Diary - October 2006:

Hello,

Well, what an incredibly busy few months we’ve just had. Not that we’re complaining. There’s nothing we like better than travelling round talking about the books we write - except for actually writing them!

Back in June we went to a huge Book Fair in Toronto, Canada, and met lots of teachers, librarians and book shop owners, as well as lots and lots of kids. Of course, travelling so far means long air flights. But we didn’t waste the time just watching in-flight movies. No, we were busy plotting and planning a new series of books... But more of that later.

In July, the Edge Chronicles were re-issued with their brand new covers. Hope you like them. They’ve got portraits of the main character - Twig, Rook or Quint - on the spines so you can tell which books are in which trilogy. And inside, some of the more minor characters get to talk about their lives. In Freeglader, we hear from Weermuru, a banderbear; in Last of the Sky Pirates, Gobrat the Guardian of Night, talks to us. While in Stormchaser, we learn a little bit more about Old Torp, the gnokgoblin who was on his way to a better life in Undertown.

Book 9 - which completes the third of our trilogies - was published in September. For those of you who didn’t already know, it’s called Clash of the Sky Galleons and culminates in a huge sky battle. We’ve already had letters from boys and girls who enjoyed it. Many thanks to all of you. And if you want, of course, you could always add a review of your own to the Amazon site. We love reading what our readers think of the books.

We promoted the books all round Britain, starting off with the Edinburgh Book Festival. This year was especially good as we did both a school-groups session and an open event. One young lad made a very special effort to be at the talk. He was in hospital, but was allowed out for the afternoon to come and see us. Thanks so much, Calum, for coming along, and we both wish you a speedy recovery. We also went to the West Country. A big hello to all the kids we met in Truro, Torquay, Plymouth, Tavistock and Barnstaple, as well as those we met up in London at the American School and Dulwich College. And last but not least, to those we met at the Cheltenham Book Festival.

We were soon off again promoting the books on the other side of the world. In New Zealand, we went to Auckland and Wellington, and finished off in Christchurch, where we met hundreds of kids at their Literary Festival. The highlight of the trip was a visit to the Weta Workshop, where all the masks, weapons and costumes were made for Lord of the Rings, King Kong and loads of other films. It was so much fun seeing all the different creatures - from orks and hobbits, to massive dinosaurs! In Australia, we went to Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane, where there was another Book Festival. By the time we left for England, we’d met over 3000 fans ‘down under’!

We returned to hear some excellent news. Some of you Edge fans will have read our Far-Flung Adventures. Fergus Crane won a gold medal in the Nestles Children’s Book Prize two years ago. Corby Flood won a silver last year. This year, we’re pleased and proud to announce that the third in the series - Hugo Pepper - has also been nominated. Fingers crossed!

Last of all, I said I’d come back to the books we’re currently working on. Well, we’re still plotting and planning the tenth and final Edge Chronicle, of course, but in the meantime we’ve started a new series of books about a Victorian messenger (a tick-tock lad) who gets about the city, leaping from rooftop to rooftop - and finds himself being drawn into all kinds of dark adventures. The first story is called the Curse of the Night Wolf. And we’re already working on the second, which is about a school, an eclipse and an evil emerald skull... Watch this space!

Keep reading!