Edited another 60 pages of Book 10 of The Demonata. I'm flying through it, which is a good sign! The action is cranked all the way up to MAXIMUM in this one, which is how I like it!!! I usually have a pretty good idea of how fans are going to react to my books, and I'm anticipating this one will leave most of you VERY happy! The middle section of book 9 will be a slog for quite a few of you, I suspect, but once you hit the final third of that book, the pace doesn't drop all the way to the end of the series. I think it's a more rounded, pleasing final book than Sons of Destiny was. I liked the open-ended feel of The Saga (which was good, since that's the way it was always going to end -- I didn't have any real say in the matter, just went where the story led me!), but I know it left some of you feeling dissatisfied, because it didn't tie up all the loose ends. This one features just as revolutionary and unexpected a finale (although it will leave readers with a moral dilemma to hopefully ponder over long after you've read the final page), but it ties things up more neatly, and the pace is ferocious throughout. Book 10 gets ME excited each time I come to it, and I'm willing to bet it'll do the same for most of you guys too!!!!!!


Saw Syriana tonight. A complexly structured look at oil in the Middle East, and how far certain people are willing to go to get their hands on it. The structure was actually a lot more convoluted than the story, which was pretty straightforward and not actually as deeply developed as it might have been. It might arguably have been a more enjoyable film if it had been more accessible, but I do like movies that play with form, so you won't find me complaining too much!!! Now I'm off to read some more of The Killing Kind, a John Connolly novel which I've been working my way through recently. Like all his books, it's dark, menacing, twisting, with a supernatural hint -- just what I love in a detective story!!!! I like to think Procession of the Dead and my other D B Shan books inhabit the same sort of sphere as John Connolly's work, although I wrote The City trilogy long before I read any of his, so I can't cite him as an infleunce on those ones. But maybe something of the spirit from his books came to me across the zeitgeist back when I was initially working on them... or vice versa!!!!!

Started my latest edit of book 10 of The Demonata. Even though this still has 3 or 4 edits to go before it gets published, I'm very pleased with how it stands up. I really enjoyed writing the tenth book -- it flows smoothly from the first page onwards, with loads of action, some stomach-clenching twists, and some grisly gallows humour. I hit my mildly infamous "I gouge" line today, which has been the source of some rumours since I mentioned it in previous blog entries. For those who think it's a clue to some big plot twist -- sorry to disappoint you, but it's just a minor line that makes me chuckle when I come to it!! Sometimes odd details stick in my head when I watch a film or read a book or write one, and this is just one of those moments! Most readers probably won't take much notice of it unless, having read about it here, they're deliberately looking out for it!

The weather was pretty lousy here today, so I didn't go for the walk, which meant I got a bit more editing done than normal. I watched Nanook of the North, a very famous silent documentary about Eskimos from 1922, which was pretty interesting despite its age and shortcomings. I'm also watching season 6 of The X-Files. After some very dodgy episodes early on, it's back on track (I'm at about the midway point), although the fact that the BIG story -- about aliens preparing to launch an invasion of Earth -- has been revealed at last has left me in two minds about whether or not that was wise. It's always the problem with a large storyline that stretches out -- the build-up can sometimes be more fun then the denouement. Not knowing what's really going on can often be more fun than knowing. But of course, for a story to reach a satisfying conclusion, you have to make things clear eventually ... unless you're the TV show The Prisoner!!!

Finished my latest edit of Book 9 of The Demonata. I'm pleased with how it's shaping up now. The first draft was unwieldy -- I had a LOT of information which I felt the need to convey, and the middle third of the book dragged like a legless elephant!!! I've now managed to whittle the book down by almost 17,000 words (!!!!), and it feels nice and tight now. The excesses of the first draft were necessary for me, in order to get everything down that was in my head, so that I could then sift through it, keep what was essential to the story, eliminate all the bits that didn't need to be in the book. Sometimes you have to do that when you're writing. It's always easier if you know exactly what you want to say, and can peg the structure first time round. But if you're unsure, it's better to forge ahead, slap your thoughts down messily, and then sort them out later. I'm a big believer, as I've said before, in the powers of action. It's normally much better to dive into a book and get writing, than to sit around thinking about it so much that you start to get scared of the story. Writing can often be a leap of faith -- you need to believe that the story will come good in the end, that you have the power to mould it into shape in later drafts. And you have to keep that faith, even if the first draft turns out a lot messier than you anticipated, if at all seems to be too much to deal with, if the story feels like it's spun out of your control. You should never give up, just keep chipping away and re-writing and editing and tinkering ... and eventually it will all work itself out. Fingers crossed!!!!!

I spent yesterday doing various bits and pieces around my office, filing contracts and royalty reports, putting work-related receipts for the last few months into order, etc. It's one of the nuisances of being a writer -- you have to keep on top of the paperwork side of things. I could hire a secretary or someone to help me out, of course, but there isn't really that much for them to do, and besides, it's good to have something other than the writing to focus on from time to time -- when I need a breather, I can stay away from the PC but still do a day's "work". I'm not great at doing nothing. While I structure my time in such a way that I usually don't over-work myself on any given day, I always like to have something to focus on when I wake up, a goal to complete, which will let me feel like I've spent the day well. It might be something as simple as filing away a few forms, but writing is largely psychological -- it's all about completing small goals and believing that if you meet your target each day and commit a certain amount of words to paper, they'll add up and become a story or a book. Getting into the habit of achieving your aims every day - no matter how trivial they might be - helps get you into the rhythm of being a writer who gets what he aims for. At least, that's what works for me!!!

I held the draw for the Shanville Monthly June 2008 competitions today. You can find out the names of the winners by visiting my web site (www.darrenshan.com) and going to the Message Board, and then the News forum.

Edited more of book 9 of The Demonata yesterday, but I only got half a day's work done on it, because I was invited in to my local school in Pallaskenry to officially open the school library -- which has been named after me!! It's always fun doing a local event, and I was delighted to be asked in. We had a little ceremony in the new library, then I did a talk for the kids in the hall. After that I head into Limerick with my friend Kenny, to watch a couple of Eurp 2008 matches. Had quite a late night in the end, and drank a bit more than was good for me. A word to the wise -- tequila cocktails late in the night are NEVER a wise idea!!!! But we had quite a lot of fun, and I didn't feel TOO hungover today, so I can't complain too much.

Here are a couple of nice emails which came my way recently. The first is from a teacher called Janet:

I just wanted to say THANKS THANKS THANKS!  I am a teacher in a primary school in a very deprived area of Bolton.  I teach a class of 28 boys and 10 girls and they are quite challenging! At the start of the school year the majority of my class just did not like reading, or being read to.  I started the Saga Of Darren Shan in September with 'Cirque du Freak' and we haven't looked back. The children have turned into amazing listeners (during story time) and avid readers.  I stopped at book 6 and the children needed no encouragement to read on, many of them joining the local library.  We had a Darren Shan day during our book week recently and shared our enthusiasm with the rest of the school too. Thanks again for helping to turn my class onto reading.

The second is from a Mum called Bec:

I as a parent would like to thank you. I have 4 children but number 3 son hates doing anything he is told and he certainly won't read, that was until a teacher recommended Darren Shan. We got the 1st 3 books for christmas and he just can't put them down. So he got the other 9 for his birthday but now the whole family are addicted. Thomas thinks the sun shines out of your rear end and I would like to thank you for the joy that your imagination has brought to our family. He has gone up in his SAT grades and you never see him without a Darren Shan in his hand. I myself cried yesterday when I finished "sons of destiny"... so I started Lord Loss this morning. I hope there are many more of your books to come.

Heh heh -- I had a nice chuckle at the "sun shines out of your rear end" line!!! But the reason I wanted to reprint the emails here harkens back to the Age Banding issue that I've been going on about for the last week (I'm going to try to get away from it now -- promise!!!). One of the reasons authors like myself are so against age banding is because of readers like this, kids who are hard to reach, who aren't natural readers. If a publisher put, say, a 13+ age band on my books, then teachers in primary schools probably wouldn't be able to read them out in class, since parents could legitimately complain that the books were meant for an older audience and were thus unsuitable. On the other hand, if they put, say, a 9+ age band on them, maybe a reluctant reader like Thomas wouldn't want to read them, because he might view them as books for young children, and thus unsuitable for him. Whatever way you look at it, if age banding ever went ahead the way some publishers would like it to, a lot of readers WOULD slip between the cracks. I know publishing has to be about making money -- it's a business -- but I like to think most of us actually care about kids too, and are keen not just on shifting lots of copies of books, but also on getting more children to read. Publishers who support age banding because it will make it easier for adults to buy books for children are missing the point -- they've shifted the emphasis from the child to the adult, and I just can't see how that can be a good thing. For me, in the world of children's book, the child ALWAYS has to come first.

Started editing book 9 of The Demonata yesterday, after I finished book 8, and carried on working in it today. It's slower going than the most recent edits of Wolf Island and Hell's Horizon -- they were at the end stage of the editing process, whereas this still has another couple of edits to go. I'm still doing quite a bit of work on it at the moment, writing new lines, taking out things that don't need to be there, focusing on the pace and feel of the book as a whole, rather than on tidying up specific lines. That's the way editing goes, a bit like sculpting from a block of stone -- you need to chip off big chunks to begin with, to get the general shape of the piece, and then you start picking away at it more carefully, teasing the finer curves into shape.

I've answered a lot of fan mail over the last couple of nights. I'm getting near to the bottom of the pile again -- hurrah!!! Only trouble is, I'm running out of pens!! I'll need to get into Limerick sometime in the next week or two and stock up on a fresh load!!

This is the latest update about the Age Banding issue, from an article printed in today's online edition of The Bookseller:

The Society of Authors has called for age-guidance plans to be temporarily suspended pending a review, following the unprecedented author revolt last week.

Novelist Celia Rees, chair of the children’s writers and illustrators group at the Society of Authors, told The Bookseller that if publishers go ahead it should only be with individual authors’ approval. “Not all writers are against age guidance, but given the strong opposition that has emerged in recent days, we have proposed to the Publishers Association that the Children’s Book Group’s plans should be put on hold, pending a review, which would include a number of authors,” she said.

A spokesperson for the CBG said that publishers were continuing to discuss author concerns on an individual basis. “Publishers are getting lots of valuable feedback from authors, which in turn is helping them address the specific issues and concerns that authors are raising. The CBG remains committed to the principle of age guidance, which it sees as one of several tools that will help more adults choose and buy a book for the children in their lives.”

The decision to introduce guidance was taken in April by 13 publishers. Reprints carried the guidance from April, and new titles will be guided from the autumn.

Walker and Usborne said that they were among those playing a “wait and see” game. Jenny Tyler, editorial director at Usborne, said that publishers were “never as united as the first statements indicated”. “We would want to take careful note of what our authors say,” she said. “It would be interesting to see if authors follow their principles to another publishing house.”

Walker has indicated it is in “no hurry” to join the age guidance movement. “We hope to be a publisher that looks after the interests of our authors,” said publishing director Jane Winterbotham.

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I think the second last paragraph is particularly interesting — it seems to indicate that certain parties within the publishing industry are trying to push this through even without the full supports of their peers, by trying to convince the rest of us that they have their full, 100% backing. This is the most worrying and distasteful part of the entire “decision” — the lack of a real debate, the refusal to involve everyone concerned, and the blatant slapping about of lies and half-truths. If the individuals who have tried to force this down the throat of the rest of us continue on their path, I think some heads will roll at the upper corporate levels — no editor or MD will relish the job of trying to explain to their board members why all of their authors are jumping ship!!!!

I finished my final edit of Wolf Island today -- all that remains now is to check through the page proofs when they come in a month or two, and then it will be ready to go to print!! D8 is one of my personal faves from the series -- it takes Grubbs in a very dark direction, and features some of the juiciest scenes of any of my books! This one will shake you to the bone in places!!!!! But no matter how dark things get in the world of Darren Shan, I always try to work in some lighter moments -- in fact, I think it's crucial, and it's what keep the books from becoming so bleak that they cease to be fun! I introduced Kirilli Kovacs in book 7, to inject some fun into the latter half of the series, and book 8 features a similar type of character, albeit one very different to the cowardly master Kovacs!!! The last 4 books of the series will explore some grim, gloomy, gruesome scenarios, but if the world's going to end in The Demonata (and only a very brave person would bet against that right now!!!), be assured we'll all have a good few chuckles along the way!!!!

Speaking of chuckles, I've been watching the show Flight of the Conchords over the last week or so. I'm about halfway through, and loving it!! It's a very droll look at life in New York, as seen through the eyes of a pair of New Zealanders who have dreams of becoming pop stars. Each episode features at least a couple of songs written specifically for the show, and some of them are brilliant!! I found a few of my favourites on YouTube. The first is called If You're Into It, and it's my fave from the show so far. It's somewhat risque, but so good-natured that it makes even the crudest of couplings sound strangely fey and romantic!!! Check it out by clicking here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY8jaGs7xJ0

The second is a song called Sello Tape. This one's a bit longer, and it features a bit of the show in the middle (which might be confusing for those who haven't seen it), but it's very hummable!!! This is also interesting for those who are looking forward to the Cirque Du Freak movie. If you watch the clip all the way, you'll see a woman muscling her way into the centre of the shot about half a minute from the end. This is Kristin Schaal, who plays uber-groupie Mel in the show -- but who will also be playing Gertha Teeth in the CDF movie!!!! Click here for the clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fycGFGSeKpc&feature=related

Finally, on the matter of the film, you can check out some photos from one of the sets in the movie (a scene which takes place in Darren and Steve's school) by going to my Message Board. While I can't 100% guarantee that these are genuine, they certainly look real to me, and the report from the guy who took them tallies with what I read in the CDF script when I read it. Click here to have a gawk: http://darrenshanmessageboard.yuku.com/topic/3105

I've spent the last couple of days editing Wolf Island, the eighth book of The Demonata. This will be my final edit -- after this, all that will remain is to check the page proofs when they come through, and then I'll be done!!! While I'm well past the point of making any structural changes, I'm still finding lots of little things to tweak, a line here, a word there. I always try to produce as polished a product as possible when I get to this stage of the writing process. I look to fine-tune every line, to find the smoothest, most impactful way of phrasing every sentence. The changes I make at this point are minor, and they might look like nit-picking to an outsider, but if you add up all the hundreds of tiny tweaks over the course of the book, they can make the difference between the book flowing and feeling a bit disjointed. An example is trying to make sure they are few repetitive words close to each other -- if you use, for instance, the word "excited" in two paragraphs close together, many readers will clock that and frown while reading -- it will interrupt their immersion in the world of the story, and remind them of the writer behind it. I always want to disappear from my books -- i.e. I want readers to be so engrossed in the story that they don't stop to think about the person who wrote it, that they accept it as "real" while they are reading. My writing's rarely flashy or lushly worded. I try to keep my language simple, to not belabour a book with lots of complexly structured sentences. Some people see that as a flaw -- they like to be aware of a writer when they read, to admire his or her wordplay; they want a writer to show off and preen. Personally I see it as a strength -- it lets the story take prominence, and focuses attention where I feel it truly belongs, on the plot and the characters. I don't feel the need to be thought of as clever and witty when I write -- I just want readers to enjoy the story.

Had a barbecue for some of my family yesterday, as well as my friend Kenny. It was our first BBQ of the summer, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Normally when we have one, we invite lots more people round, and it can be a bit of a struggle -- I like them, but I find them tiring. We only had 13 people in total yesterday, and it went like a breeze. There's nothing better than a nice barbecued burger in your back garden on a warm summer's evening, surrounded by family and friends. Especially here in Ireland, where nice summer evenings are rare, meaning you appreciate it all the more!!!

I was asked by Vulpes Libris, a literary blog, if I would contribute an article about age banding. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to put together my various thoughts and blogs about this matter, in a more unified, cohesive fashion, so I went ahead and did it. Much of what I say there is a repeat of what I've said on this blog, but it's a bit more structured now, with some new bits that I added as I was going along. If you're interested, click on this link: Vulpes Libris

Bas and I went for a walk in the Darragh Hills, near Kilfinane in County Limerick today. We took two of my cousins, Lorcan and Tiernan, along. I hadn't been to that part of Limerick before, and was delighted by the scenery -- it's gorgeous back there, and the walk showed off the hills and vales to perfection!! The sunny day helped too!!! Only downside was that it was a bit longer and harder than we'd been led to believe -- it was supposed to be a two hours walk, but it took us almost double that!!!!! Now, Bas and I are both carrying a few more pounds than we should be, and neither of us is particularly fast when it comes to going up a slope -- we can maintain a good pace on the flat or downhill, but we never race up steep inclines -- but still, we're not THAT far off what I would consider a regular walking pace!!! That's the trouble when a guide gives a suggested walking time for a route. Sometimes they only consider how long it would take themselves or someone of their fitness level to walk it. A good guide always takes the less speedy walker into consideration too, but it doesn't always happen -- and you never know, until you complete the walk, how accurate the guideline is!!! Neither of us minded -- it was a stunning walk, and we both want to go back to do more in the area -- but we'd have sipped our water a bit more sparingly if we'd known we were going to be up in the hills that long!! Oh well, now that we've got the measure of this particular guide, we'll know better next time!

Saw a fascinating documentary tonight, about an abstract artist by the name of Marla Olmstead, whose paintings sold for thousands of dollars at the peak of her fame. What's so strange about that, you ask? Well, at the time (2004/2005) she was 4 years old. Yup -- that's not a typo -- four!!!! It was an interesting story to begin with, but it became much more intriguing when a TV report alleged that the girl wasn't doing most of the painting, that her father was involved in the creation of the works. The director kept an admirably neutral line, even though it was hard for him, since the family had befriended him and it was clear that the parents took his sense of doubt as a personal insult. The film never answers the question of just how involved (if at all) the young girl's parents have been in the creation of the art, but that doesn't matter, since what's compelling here is all the other questions its raises -- can the work of a 4 year old be judged in the same way that you judge a piece by an adult? Is modern abstract art all a fake, a sham, the Emperor's New Clothes? Or is it a case of art merging with story-telling -- does the story behind a painting make a painting more interesting than it would be if it was viewed from a completely objective standpoint? Can we separate art from the artist? And then, of course, there are all the non-art related questions, such as is it right for parents to put a young child out there in the public eye? It's easy to say no, but if we do, where does that leave child actors, kids we see in TV commercials, child musicians (like Mozart), etc. etc. I can't recommend this film highly enough. It's called My Kid Could Paint That. And if you want to see some of Marla's (?) paintings, check out her web site: http://www.marlaolmstead.com/home.html

I finished editing Hell's Horizon today. I've done pretty much all the work I can do on it by this stage -- it's as tight, vicious and punchy as it's every going to be!! All that remains now is to check the page proofs later in the year, and then I'm done with it forever -- at last!!!!

Went to see one of my favourite bands, Fred, playing in Dolans last night. I've seen them several times over the years, and they always delight. They've never made it big, but they've just released a new album, and if there's any justice in the world, this one will sell more than their previous two. It's definitely a more polished album -- Fred started out as a jokey, poptastic band, and while they haven't lost their good humour, this is a far more mature and layered album. It's been picking up some fab reviews since its release on June 1st (http://www.fredtheband.com/framepage.htm). If you can't find it in your local store, or prefer to buy through iTunes, click here and buy it ASAP -- trust me, you won't regret it!!! FRED iTUNES LINK

On the age grading front, I collated a number of my posts and comments from various site today and submitted them to a blog called Vulpes Libris (they asked me to do a piece for them). I'll let you know when it goes live, though you'll have read a lot of it in my last few blogs.

Answered another batch of fan mail tonight -- I collected a fresh load from Pablo yesterday, so I'm still far from finished with it!!! I've also been enjoying some lovely weather here in Limerick recently, going for nice walks, sitting out back for half an hour or so most evenings, soaking up the sun and reading. We don't see the sun much here in Ireland, but when we do, the place is glorious!!!!

Edited another 100 pages of Hell's Horizon today. I'm getting through it faster than I thought I would, which is a great sign -- it means I'm almost reading it objectively, the way I would another author's book. If you can get to that stage with a book, you know that it's definitely ready to fly the coop! For better or worse, you've taken the story as far as you can, and now it's time for it to stand by itself and face the scrutiny of the public.

The age grading issue is continuing to gather steam in the publishing world -- I've never seen children's authors rise up as a collective before!! I was very pleased when my publishers contacted me today to say that they respect my right to choose, and that they won't be putting an age grade brand on my books -- hurrah!!! Some other publishers, sadly, aren't quite as liberal-minded as HarperCollins -- I read a report from a person at a certain publisher tonight, and that person basically said that authors were perfectly happy to accept age branding, and that they were pressing ahead regardless!!! It's incredible -- like standing on a block of ice in the North Pole in the middle of winter and insisting that actually, no, it's not cold at all and there's great weather ahead!!!!!

So, is that the end of the matter? I'm still not sure. While I'm obviously very happy that my books aren't going to suffer the indignity of branding, I don't know if authors with less clout and success will be forced to accept age grading. Success brings privileges -- I don't seriously think it was ever a likelihood that Philip Pullman or Terry Pratchett or Jacqueline Wilson's publishers were going to risk alienating them by forcing them to accept a brand they didn't want. But what about those lower down on the totem pole, those who haven't sold millions of books, who are maybe just starting out, or who have been labouring away for many years without ever breaking the top of the best sellers lists? Will publishers address each author individually and ask each writer whether or not they want to have their books branded? If so, I've no problem with that -- some, maybe even many, will, I'm sure, choose to go along with the exercise. As long as they have the freedom to say no if they wish, I'll retire from this battle a happy, contented man. But what if that's not the case? What if the authors with less of a voice aren't asked for their opinion? Is it right that those of us at a higher level should leave them to their own devices, at the mercies of the market? If not, what can we do to help them? To be honest, I don't know. I know that I certainly do feel a sense of comradeship with my fellow authors, and that I want to do whatever I can to support them if it transpires that they aren't being given a fair hearing and a free vote on how their books are branded (and, again, I must stress that I don't know whether they are or not). But how much can we do as a group? Will the hundreds of authors who've supported the rights of writers to choose now dissipate and go their own separate ways again? What can we do to protect the freedoms of our colleagues if they come under threat? How many of us will want to fight another person's fight? Only time will tell. I'll be keeping a close eye on developments, and blogging my thoughts and reactions as circumstances dictate. Watch this space ...