Pete Hautman is the author of many books for young adults and adults, including the National Book Award–winning
Godless and the time-travel adventure
Mr. Was. Pete Hautman splits his time between Wisconsin and Minnesota.
I grew up in a large family in a little house with a lot of books and paintings on the inside and a big woods on the outside. I wanted to be an artist like my mom, and I loved comics, so I decided to be a comic-book artist. After a few years of trying to draw comics I realized that I wasn’t very good at drawing, so I decided to write books. It took a long time for me to figure out how to do it. I spent thirty years doing other things sign painting, printing, pineapple cutting, tire repair, graphic design, and building cabinets. Finally, at age thirty-seven, I figured out that if I wanted to write books, I had to plant my butt in a chair and write. Every day.
About My Work:
It worked. Since then, I’ve written more than twenty-five novels, mostly for teens and younger readers. My biggest and most exciting project was The Klaatu Diskos, a time-travel trilogy that took more than a decade to write. When I started writing The Klaatu Diskos, I didn’t know how long it was going to be, how hard it would be, or how many years it would take. But if I had to do it over again — I wouldn’t change a thing. The final book in the trilogy, The Klaatu Terminus, was published in April 2014.
Three Things You Might Not Know About Me:
1. I am very disciplined; I take at least two naps every day, but never more than four.
2. My dog’s favorite thing in the world is to watch the toilet flush.
3. I wrote my first book at age eight. It was called My Autobiogrphy. It was a very short book.
