User blog:Lukas Exemplar/BREAKING: New Deltora series 'Star of Deltora' announced!



We at Deltora Quest Wiki has some great news! We have found out that Emily Rodda and veteran Deltora illustrator Marc McBride will be at a writers' festival, showcasing their new book seires, STAR OF DELTORA. The first book is called SHADOWS OF THE MASTER.

Here’s the blurb: Britta has always wanted to be a trader like her father, sailing the nine seas and bringing precious cargo home to Del harbour. Her dreams seemed safe until her fathers quest to find the fabled Staff of Tier ended in blood and horror. Now his shamed family is in hiding, and his ship, the Star of Deltora, belongs to the powerful Rosalyn fleet. But Britta's ambition burns as fiercely as ever. When she suddenly gets the chance to win back her future she knows she has to take it whatever the cost. She has no idea that shadows from a distant, haunted isle are watching her every move.

Interesting about Rosalyn, and the shadows of an isle… We checked a book catalog, turns out the second book might possibly be called Two Moons. And a possible name for the first was City of Shadows. Now, let's get our sources down.

Exhibit A: http://www.scholastic.com.au/schools/bookclub/competitions/StarofDeltora.asp

It is pretty much an announcement of the new books, as well as a contest for schools in Australia and a chance to win the class copies of the first book of Star of Deltora, as well as the chance to get Emily Rodda and Marc McBride to visit your school. Marc McBride will also create an exclusive piece of artwork for the students to keep.

Exhibit B, a mini review it looks like: http://www.scholastic.com.au/schools/bookclub/assets/pdfs/Review%20Crew/Jemma%20S.pdf

Other information that we have is that Marc McBride painted all the illustrations this time digitally. While it is not exactly the same as acryllic paint, which works really well for Deltora due to its atmosphere and its fantastic look for creatures and monsters, it is much easier for him to make changes and not have to start over on a new canvas if something goes wrong. The cover displays a bit of a different, more realistic style as well, but still have McBride's finger prints all over it :)

One of our admins, Belt-of-Detora, found out all this information for us by the way. We all owe him one :D Now, everyone, aboard the hype train!

Edit:

I have found more news of STAR OF DELTORA, specifically about the first book in the series, SHADOWS OF THE MASTER. The book is set to be released in August of 2015. Yes, this year! :D I found this page http://scholastic.co.nz/trade/pdf/quicklinks/NZ%20August%20Trade%20Parade%20LR.pdf which includes an official blurb for the book, which goes:

''Britta of Del wants nothing less than to be the new Apprentice Trader of the Rosalyn fleet. Family and friends and even the terrible secret of her parentage will not stop her. But how can she succeed when her true identity must surely be guessed by Trader Mab, who knew her father, and the crew of the Star of Deltora? Relying on no more than her wits and the kind acts of friends she makes along the way, Britta is drawn closer and closer to her terrible destiny.''

The previous blurb is still accurate, but this is more official, coming from Scholastic. The book will cost $12.00 as an introductory price.