Check Out Ethan Pettus’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ethan Pettus.

Hi Ethan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started writing at a young age, composing short stories during my elementary and middle school years before moving onto long-form fiction in high school.

The idea for Primitive War began in 2010, as an online series called ‘Hunted’. I went to a university for a year after graduating high school, but I dropped out after freshman year to focus solely on adapting ‘Hunted’ into the novel that would become Primitive War. I published it in 2017 at the age of 22, and I haven’t stopped developing the series since.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As a self-published author, it’s always been a sisyphean task to get eyes on my work. I never had the support of a large company for distribution or marketing. I had to work full time labor jobs (since I had no degree) in order to commission artwork to promote and expand the Primitive War series.

Even with a film adaptation out based on the first novel in the series, I’m still pushing the boulder up the mountain. The weight of it has gotten easier as I’ve developed partnerships with artists and collaborators over the past decade. There will never be an end to trials and tribulations; c’est la vie.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m the creator and author of the Primitive War novel series. As a self-published author I’ve expanded my creation into the realms of art, comics, tabletop gaming, collectible statues, and even concept-albums by musical artists like The Grand Myth.

The Primitive War film adaptation, based on the first novel and released theatrically in 2025, has been the biggest push forward for Primitive War into the cultural zeitgeist. I am currently working on the fifth and sixth books in the series, ‘Primitive War Dispatches Volume III’ and ‘The Primitive War Bestiary Volume II’.

I am building a fictional saga on a scale unseen in the paleo-fiction market. There are currently five books available in the Primitive War series, with five more to come.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
Catching frogs, lizards, snakes and turtles in the forests and rolling green hills of Kentucky.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.linktr.ee/primitivewar
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theprimitivewar/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1FVMm8W7hR/
• Twitter: https://x.com/primitivewar

Image Credits
All photos credited to the Author (Ethan Pettus)