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He loved reading about dragons, the Hardy boys, and anything that had a great story. Even today, he loves Lords of the Rings, not just because it is a fantasy world, but because it's a great story. It's always the story and the books that care about language and the richness of words that Peterson says he’s interested in. He is also interested in the fact that those stories can sometimes take him to another world.

Some of the great writers that Peterson enjoys reading, and have had an influence on him are Lloyd Alexander, George MacDonald, CS Lewis, Frederick Buechner, Madeleine L’Engle and other great authors. Peterson himself has written 3 books: The Ballad of Matthew's Begats, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness: The Wingfeather Saga, Book One and his latest book North! Or Be Eaten: The Wingfeather Saga, Book Two. His latest CD is titled: Appendix C: Live with the Captains Courageous.

As an author, Peterson aspires to write books that are sweeping adventure stories, but are also rich in meaning and language. Madeleine L'Engle through her book, “Walking on Water“, made an impression on his thinking about his own art when she talked about serving the work, and being obedient to the work. She wrote, “As an artist it is not our job to impose our will on what we’re creating; it’s our job to serve it and allow it to become the thing it is supposed to be.” Peterson explained that, “The process of creation for me has always been mysterious; a little bit frightening, and I approach it with fear and trembling. It feels sometimes like you’re standing at the mouth of a cave, and you are looking in, just to see what is going to come out. It could be kind of scary. Sometimes what comes out is kind of ugly, and sometimes it’s beautiful. I just trust in the fact that the Holy Spirit is in me, and it will find its way out.”

When Peterson starts to write a book or a song, he said, he prepares by just making himself available. For him, writing a book and songwriting are different. “With Songwriting it’s like going fishing; you go, sit by the lake; you throw your line in and hope that something is going to bite. And so often I go to bed at four in the morning without a bite--nothings happened. But I have to go, and be there with my guitar and wait. It can be intensely frustrating; I don’t enjoy the process. What I'm beginning to understand is: to enjoy the finished product, you have to endure the work. You can't have one without the other. It's work; it’s ordering your life around the fact that you have faith that this is one of the things that God made you to do. For me, the real satisfaction takes place when there’s a connection; the connection between me or my heart, and the person's heart. Frederick Buechner said, 'The story of one of us is the story of us all.”

“As long as I can remember I've always had a creative drive. Having that creative drive and not knowing what to do with it, has always been a big question for me growing up. I have always thought about it and tried to figure out why I feel so compelled to do this. We are all compelled to make beautiful things--to create beauty. It's one of the ways that we are created in God's image and it is the delight that we find. I've always had this sense that, that was what I was supposed to do. I was supposed to be a light and make beautiful things in the world.”

Singer, Song Writer an now Author Andrew Peterson, loves to tell stories through his songs and now with his books. Growing up Peterson said he was a big reader, and that books were always a big part of his life......