I received 3 emails today which tickled my interest, set me thinking and prompted me to reply -- most unusual!!! Here they are, slightly edited, in the order that they came in. First, from Janette Micklewright in England:

I have been introduced to and practically force fed your books by my neice. Its not often that I get into a whole series of books, least of all childrens literature, but I have become a fan, old though I may be, and I am writing to say that I think it's wonderful that Cirque is going to become a movie. Not sure about John C Reilly playing Larten, although he is a fine actor - I suppose everyone has their own mental picture of Larten. I am sure the makeup people will do the rest! I hope it will be a great success for you.

I am currently reading Demon Apocalypse and if you ever find someone able to play Lord Loss and Artery in a film, I very much doubt you will get a PG rating.  It's a fabulous book (the whole series actually) and I am thrilled that Bec is in the story as Bec was my favourite to date. You give your child characters an adult awareness of sorrow and the need to take responsibility in situations where they must stand and not run away. Your characters face heavy responsibilities and I think they give good messages to your younger (and not so young) readers.

Alice (my neice) has been terrified of werewolves since she was at primary school, when some little charmer in the playground told her they were real and could tear her to pieces - you must be some storyteller to get her to read your work and I can't thank Grubbs enough!

Janette isn't the first to ask about a Demonata film. At the moment there aren't any plans to turn the books into a movie. To be honest, I'm in two minds whether I'd like to see it adapted or not. As Janette points out, it would be VERY hard to make a kid's film out of Lord Loss and its sequels! You can get away with a lot in books that you just can't do in a movie. If a movie maker was to keep even a fifth of the gore in this series, it would still be an 18 Cert film in the UK or an R in the USA!!! So what, if someone ever tries to make it, will be the answer? Carefully trim the gore? Allude to violence rather than show it? Make it an adult's movie, perhaps turning Grubbs into an older teenager or even a grown-up? I'm not sure. I'll obviously be interested if a movie company comes to me with a plan, and I'd take their views into careful consideration, but for the time being I'd have to say I'm in no rush to see these books filmed -- I think they might be just too damn demonic for Hollywood!!!! Then again, wouldn't it be wonderful if some skilled team proved me wrong ...

Next up, Megan Smith-Foster from Canada:

I love your series. I'm an avid reader of Stephen King, a well-known and renowned horror novelist, so I do know what it taks for a book to be scary. Your books certainly have what it takes. I've finished five of your books from "The Demonata" in less than a week; I was addicted, and when I saw the "to be continued..." in cryptic italics, I screamed and shook the book (just thought you should know). I rarely see other authors write in the first person so fluidly, and those who do - coughAnneRicecough - don't have the same hold on a character's persona, and maintain it, as you can/do.

I'm actually an author upstart myself, and I'm not going to push a story on you (I hear most authors absolutely hate that, and if I were you, I'd be no exception), but seeing the creativity, the morbid fascination you inspire in readers (since I've begun reading, I've been dropping hints about "Lord Loss"s plot, I got my friend addicted as well!) and clearly have yourself, makes it easier for me to have my ideas out there. My parents have read my pilot beginnings for my books, and they threatened to take me to a psychologist, wondering why a 14, 15, 16 (my current age) year old girl would write such terrible, dark things. And that, as I'm sure you know, is the secret nobody knows; why we write the way we do. Are we twisted, ravenous, soon-to-be killers? Are we emotionally disturbed? Maybe. But mostly... it's intrigue. The thrill we get from reading a scary book, and, in the back of our minds, wondering if all this could possibly be real. But I'm rambling. Apologies.

But my point is, Mr Shan, that your books have inspired me to move past the worried parents, the possibility or threat that I will be told that I'm crazy, or disturbed, or something to that effect (I know when I started reading Stephen King, that REALLY didn't help). The world is strange that way; most humans can't accept the things we have not seen, nor cannot comprehend, and therefore, they shun what is different from the norm. You r take on human state of mind is so clear and consise, it makes me want to give myself a second analysis.

In short, I'd like to give you thanks. You've taken horror to a level some can only hope to comprehend or acheive, and, I BEG you, if you are to make a movie of your books, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DIRECT AND WRITE THE SCRIPT! I will not watch another movie that inaccurately portrays a book and its characters for the infuriating sake of 'time'.

Well, I won't be writing or directing the film of Cirque Du Freak, and it certainly WILL make big changes to the books, but as I've said often in my blogs, I think that's a good thing -- movies should reinvent their source material, not just copy it. Regarding Megan's gruesome stories, I told her (and her parents) not to worry. I wrote FAR darker, grislier, gorier stories when I was a teenager!!! I think a lot of teens go OTT on the gore front because at that stage you're probably not equipped to write a "good" story. But you want to make an impression, so you throw in anything you think will shake readers up. In later years, as your skills advance, you come to learn that less can be more, and cut down on the gore in order to give the characters more room to breathe. So any of you pushing the envelope of good taste, don't worry, you're not going crazy!!! And tell your parents not to worry either -- it's just a Teen Thing!!!!

Finally, Amy Beth Cesar, also from Canada:

I'm sure you're probably just sick of fan-mail by now, must get really monotonous, just thought i would bombard you with another! But that's neither here nor there, i have to say that you have an AMAZING collection of literature, and i am hooked. My good friend Gemmy explained a few main aspects of The Demonata series to me, mere mention of Lord Loss got me craving to read the series already. Sad, but i have a tendency to only read books on and off, because they disinterest me after awhile. However, my friend gave me the first book in this series, and i finished it in a few hours. I couldn't bear to rip my eyes off!

I am a huge fan of psychology in books, mysteries, and especially horror. The ones that make you think, or truly dig deep into your mind. Your characters have a profound nature to them... they are well thought out, and feel like real people to me. They are creative, and stand out to me... (especially the names!) and that is such a huge factor to me, i suppose. The characters make up the story, and it's what makes the story and gives it that profound "OOMPH!" to it.

My very favourite villain of any book i have ever read is Hannibal Lecter (Don't ask why a 16-year-old girl loves to read about cannibalistic criminal master-minds), despite any story, and movie, and book i have ever read, no one has ever come close to how much i loved his character. Until now that is, Lord Loss is so close to my favourite villain now, he's so different... there is more to him than meets the eye.

But anyways, past ripping my eyes out of your book, I don't normally sit here having a conniption, but i'm just so infatuated with your writings already, i can't help it. Please excuse me for that (I don't normally gush, but yeah!). Unlike my friend, i am not much of an author as she is... like i mentioned before, i am more attracted to characters. I build them very well, i just don't seem to make stories very well. Though i have an attraction with reading horror now, it often frightens my family, and causes them to think of me strangely. My mother comes across me reading When the Cicadas Cry, and she'll give me a strange glance before walking off. I'd love to indulge in the thought that i'm not crazy, but yet again, neither here nor there. Either way, you've proven to me that girls, and anyone, can love horror and the macabre without being thrown into an asylum.

But to conclude now, since i'm probably jut gabbing your ear off here. I  can hardly wait for the whole Demonata series to come out, and i can't wait to read the rest of your literature either. I just can't rip away from your stories. The combination of Magicians, a cursed Lycanthrope bloodline and demons, i just can't wait!

Hannibal the Cannibal is one of my favourite characters too!!! Though I hadn't made the connection before, I guess Lord Loss DOES share certain characteristics with him. What made Dr Lecter so memorable was his humanity. Yes, he was a clinical, genius killer, but there have been plenty of those before (going back to Professor Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes stories). What made him stand out was his relationship with Agent Starling, the strange feelings he had for her. In the midst of his evil ways, we sensed stirrings of love, someone who wasn't THAT different to us at his core, and I think that's why he freaked us out so much -- we were able to see shades of ourselves in him, and it's never comfortable when you realise that "There but for the grace of God go I!!"

My demons, as some fans have noted, are fairly one-dimensional. They live to kill -- simple as that. No grey areas, no underlying psychological motives, nothing fancy. That was deliberate -- I wanted them to be straight-up monsters, determined to destroy, beings you can't reason or plead with. But Lord Loss is the exception to the rule. His love of chess and human suffering intrigues us. Although he's clearly not human, and will never share our nobler sentiments (mercy, compassion, forgiveness, etc), he has certain human traits -- almost vices. We can see reflections of ourselves in the lowly demon master, and that draws us closer to him, and as we draw close we find ourselves repulsed, yes ... but also fascinated and, dare I suggest it, somewhat jealous? I mean, wouldn't we all like the total freedom of Hannibal Lecter or Lord Loss, the freedom to do anything we wished, to have no sense of guilt, to torture and kill the same way we'd brush our teeth or walk a dog? I think most of us feel a need to do the right thing, and a sense of contentment when we do. But down deep we know life would be easier and probably a lot more fun (on a vicious, inhuman level) if we abandoned our nobler ideals and ran wild. Most of us never do that, and it's RIGHT that we shouldn't. But that doesn't stop us thinking about it, or finding ourselves drawn to those in literature who have the freedom to go places we don't wish to really go to, but wish to somehow, in some distracted way, experience ...

Night night, people. And don't worry if your nightmares lead you down alleys dark and seductively menacing. There's nothing wrong with exploring such places ... as long as you only do it in your dreams ...