Finished my latest edit of Book 8 of The Demonata. I also think this will be my last major edit of the book. My editor pointed out lots of little things that could be improved, and I suspect we've almost got it to publication point now. We'll do a bit more work on it over the coming months, but hopefully it should just be fine-tuning, minor tweaks which will probably be of more interest to us than most fans -- we're a finicky pair, me and Stella -- we like to get even the tiny details exactly right!! I imagine I'll be revealing the title of the eighth book soon -- watch this space!!!

Got ready for my upcoming tours of Hungary and the UK. I didn't have to do too much for Hungary, since I'm mostly just signing there, but I'll doing readings in the UK, so I had to check my extracts were in order, and choose and edit down a piece of book 7. I always like to carry a mix of extracts with me when I tour, a few old favourites (I almost always have the wolfman scene from Cirque Du Freak, and chapter two of Lord Loss), something from the latest book, and often a "surprise" scene from a book that won't be released in the immediate future -- just to keep fans drooling with anticipation!!!!! I don't read out every scene at every event -- I like to juggle them around, to keep things interesting for myself. The scenes are almost always cropped -- I like to squeeze in as much as I can when I read out loud, so I tend to trim the extracts, eliminating references which aren't essential in an isolated instance. The edited versions are usually faster and more action-packed than the longer, published versions, so they tend to go down well even with people who are familiar with them -- you're getting something new, not just listening to me read out words which you can read for yourself!

Watched Saw IV tonight. It was OK, not as strong as the others -- I think this was a sequel too far, and for the first time in the series an entry felt completely unoriginal and lacking in imagination and impact. It wasn't a complete dud, but I'm hoping they stop there and don't push it any further. You've always got to know when to stop with a series. When you don't have anything new to say, it's time to shut up and say nothing!!! A lesson I hope I never lose sight of with my own work ...

Right, I'm off to double-check that I have everything I need for my tours. I hope to see lots of you soon -- and if you do plan on coming to any of my public signings, especially weekend signings, my advice is to turn up early, as you'll probably wait less than you will if you come along later! And don't forget, except in rare situations where time is against me, I'm always happy to sign as many books as fans care to bring along. There are almost no limits in the signing universe of Darren Shan!!!