as a human illustrator, cartoonist, and portraitist.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pat Rothfuss grew up wild in the forests of the midwest, raiding local libraries for sustenance and frightening tourists. He now lives mostly in Temerant, where he has a hard time taking things seriously, including writing his bio.
Patrick Rothfuss, The Narrow Road Between Desires
