Well, it’s the first day of June. A month from today, Chasing the Valley: Skyfire will officially hit the shelves!
It’s hard to believe that publication day is almost here. This time last year, I didn’t have a single book published. Next month, the entire trilogy will be out in bookshops and libraries. It’s certainly been an amazing ride!
This series couldn’t exist without the brilliant team at Random House, or without my wonderful readers. Your emails, artwork and messages all mean more to me than I can say. I hope you enjoy the final instalment in Danika’s adventures.
The German edition of Chasing the Valley will be released later this year — and I just found out it has a foxary on the cover! I am ridiculously excited about this:
The trilogy will be published in Germany by the wonderful team at DTV Junior.
I’ll be hanging out at the Random House stand on Sunday 13 April. If you’re attending Supanova, why not come and say hi? I’m always thrilled to meet readers!
In other news, I’m working hard on the copyedit for Chasing the Valley 3: Skyfire.
The cover art for Skyfire is coming soon. I’m lucky enough to have seen a couple of rough designs and they look amazing! Can’t wait to share the final cover…
I’m thrilled to be involved in a brand new writing award for teens: Sony Young Movellist Australia. If you’re an Aussie writer aged 13-19, this is a fantastic opportunity to win a publishing agreement with Random House.
And guess what? I’m lucky enough to be one of the judges!
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
Skye Melki-Wegner 
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