Hello, friends, readers, and friendly readers!
It’s been a while since I shared any news, but we’re now going to hit a quicker update tempo as we approach the publication of NADYA SKYLUNG AND THE CLOUDSHIP RESCUE (formerly known as NADYA SKYLUNG AND THE CLOUD PIRATES). Here’s what’s on the slate today:
- Publication date!
- Preorder Links!
- Big News!
- Cover Reveal!
- What’s the book about?
- Newsletter Signup
We’ll start with the simple and work our way to the big reveal (not because I do such things in my books too, gentle reader, surely not!).
The Publication Date for NADYA SKYLUNG AND THE CLOUDSHIP RESCUE is May 15, 2018. Less than six months away! The book will be available initially in hardcover for $16.99 and in audiobook at a price to be announced. As far as I can tell, readers in the UK/EU, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and worldwide should be able to get it wherever they buy books in English on May 15 as well.
Next, some handy Preorder Links:
Quick word to the penny-wise: as of today, none of the major retailers has discounted the book. But your local independent bookstore may help you out if you ask. You can search for an indie near you at Indiebound.org and ask the bookseller about NADYA SKYLUNG AND THE CLOUDSHIP RESCUE. Second, it’s never too early to ask your local school or public librarian about the book too. If they buy a copy, you or your child can read it for free and everybody wins.
Next, some Big News about the book! Namely that it’s been illustrated by Brett Helquist, the bestselling illustrator known for his work on Lemony Snicket’s A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS. I’ve seen his final artwork, and it’s breathtaking. NADYA SKYLUNG AND THE CLOUDSHIP RESCUE is full of enchanting sights: pedal-powered helicopters; airships with balloons that have gardens inside; fire spirits; death-defying escapes around and over the airships; kids of many colors and big personalities; enormous vistas of sea and sky; dastardly pirates; and more. Brett has done an absolutely incredible job of bringing them to life in his own distinctive style. The book is worth the price of admission for his art alone, and I can’t wait for you all to see what he’s done with the story.
And now that I’ve plugged Brett’s artwork so hard, here’s the moment you’ve been waiting for: THE COVER REVEAL FOR NADYA SKYLUNG AND THE CLOUDSHIP RESCUE! Maestro, a drum roll, if you please…
Ahh, can’t you just fall right into it? The cold fog of the clouds brushing your cheeks; the warmth of the cloud garden where Nadya spends her days adjusting soil chemistry, talking to plants and birds, and managing air pressure to make the cloudship Orion rise and fall; the beaten silver and iron tang of the old doorknob that’s all Nadya has to remember her parents by; the thrum and rumble of the propellers; the stomach-wrenching soaring of the ship as it maneuvers desperately around the pirate ship Remora; and what’s that on Nadya’s neck? It almost looks like…
I love this cover, as you might be able to guess. It was a blast working with Brett and the art team at G.P. Putnam’s Sons to put it together, and Brett’s artwork led to improved descriptions in the book. Originally, I had left the patterns on the balloons up to the reader’s imagination. Brett’s imagination filled in the gorgeous spiraling plant design on the Orion‘s balloon, and when I saw it, my imagination got jealous and ran through the manuscript filling in descriptions for all the other ships. You’ll have to read the book to see them all, but I think they’re one of the most fun pieces of the world now. Plus Brett’s rendition of the cloudship Emerald Dream (not on the cover, but waiting in the interior) is just stupendous.
So that’s the cover. Now, you ask: What is NADYA SKYLUNG AND THE CLOUDSHIP RESCUE about? Well, here’s the jacket copy, carefully calibrated to make you salivate:
It takes a very special crew to keep the cloudship Orion running, and no one knows that better than Nadya Skylung, who tends the cloud garden that keeps the ship afloat. When the unthinkable happens and pirates attack, Nadya and the other children aboard–all orphans taken in by the kindhearted Captain Nic–narrowly escape, but the rest of the crew is captured. Alone and far from help, only Nadya and her four brave and loyal friends can take back the Orion and rescue the crew. And she’ll risk life and limb to save the only family she’s ever known. But . . . this attack was no accident. What exactly are the pirates looking for? Could it be Nadya they’ve been after all along?
And here’s Nadya herself (it’s her voice we hear this story told in, after all):
My name’s Nadya Skylung, and I keep the cloudship Orion afloat.
I don’t do it all by myself, of course, not yet. But I’ll have it figured out soon. Our first mate Tall Thom’s leaving the ship when we make port next week, and Captain Nic’s going to pick one of the kids on the Orion to do his job. I’m gonna make sure it’s me and learn how to run a cloudship. Then someday I’ll be captain of my own ship, and I’ll fly anywhere I want, anytime I want to—Nadya, the greatest skylung of them all!
That should be all you need to get started. If you want more, click on over to Amazon, where you can scroll down to the excerpt and read the first chapter to learn more about who Nadya is, her rivalry with the infuriating and brilliant Tam Ban, the mystery of where she came from, the special abilities of her friends Pepper Pott, Salyeh Abande, and Tian Li Chang, the strange plants that let her ship make a living, and what happens when an enormous storm hits a cloudship that needs a special garden to keep it afloat. And while you’re there, why not consider preordering or adding it to a wish list?
That’s all for today (and what a doozy of a news post it was, too!). There’ll be more to come at a pretty steady clip over the next six months, including peeks at the science behind some of the scenes, the inspirations behind the artwork, the real-life versions of some of the fantastical inventions in the book, and more. Check back here to catch it, or if you want it delivered hot off the presses to your inbox, click here to sign up for the Nadya Skylung E-mail Newsletter.
Comments 1
Yes!! I’m so psyched for this book. Pre-ordering now!