In the months before Christopher Paolini wrote the book that made him a star in young adult fantasy, he built a hobbit hole.
His family self-published the book, and for more than a year, he promoted it as he could, hand-selling copies outside bookstores and giving presentations at schools.
Eventually, Carl Hiaasen, a best-selling novelist, picked up a self-published copy at a grocery store while on a family trip to Montana.
His stepson — who, according to Hiaasen, said “Eragon” was “better than Harry Potter!” — finished the 500-page book in a day.
Hiaasen passed the book to his editor at Random House Children’s Books, connecting Paolini to the New York publishing world.
Persons:
Christopher Paolini, He’d, he’d, — Leo Tolstoy, Alexandre Dumas, Jane Austen, ” Paolini, wasn’t, ”, Eragon, Carl Hiaasen, —, Hiaasen, Eragon ”, Harry Potter, ” —
Organizations:
Random, New
Locations:
Paradise Valley, Mont, Montana, Paolini, New York