Russian Covers Rock My World

Oh, yes they do rock my world. “Why is that?” you ask.

Well, first let us look at the Russian cover for Leviathan. JUST LOOK AT IT.

The Huxleys! The airbeast’s eye! DERYN IN JODHPURS!

I love her weird glove, and the awesome spikiness of the Leviathan‘s bridge. (Plus, she has red scarf, because is Russian cover! Da!)

I sent this to Keith and he was all, “Now that’s more like it!”

Here is that image in a zoomable version of bigness.

But it’s not just the Leviathan series that has enjoyed the Awesome Russian Cover effect. Check out the paired covers for Uglies and Pretties.

Do you see what they did there? DO YOU?

It’s interesting to see what “ugly” and “pretty” mean in this context. Like, freckles are ugly? I think not. (Maybe they’re zits.)

The only problem with this amazing visual idea is that, of course, Uglies is a trilogy, not a duology. So the Specials cover is lonely:

The hawk(?) is cool, though, because Tally’s like a Cutter bird of prey!

And I’m not sure if there’s a Russian Extras yet. No word from my friends there. (See below.) But thanks to @Radda_in_motion for letting me know about these covers. They really are splendidly pulptastic.

As you may have noticed, I’ve been linking to my Appearances page on every post. That may be annoying for those of you who have already checked it and been saddened, but if it saves even one life, then it’s all been worth it. So, HEY LOOK, IT’S MY APPEARANCES PAGE!

My tour starts in only a few days. Must. Pack. Soon.

Update:
In comment 13 below, Alexandra_Piro tells me that there is indeed a Russian Extras, and it looks like this:

Thanks, Alexandra!

Provo Interview

Last year on the Behemoth tour, one of my favorite stops was at Provo, Utah, where they have an awesome teen author festival every year.

In addition to my usual presentations and signings, I did an interview there, which seems to have turned out pretty well.

Check it out:

Click here to see it on the YouTubes. Bigger! More controls!

Okay, that’s it for today. Much more blogging this week, though, because I’m headed off on tour on Thursday. (Where am I touring? Check out my Appearances page to find out.)

Ciao for now.

Fan Art Friday (11 days away edition)

This is our next-to-last Fan Art Friday before I go on tour. Blogging is really hard on the road, so FAF will be restricted to shots of costumed people at my appearances. (Which will be cool, but not the same. And mostly on twitter, where I am @scottwesterfeld.)

But luckily, this is an excellent FAF!

This first bootiful drawing was tweeted at me by @marksmaster, and is a really sharp-featured color sketch of Deryn and Alek hanging out and kind of smirking, like they share some sort of SECRET or something.

Check it out in full size, and you will be amazed.

Also tweeted at me was this comical bit of non-canonical non-cross-dressing, from Shenli:

It’s Alek’s expression that rocks it. He looks so happy.

Now for some cosplay! Debuted at Dragon Con last week was Heather L’s interpretation of Dr. Barlow. Note the bee theme! The little jeweled bee is sewn onto the bowler, and the train in back is usually bustled up, but I’m showing you the down version so you can see how bee-like it is!

I’m always pleased when little quiet scenes, like the bees, make it into fan art. (This just in: This costume won the Best YA in Show at Dragon*Con! And believe me, the competition there is world-class.)

From Grace is this sketch of a scene from Behemoth, in which Volger hints at Deryn that he knows her secret, while Eddie Malone is standing right there!

That’s my most comical scene in that book, so I’m glad it has this comic-looking sort of treatment. Heh.

And here’s another nice one from Miyu999 (whom we met in last week’s FAF), showing Lilit, Alek, and Deryn all, you know, hanging out:

Very sweet. (And a bit complicated.)

Not everyone draws, of course, so here’s cool versions of Dr. Barlow and Lilit, as created by Kayla on DollDivine.com:

Pretty cool for e-paper dolls.

And to round out this week’s FAF, here’s an awesome sketch of Leviathan characters from sorcaron1379:

Actually, it’s just Deryn, Alek, and Volger in various costumes. But I’d love to see a full-cast drawing in this style. (HINT, HINT!)

Like the title of this post says, we are only 11 days away, and my tour starts even sooner! Check out my Appearances page to find out if I’ll be coming near you.

Rejoice!

Steampunk on PBS

A neat little ten-minute video from PBS’s Off Book series.

Watch the full episode. See more Off Book.

Pretty cool, huh?

In other news, here are a couple of places where you can order signed copies of Goliath:

I’ll be in St. Louis on September 20, doing a library appearance for Pudd’nhead Books, and will be signing any mail orders they’re holding for me there. Note that when you order from Pudd’nhead, you’re paying full retail and for shipping, but on the online order form you can add a personalization, like “To José” or “YOU ARE A NINJA!” (Within reason, of course! If you kill my hand, it shall haunt you in scary ghost-hand fashion.) You can also order signed copies of Leviathan, Goliath, and the Ugies series this way!

Click here to order from Pudd’nhead.

Another option is Amazon, which has a signed edition. This is also full retail, but if you’re a regular Amazon customer, you get their free shipping or whatever. These books will not be personalized, because I signed them a while ago. (And Goliath is the only option.)

Click here to order a signed edition from Amazon.

That’s it for this post, but don’t forget to check out my Appearances page to find out if I’m coming near you on my upcoming tour.

GRCT Interview

Last weekend I did a long interview with Girls Read Comics Too about the Uglies manga. Devin Grayson, who’s writing the manga’s scripts, joined me and said some pretty interesting things.

Click here to read it.

And because links to interviews make for a boring blog post, I give you Croy, the manga version!

Note that this is untoned, and has no speech bubbles yet (they were spoilery!) but it does show you the fiery enthusiasm that is CROY. He’s the dude in panels 1, 2, and 4. And you can tell that he is CROY.

The girl with pig-tails is obviously Shay, the girl with shorter hair is Astrid Astrix, and the white-haired dude is Zane.

Wait, isn’t Zane’s hair pitch black?

Ah, but don’t forget, they are all still uglies at this point! (Heh.)

Okay, Fan Art Friday is in two more days. w00t!

And as a bonus, next Tuesday I’ll be posting lots of photos from this photoshoot . . .

Wha???

UPDATE: Hey, Forumers, how is the forum working now? Please leave your comments below. It should be okay now, with both steampunk stylin’ and functionality.

Forum Meet-Up Transcript

Yesterday at 2PM, me and a hundred-ish fans from the WesterForum hung out for about an hour and a half, and I answered many questions. For those of you who weren’t able to attend, I’ have compiled them into this blog post, typos and all! (So. Many. Typos.)

Enjoy:

“What kind of juice do you like?”

There are many juices I love. Mango! Pear! (Especially pear cider.) Apple!

“So Scott there’s been a rivalry going on (on the forum obviously) , based on the question : If the crew of the Leviathan got in a fight with Special Circumstances who would win? What’s your opinion?”

I think in a close-quarters fight the Specials would win, because they’re too quick. But in a proper battle, the Leviathan could mess them up with strafing hawks or bat-poo without ever being in danger.

“WHATS GOING ON WITH CROY?! CAN YOU GIVE US ANY INFO ON HIM?! ”

That info will be released at Leaky Con and Comic Con. THAT’S ONLY A FEW WEEKS. But I can’t tell you anything now, except maybe . . . you will SEE HIM.

“Did you use the same models on the cover of Goliath that you used on Leviathan and Behemoth?”

Yes. Same models, same photo shoot on the same day. Sometime I’ll show you guys the unaltered photos.

“At any point in Behemoth, does Dr. Barlow know that Deyrn is a girl? It has been a topic of great debate.”

Hah! Not saying now, but you WILL learn the answer to that in Goliath.

“Have you ever met someone in real life who reminds you of your characters?
Or vice versa.”

Hmm, not really. Although sometimes I see someone and say, ‘Whoa, he/she’s a total pretty!’

“Nice to meet you, btw. (and tell hi to Justine (Mrs. Larbaleister (sp?)) for me, please!)”

It’s Dr. Larbalestier, in fact.

“Can Justine cook?”

She’s a great cook of Thai food, and she wants me to add that she’s a good boxer too. (She’s been taking lessons.)

“What TV shows do you watch?”

Game of Thrones, Treme, just finished Vampire Diaries,

“This isn’t really a question, just a comment. I thought you’d like to know that I used to like history, and Leviathan made me love it again. I might even try writing something historical-ish myself. ”

Yay!

“Is Lilit lesbian/bi? (Please say yes.)”

They didn’t really have those categories for women back then, but she would be if she was alive today. (Strange but true fact: Male homosexuality was illegal in England back then, but female homosexuality wasn’t because lawmakers REFUSED TO BELIEVE IT EXISTED.)

“In Uglies, there are many messages, some obvious, some not so much. What messages/lessons do you want readers to take away from Leviathan?”

Hmm. I think that the big theme is about how different sides of a conflict (war or just ideological/technological) see each other, and how that can change when people are forced to work together.

“What kind of music do you like? (Do you like Florence+and the machine?)”

I like minimalism and trip-hop, and I don’t know of this Florence person.

“What is your opinion on the Hunger Games? (Will you see the movie?)”

Want to see the movie. Liked the first book, but didn’t read the others.

“When will you go on tour?”

September 17. DON’T KNOW WHERE YET! NOT MY CHOICE WHERE.

“Would you like to join my band of Ninjas?”

I have already infiltrated your band of ninjas!

“Do you like writing about diseases? Peeps was about parasites, Innoculata had to do with a virus and in So Yesterday the main characters dad is a Epidimiologist (I think).”

I love all kinds of biology, like beasties too. Studied philosophy of biology in college. (Yes, that’s a real thing.)

“Scott-la, in the Uglies series who was the most interesting character to create?”

Hmm, maybe Mr. Simpson Smith, because he talked funny and had a very different view of the world from everyone else.

“Is there a ball, wedding, or some other formal scene in Goliath?”

Yes!

“Will we ever see Deryn in a dress in the final book?
I need some hope..

May 1 Art Released Delayed

Sorry, but my promised Goliath art preview has been delayed due to the NEWS.

As a New Yorker who lives (part of the year) less than two miles from Ground Zero, this result has affected me in an unexpectedly emotional way. Closure is a real thing, apparently. But in a couple of days, I’ll be back to normal. And there will be ART then.

I am having cake now. (Cake, also a real thing.)


Ganked for here.

ZvU at Sydney Kinokuniya

The Zombies Versus Unicorns debates have spread around the world! Next Thursday, March 31, at 6PM we will be having one at Kinokuniya Bookstore here in Sydney, Australia.

zombies

Join us at Kinokuniya as Justine Larbalestier and Scott Westerfeld (Team Zombie) face off Margo Lanagan and Garth Nix (Team Unicorn) to determine who reigns supreme, the zombie or the unicorn? This is an event not to be missed!

Edited by Holly Black (Team Unicorn) and Justine Larbalestier (Team Zombie), Zombies Vs Unicorns is a unique short story feud that pits horned beasts against the shuffling undead.

Contributors to this unique collection include bestselling teen and YA authors Garth Nix, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson and Margo Lanagan.

Zombie Vs Unicorns challenges you to pick a team, and stick to it. But be warned, these are stellar story-tellers, and they can be very convincing…

The event is free to attend, but please register your interest at the Information Counter or on 9262-7996.

Thursday, March 31, 2011
6PM
Kinokuniya Bookstore

Level 2 The Galeries Victoria
500 George Street
Sydney 2000 NSW
T: (02)9262-7996
F: (02)9283-1055

map

See you there, Sydneysiders!

Still Alive!

Barely. But the first leg of my tour is almost done. Last events in October:

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29
7:00PM
Ann Arbor District Library
343 South Fifth Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30
12:00PM
Provo County Library
550 North University Avenue
Provo, UT 84601
My keynote speech requires tickets, and I hear they’re sold out! But google “Provo Book Festival” for details.

And don’t forget my chat next week!

Click here to RSVP for the Scott Westerfeld Live Chat!

And finally, I’ll be in NYC as part of the NYPL readings series next Wednesday. Check my Appearances page for details, and for the November part if the tour in France, Miami, and Vancouver!