Back in Sydney

Posted on by scott

I haven’t been posting as much lately. But as you probably have noticed, Justine and I have been in Istanbul the last week or so, me doing research for the next book in the Leviathan series, and her mostly eating.

We also got to meet with some of our Turkish publishers: Epsilon, who will bring out Leviathan next year; and Artemis, who publish the Midnighters books and will soon be releasing Justine’s latest, Liar. We didn’t get to meet with Tudum, who publish the Uglies series (which apparently tanked in Turkey). But thanks to everyone for their tremendous hospitality.

Here are the Turkish covers for the first two Midnighters books:

turkishmidnighters

Kind of a goth/gypsy vibe going on here. From what my editor at Artemis said, the books didn’t sell well at first, but more recently these new covers (and a post-Twilight wave of paranormal readers) have made them a hit.

And for your vicarious tourist enjoyment, here is the emperor Justinian’s amazing cistern, which supplied water to Istanbul from 352AD onward:

cistern

Pretty cool, huh? It’s a really huge and beautiful cavern, with very little signage and tourist stuff to distract from simply hanging out there. Plus, they play awesome music. Click here to read more.

And now, readers of Leviathan, please enjoy Walker Wednesday. Today’s walker is made by paper engineering genius Theo Jansen:

56 thoughts on “Back in Sydney”

  3. those are really sweet covers
    and why can’t twilight just go away already
    it’s kinda embarressing that the book of this generation
    is so shallow and badly writen.
    Compared to the ones of the past; Stephen Kings books, Anne Rice……
    some day in the future when people look back at what kinds of entertainment we had they will see that we entertained us with a book that is only popular because its fans cant read anything else because thats too challenging for them

  4. Istanbul sounds amazing. I would probably be “mostly eating” too after those pictures from the last post. You always seem to score really awesome covers!

  6. Great covers! And that walker was insane. I’ve learned about that cistern, too! Geez, AP world is making me recognize too much stuff….sigh.

  7. I am a huge fan.I live in Turkey, and I haven’t been able to get my hands on an English book of yours yet, but I read all the Turkish ones. I love Uglies and Midnighters so much, and so does my brother. I can’t wait for Specials to come out. And Blue Noon.
    Istanbul is an amazing place. Lat time I went there, I hit all the second hand bookstores. You can find some real great, really old books.

  10. Gah! I have been trying to find foreign additions of Midnighters forever! Is there a place where people in the US can buy these books?

  11. Omg I can’t beleave that thing was made out of paper!! And those Midnighters covers yeah wow there extremly goth-like if you ask me!! And on the first one it looks like that girl has a balck eye!! Lol

  12. I love the Midnighters book with the girl on the cover. The 12 on it really makes it so freaking awesome. The cistern is really quite amazing too. Gee, how I wish I could do “research” all day long. I’m really jealous.

  13. OOOOHHH AAAAHHHH. Like the covers! Uh oh. I’m comment 13. Hope this won’t interfere with my 2 tests tomorrow. It probably will. Long story short, the universe has not been kind to my this week. (But if oyu would like to hear the long story please let me know!) Anyone joined the Google/yahoo debate? I have! It’s worth ur while if u have nothing to do! 😀

  15. The covers are cool! I got my dad (He’s 100% Turkish, which makes me 50% Turkish, yes) who knows Turkish cuz it’s his native language- English was his second- to tell me what the covers said. They say the exact right things “Midnighters, The Secret Hour” and “Midnighters, Touching Darkness”. The little sentance on the top says “From the Uglies writer”, pretty much… so yeah it’s neato! Hey is there a Greek version of Midnighters too? I’d like to see that! Then I’d have to get my mom (Who’s the Greek in my family-she’s half greek and the second half is split between American and German- yes that makes me 50% Turkish, a quarter Greek, with the last quarter divided between plain old American and German) to tell me what it says! I am planning on knowing English, Spanish, Greek, and Turkish eventually… lol eventually…

  16. Ugh I’m sick right now… I was sicker yesterday, when I had a fever… at least that broke… but I still have my other symptoms… at least I’ve gotten out of school for 2 days…

  18. Oh! BTW I finally have as Scott-la would say, “delicious” Leviathan! The only reason it’s taken me so long is the fact that I’ve been REALLY hooked on zombies lately, (Max Brook’s Zombie Survival Guide anyone?) and it took FOREVER for the library to get it to me. Nevertheless, I’m reading it now and relishhing the funny brittish language! (BARKING SPIDERS!) 😉 anyway, I got detention (I have a little listening problem *bad sarcasm*) so I’m banned from the computer for 3 weeks. Until next time, blog buddies… 🙁 boohoo

  22. Love the covers!
    Is it just me, or does the guy on the second cover look like Robert Pattinson?

    I’m tired of arguing Twilight, so I’m just gonna leave it at that.

  24. covers…they KICK ASS!!!! duh…they are the midnighters so of course they are awesome.
    ugh…i haven’t gotten and/or read Leviathan yet which is soooooo not like me coz Scott Westerfeld is my FAVORITE author but i’ve had to read all these other books for school and what not (that’s what i get for taking 2 english classes! i love them though so it’s all good) but yeah..i’m hoping to get it for Christmas and then read it in like a day or less.
    i don’t really think there is any arguing between twilight and anything Scott has written. SCOTT WESTERFELD’S BOOKS ARE SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER!!!! don’t get me wrong i don’t hate twilight…well actually i hate the books…poorly written…no offense to Stephenie Meyer..i really liked The Host…but like the concept she wrote about has been used WAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY too much…i mean there are like HUNDREDS of vampire books out (maybe a slight exaggeration…) but don’t get me wrong i LOVE vampires but twilight is not on the top vampire list (Evernight, Stargazer, and Boys That Bite are on my top list…check them out) i like the movies of twilight and new moon though, but that’s just coz Rob Pattinson and Taylor Lautner (um can you say 8 PACK?! yum!) are in it and are amazingly hot…i personally believe that the Uglies series should be made into movies and have no freaking idea why it’s taking so long for them to go to the BIG SCREEN!!! i mean if they can make Green Day’s album American Idiot into a musical that may soon be coming to BROADWAY, then certainly they can put Uglies in movie theaters…just saying
    anyway…it’s been snowing like crazzzzyyy all day…FREAKING AWESOME!!! too bad it’s not the day before school…oh well can’t win em all 🙁
    peace people
    GREEN DAY ROCKS!!!!!!!! <3

  25. oh my god…can’t believe i forgot to place PEEPS and THE LAST DAYS on my list of great vampire books…i feel like such an epic failure. i think it’s probably coz i don’t even place it in a category…it’s its own category of AMAZINGNESS!!! and probably also coz i don’t think of it as vampires..at least the ones that everyone knows today…sorry for forgetting your books Scott 🙁 they are just too good to place amongst others 🙂

  26. that paper thingy is so freaking awsome!!!!!!!!! i want one.

    YAY!!!!!!! Schools out for winter break!!!!!!!!

    took the SAT 2day. kill me now…….. :/

  27. OMG OMG!
    BRITTANY MURPHY JUST DIED AT 32!!
    wtf!
    i heard it on my way back from welland (to Mississauga) on the radio and then saw it on msn.ca
    she was so pretty and young!
    WTF!

  29. Been your reading your books and following your post on your blog, Though I haven’t posted a comment or anything yet, I saw this post and thought it was time.
    Your books are very well written Mr. Scott-La, and are something new and different compared to alot of all the latest books out there at the moment; I read Uglies & then moved onto Peeps & Midnighters, thus got my mom reading them as well, and FYI they are all insanely good.
    Its upsetting that Twilight (though the first two books are ok) is the IT book of the day, it to me, is more like brain candy.
    Also that any other vampire book out there is being called “The next Twilight” or “Just like Twilight” that they all are copying Twilight.
    When of course, most of them came out a year or more before.
    Any ways, love that clanker video, & cool book covers, wished we had those =)
    Can’t wait for more !

  30. YESYESYESYESYES!!!! I. Finished. Leviathan.
    It. Was. EPIC.
    CLART!
    Now I have to wait for Behemmoth.
    I haven’t been a fan of Scott-la for as long as some of you or so it seems…
    I’m suprised you all aren’t dead from watingforanawesomeandepicbook syndrome.
    So to Scott-la, I know you can’t rush the creative process, but HURRY UP PLEASEPLEAsEPLEASE! Or at least try to give us a specific time frame for when you’re going to finish! 😀
    OMG! I just realized that the lizard on the top of the screen is the fabricated message lizard! 😀 OOOHHH AAAHHH!! G2G! TTYL Go Darwinists! (Though I don’t believe in evolution. How ironic… Oh! something else ironic I just realized would be if these vegetarians got reanimated as zombies and ate human flesh! Fleash=meat catching on here people?
    Ping to random: ha ha but wait, American Idiot’s seriously going to be a musical?!

    Anyway detention sucked and I had to write th e entire flippin code of conduct BY HAND until the teacher said to go home. Moral of the story, don’t get detention because if your school is ANYWHERE as strict as mine, (exaggerating about the strictness) it SUCKS! Graciously, my mom extended my computer time to 30 min… Wow the timer just went off. That’s my cue. I must be phychic… anyway see yall!! 😀

  31. ok that paper thing gives me the creeps!
    Oh yea and plz hurry up with Behemmoth! I MUST READ IT OR…. I’LL DIE!! But don’t hurry threw it and do a sloppy job (if thats possible). I want to buy it and read it and read it again!! And so all I am saying I would like to read Behemmoth and I never want to see that paper walker thing ever again. Bye now!

  32. ping to random: no person alive can have an 8 pack, it is actually impossible, and RPattz makes me want to gouge my eyes when his shirt is off…..and lautner just looks sooo fake.

    I need new books!
    I thought I had tons of new ones to read, but now I’ve got nothing after I finish the one Im on now……..any suggestions?

  33. ping to OTHER TALLY YOUNG BLOOD (be afraid…): AMERICAN IDIOT is actually ALREADY a musical but it only came out in California (SO wished i lived there) but yeah it’s already a musical and it may come to Broadway next year. i’m totally going. and if you don’t believe that it is my name links to greenday.com and keep the sound on coz the first page plays the version of 21 GUNS with both Green Day and the cast of American Idiot. i’m listening to it right now and it is EPIC!!!!!!!!!!! trust me.

    ping to Kristina-la: ummm…if no person alive can have an 8pack then Taylor Lautner must be dead coz in magazines they all say 8pack and i counted and they aren’t fake…Rob Pattinson’s are but his aren’t. he worked out soooo freaking hard for this role and he was already fit before that coz he was in to like Xtreme sports and karate and whatnot…so they’re real….now rob on the other hand well yeah him with his shirt off ewww…badly computer generated abs…oh well…

    GREEN DAY ROCKS!!!!! <3

  38. Happy xmas everyone! Luve the tree Beli-wa. Very festive! Oh and happy Festivus too! 😀 ^_^

  39. LOL thanks the OTHER tally youngblood!!!
    Omfg I’m on my brand new iPod touch and it’s amazinggggg!!!!

  41. Feliz n
    avidad peeps!
    didn’t see that you all pinged me so here goes:
    Ping to Kristina-la: How about the Zombie Survival Guide? It’s totally freakish but WAY AWESOME!
    Not at all what I thought it was going to be. He (Max Brooks) wrote it as if the existence of zombies was actually real. Plus, He directed SNL for… I believe it was 3 years… and the book was pretty funny. In one “possible” scenario he said, “You might have to leave your home if some idiot down the street goes crazy with a Moltov Cocktail.” Moltov Cocktails. Good times. Good times. (It’s a weapon not a beverage.)
    Here’s a link to his site and there’s this really awesome fan video that will give you chills! (Or at least me. I’m phyced out pretty easily but I don’t believe in zombies.) 😀

    Ping to random: Thanks 4 th e info. Just became a fan. heh heh. I love the word epic. I will check it out. Got an itunes gift card and just bought Know Your Enemy. Someone should totally make a parody for that song! Also go ta video camera for xmas. I’d better get to work!

    Ping to general public: I GOT A SNUGGIE 4 XMAS! Most retarded but awesomely awesome idea ever! i swear I’m not part of a marketiing ploy, but it really works! Seriously. Anybody else get gifts of (appropriate please) oddity?
    I finally figured out what should happen in my (VERY late) NaNo Wrimo! I don’t think I’ll ever get to it though. I better get started on that too! PEACE 😀

  44. *evil laugh* Scott-la said “Post-Twilight” ^_^ Bye, bye, sparkle boys! >:D

    Btw–Those covers are fawesome! 🙂

  46. Wow, the covers are really amazing! Plus I really like the cavern. It reminds me of “Phantom of the Opera.” I love that movie! But really, its beautiful! I wish I were there. 😉

  47. Ohhhhhh I just finished reading the curious case of Benjamin button… IT WAS SOOO SAD!!!!!!!!!! Oh dear lord! I really don’t want to watch the movie. It’d make me cry 🙁

  48. Ping to The OTHER Tally Youngblood:

    Bahahahah 🙂 Thank you very much ^_^ But honestly–You have to admit; she’s a pretty awful writer 😛

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