New Prince book set to hit shelves

Panic, joy, shock: Dan Piepenbring felt them all when Prince plucked him to collaborate on his first memoir, followed by more shock and profound sadness at news of the superstar’s death while the book was in its early stages.

Though the project was thrown into chaos when Prince (photo) died on April 21, 2016, of an accidental drug overdose, his estate ultimately decided to press on, allowing Piepenbring and his publishing team free access to the pieces of his life left behind at his beloved Paisley Park, including the contents of his vault.

Now, “The Beautiful Ones,” is ready for Prince fans to read as many continue to mourn, propelling the 33-year-old journalist into the spotlight.

“There was a sense even from the start that it couldn’t really be happening,” Piepenbring told The Associated Press of his involvement. “It felt very surreal. There was also just a sense of joy, I think, at the possibility of meeting someone that I held in such high regard, someone whose music had been the soundtrack to the better part of my youth.”

The book out Tuesday includes no bombshells, though Prince very much wanted to provide some, and a mere 28 memoir pages written in his elegant script and quirky style, replacing the word “I with a drawing of a human orb, for instance. All told, Piepenbring spent 12 to 15 hours face-to-face with Prince in Minneapolis, New York and on tour in Melbourne.

Their last conversation was just four days before Prince died.

Prince had big ideas for the book, considering at one time a “how to” on making it in the music business without selling your soul. At another point, he suggested that he and Piepenbring figure out a way to end racism.