When I visited Sydney last month (see https://skyemelki-wegner.com/archives/2179), Booktopia’s lovely YA Buzz editor Sarah McDuling sat me down for a chat about Chasing the Valley. The interview is now on YouTube:
Thanks for having me, Booktopians! I had a great time.
In other news, I just got my hands on a copy of Chasing the Valley’s LARGE PRINT edition! I was so excited that I took a picture with the normal edition for comparison (and my dog for cuteness).
Fun news today! I’m super excited that Chasing the Valley has been selected for an iBooks promo: http://bit.ly/1i2BCJ5
If you have any friends who might enjoy the series, this could be a good chance to try the eBooks while they’re on sale.
The promo is called ‘First in a Series: Young Adult’ — and for the next few days, iBooks users can download Chasing the Valley for just $4.99 and Borderlands for $6.99.
Wow, what a week! I’ve just returned to Melbourne after a whirlwind trip around Sydney’s bookshops. I was lucky enough to meet dozens of readers and booksellers, all brimming with enthusiasm for books and reading.
I’d like to thank the amazing team at Random House — especially Dot Tonkin (who organised everything and picked me up from the airport) and Zoe Bechara (who looked after me so well and whisked me off to so many fantastic locations). I had a fantastic time and really appreciate all your hard work!
At The Children’s Bookshop, I participated in a wonderful event with publisher Zoe Walton, author Belinda Murrell and illustrator Tony Flowers. We spoke about our books to a huge crowd (approx. 80 people!) of young readers and their parents, followed by cupcakes, juice and pizza.
Speaking at The Children’s Bookshop
Thanks so much to all who attended — it was a thrill to meet so many passionate readers.
I was also allowed a sneak peek at the Booktopia warehouse! It was fascinating to see how all the online orders are organised and prepared for delivery. Here I am in the warehouse (with bonus yellow safety vest):
Exploring the Booktopia Warehouse
Throughout the trip, I signed plenty of copies of Chasing the Valley 1 and 2. If you’re after a signed copy, you can grab one from the following bookshops:
Lindfield Children’s Bookshop
Booktopia
The Children’s Bookshop (Beecroft)
Dymocks George St
Galaxy Bookstore
Kinokuniya
Better Read than Dead
Berkelouw Balgowlah
Berkelouw Mona Vale
I met so many lovely booksellers at these locations — thanks so much for having me!
Kinokuniya
The set for filming an interview at Booktopia
Dymocks George St
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Booktopia
The lovely Sarah at Booktopia
Lindfield Children’s Bookshop
Driving across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Thanks to Zoe for being such an awesome tour guide!
Galaxy Bookstore
Better Read than Dead
I loved the water features around Darling Harbour — and the friendly birds who lived there!
Berkelouw Balgowlah
Berkelouw Mona Vale
Tourist time!
Catching a ferry
To cap off a brilliant couple of days, I hopped aboard a ferry back to my hotel — only for the awesome ferry crew to invite me up to the cabin and give me a turn at steering the boat!
Believe it or not, it’s over a week since Chasing the Valley 2: Borderlands hit the shelves. Thanks so much to all those who have sent me emails or tweets; I’m thrilled to hear that you’re enjoying the book!
If you’ve already finished Borderlands, you might have spotted a little surprise in the back — the title of Book 3! In case you missed it, here we go:
Chasing the Valley 3: Skyfire will be published later this year.
Also, a quick reminder that I’m speaking in Sydney later this month (alongside the awesome Zoe Walton, Belinda Murrell and Tony Flowers). If you’d like to hear me chat about Chasing the Valley, ask a question or get your book signed, I’d love to meet you. Details here: Sydney Event PDF
Find out about our biggest books for 2014 from publisher Zoe Walton and meet authors Skye Melki-Wegner, Belinda Murrell and illustrator Tony Flowers. Plus we’re recruiting for the Random House Book Buddies program – come along to hear all about it.
Pizza, cupcakes and drinks provided. Everyone who RSVPs will get a special gift. Plus there are 10 fabulous lucky door prizes to be won!
Time:Wednesday, January 22 2014, 2:00pm Venue:The Children’s Bookshop
6 Hannah Street Beecroft Tickets:FREE! But RSVP essential to 02 9481 8811 or staff@thechildrensbookshop.com.au
First things first — Happy New Year! Hope that all my lovely readers have a fantastic time in 2014.
Of course, today is special for me for another reason too. It’s time for Chasing the Valley 2: Borderlands to officially hit the bookshops. Hooray!
It’s such a thrill to walk into a shop and find my series on the shelf. This is my first sighting of Borderlands in a bookshop (at Dymocks Glen Waverley):
2013 was a HUGE year for me. I’ve loved working with the awesome team at Random House. Not only did my first book come out, but I was also lucky enough to experience my first TV and radio interviews, school talks, library visits and even a book launch party.
It’s hard to believe, but 2014 is going to be even bigger. Not only is Book 2 out now, but Book 3 is only six months away! (As Teddy Nort put it: ‘If I’d known the party games were gonna be that full on, I would’ve brought my croquet mallet.’)
Thanks for all your support in 2013. I truly appreciate every email, tweet and review. It means so much to me to hear that people are enjoying the series.
Hope you all have fun reading Borderlands and have a blast in 2014!
Well, 2013 is almost over and Chasing the Valley 2: Borderlands is almost here! I’m thrilled to share the book’s first official review, from Sarah McDuling at Booktopia.
Here’s a taste:
“Refreshingly original, wildly imaginative and basically just really, really GREAT, the Chasing the Valley series is best described as steampunk-fanstasy-adventure. The first book was a magical rollercoaster ride and this one is even better.” — Booktopia
Time for an exciting addition to yesterday’s news. Not only is the Borderlands eBook available early, but the physical paperback has already been spotted in a few bookshops!
Although the official release is still 10 days away, the lovely Tracey Eldridge spotted the book in Melbourne and sent me this tweet with a picture:
My grandparents also spotted the book for sale, so it seems to be popping up early in a few places. If you’re after a copy for Christmas, it might be worth checking your local bookshop.
In other news, I opened up The Age newspaper today to find a lovely review of Chasing the Valley staring back at me. I was so surprised I almost spilled my coffee.
Wow, what a day! This is rather unexpected, but the eBook of Chasing the Valley 2: Borderlands is now available for purchase from several outlets. If you prefer to read eBooks than paperbacks, you can pick up your copy now.
I’m skipping around in excitement today. Why? I can finally share some great news: the Chasing the Valley trilogy has been picked up for publication in Germany and Brazil!
First up, I love Germany. I was lucky enough to visit the country last year and had a wonderful time. Here I am playing tourist in Rothenburg:
Rothenburg, Germany
I’m also thrilled about the deal in Brazil. Although I haven’t yet had the fortune to visit Brazil, my grandpa lived in Rio for a while during his youth. He can’t wait to read the books in Portuguese!
Grandpa in Brazil
My lovely new publishers are DTV Junior (Germany) and Editora Fundamento (Brazil). I’m so excited to see what they do with the trilogy!
Well, 2013 is almost over and Chasing the Valley 2: Borderlands is almost here! I’m thrilled to share the book’s first official review, from Sarah McDuling at Booktopia.
Skye Melki-Wegner 
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