Ai-yi-yi!!!! You know when you read horror stories about people who mess up their travel plans, and you think, "How could anyone BE that stupid?!?" Well, I have now officially joined the ranks of the Dumber Than Dumb, so I will never again be able to mock those who make mistakes that seem incomprehensible in the cold light of day!!!

Several weeks back, Bas and I decided to take some of my cousins on holiday to Florida. We've been a couple of times, but not for more than two years, so we thoughs it would be nice to swing back again and catch some cool roller-coaster rides. I went ahead and booked everything, including flights for my cousins to London, since that's where we would be flying out of. At the time, I decided not to book my own flight over to London, as I thought I might have to travel before my cousins, for a football match. All well and good. But in the ensuing weeks I forgot about that, and came to believe that I had booked my ticket at the same time that I booked theirs!!! Last night I decided to check in online, as I normally do. I logged on some time after 10.00pm and entered the flight details ... but all that came up was details for my cousins!! I frowned and thought, "That can't be right!" But then, with dawning horror, I realised the error of my ways -- I DIDN'T HAVE A FLIGHT BOOKED TO LONDON!!!!

My first reaction was a very loud "Damn!!!" Only that wasn't quite the word that I used!!! But I wasn't too alarmed -- I knew I'd have to pay a lot to get on the flight, booking so close to the travel date, but I figured I had nobody else to blame, so I'd just have to pay whatever it cost and chalk it down to experience. Only ... I'd forgotten that it's a bank holiday weekend in Ireland ... and it's half-term next week ... in fact, it's the busiest travel weekend of the entire year in Ireland!!!! When I tried to book a flight to London from Shannon, I found they were all sold out!! Next I tried Cork -- ditto! Knock -- the same! Kerry -- no joy! Even all the flights from Dublin were gone!!!!!

I REALLY started to panic at that stage -- it looked like I couldn't get to London, and if that was the case, it meant the holiday would have to be cancelled!!! I was looking into getting a train to Dublin and flying to some other part of the UK, when luckily Bas spotted a flight from Shannon to Liverpool. Having no other choice, I went ahead and booked it, so this morning I had to get up at 07.30, fly to Liverpool, then catch a train all the way down to London!!!!! It's the longest, most roundabout route I've ever taken to get to the city, but I was just relieved that I could get there at all!!!! Thankfully the flight and train ran smoothly, and I was even able to get time to do the November issue of the Shanville Monthly!!! (My cousins are flying over independently and I'm awaiting their arrival as I type.)

Let this be a lesson to you all -- ALWAYS double-check your travel plans!!! I do so much travelling, I guess I got a bit complacent, and I almost paid the ultimate price!! Focus hard, young Shansters, lest you too end up joining me in the Moron's Travel Hall Of Fame!!!!!!!!!!

I watched Spurs lose 2-1 at home in their opening match of the UEFA Cup tonight. It was an awful result, especially as we've had such a terrible result to the season -- it really makes it hard for us to do well from this point on. Our manager, Martin Jol, was already under a lot of pressure, and I found out after the game that he'd actually resigned before it started -- so that's it, he's gone. I'm quite sad to see him leave. He's a great character, always enjoyable to listen to, and just a really nice guy. He did a great job with Tottenham over the last two seasons -- we played better football than we've played since the late 1980s/early 1990s, and finished 5th two seasons in a row. We also had very strong cup runs last season. But we've been weak in defence for more than 15 years (!!!!) and he never managed to iron out our defensive kinks. Last year we scored loads of goals, which masked the cracks -- but the cracks WERE there, and this season they widened to the point where I don't think he had any choice but to go before he was fired. I think most Spurs fans will agree with me in wishing him well, and will be really sorry that this had to happen -- but football is a harsh game, results are everything, and this season's been a disaster since day one, so ... c'est la vie!!! Goodbye, Martin -- I really do hope you do well in your next job.

Sorry to go so much about football. I know lots of you reading this don't care a fig about the game, but to me it's important, and since I try to let this blog reflect all the important things in my life, I have to focus on the Beautiful Game every now and again!!! Apart from that, I had another day of doing bits and pieces in the office -- it's been nice to take my time doing it all, and not rush and try to edit and catch up on everything else at the same time. Forgot to mention yesterday that Bas and I went to see "The Dark is Rising" at the cinema. I'm afraid to say it's one of the poorest fantasy films I've seen in a long, long time. Virtually nothing about it works -- the script is awful, the direction is plodding, the pace is terrible, the story is a crock, the acting is for the most part paper-thin. This is a prime example of how NOT to make a fantasy film! It also goes to show that it doesn't matter how strong the source material is (the Susan Cooper books are widely accepted long-standing classics of the genre) -- a film always depends on what the people involved in the adaptation do with it.

Bas said to me, as we were walking out, "I hope Universal don't do that with Cirque Du Freak!!" To which I had to reply, "They might!!" Now, before you go getting worried, I don't THINK they will. I'm very happy with the creative team involved with the film at the moment, and I have a feeling they're going to create something special. But at the end of the day it's something I can't control. No writer can. That's why I don't get involved closely with the film studio -- knowing I can't influence the fate of the movie, I prefer to stand back, leave it in the hands of those who know what they're doing, and keep my fingers crossed that they do a good job of it!!!! That might seem like a strange stance to take, but it's the same approach Stephen King has taken for many years and he's had a perfectly happy relationship with the movie industry because of it -- from interviews I've read with writers who tried to get more involved, I've concluded that those who stick their fingers in the fire of movie-making almost always get burnt and come away frustrated and bitter about the entire business. Some writers like to think they can tame the beast of Hollywood and make it do their bidding. I know better and I'm more than happy to just toss it the bones of my books and stand back and watch with the rest of you to see what it does with them.

Dave Fanning is one of Ireland's longest-standing and (if you're an indie fan) best DJs. I listened to him all the time in my mid-to-late teens, and still count myself as a fan. Through his show I was introduced to loads of bands which I still follow to this day -- The Go-Betweens, R.E.M., The Smiths, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Half Man Half Biscuit, etc. etc. etc. He's a radio legend in this part of the world -- he was even the first DJ to back U2, and the listeners of his show got to choose their very first single from a selection of songs!!!!

I was recently asked to go on his show and talk about one of my all-time favourite albums, and select a few tracks from it. As this was probably the coolest thing that's ever happened to me (book sales and film deals be damned -- when one of your musical teen idols invites you onto his show, that's something to REALLY boast to your friends about!!!) I immediately said yes!! After surprisingly little thought (considering the amount of albums I've listened to over the years), I picked "Trompe Le Monde" by The Pixies. The interview (which will be spread out over nearly half an hour) will be airing sometime between 7.20pm and 8.00pm on Wednesday, October 31st -- yes, Halloween!!!! You can listen live on RTE radio 1 if you live in Ireland, or online by going to their web site and using the Listen Live option if you live elsewhere in the world (just make sure you get the time difference between your country and Ireland right!! As a guide, we're 5 hours ahead of East Coast America). Click here for the site: RTE RADIO 1

I really enjoyed the interview, and I don't THINK I came across too fanboyish!! Have a listen on Halloween and decide for yourself ...

Spent another day seeing to various office-related items, such as signing contracts, responding to business mail, unpacking boxes, replying to emails, etc. It's annoying not to be able to get back to my editing duties, but that's the problem with being on the road so often -- office work mounts up, and if you don't deal with it as soon as you can, it continues to grow and will eventually spiral out of control!!!

Received a lot of post today, containing new editions of my books from several different countries, as well as the latest installments of the Japanese Darren Shan manga adaptation. I LOVE receiving post like this! It's always nice when something pleasant is delivered, and that niceness is intensified even more if that something is one of your own books!!! I read on Anthony Horowitz's blog recently that he still gets excited when he opens a box of his own books that have been sent to him by his publisher, and I have to agree -- I always get a little buzz when I see my work in its final, printed state. In a way, it's even more enjoyable getting editions from other countries -- because I work with my UK publishers the most closely, I'm fairly involved with the genesis and design of the book; I help settle on the cover image; I get updates from the artist; I see a proof of the cover; I read through the page proofs; and so on. But with most other editions, I have nothing at all to do with my publishers, and the books often arrive out of the blue -- today, among others, I got the first Estonian editions of "Cirque Du Freak", a menacing-looking Norwegian edition of "Slawter", and a hardback Dutch edition of "Koyasan". They were all surprises, especially "Koyasan" -- I didn't realize they were doing it in hardback, and I was delighted when I saw what a great job the publishers had made of it!!! There are a lot of good things about being a writer, but getting exotic copies of your books which you had no idea were on their way ranks WAY up there.

Had a very enjoyable last day in Canada. Did an interview with Rue Morgue in the morning (one of the best horror magazines around -- check it out if you haven't already), then did a final school event. It was in an area which most authors don't go to, but I had a large audience (about 350), they were very enthusiastic, and it was a nice way to wrap up the tour. I definitely hope to come back to Canada in the not-too-distant future, so keep an eye on the Shanville Monthly for more info. After bidding farewell to my Canadian publicist,Charidy, I went to the airport and caught an overnight flight back to London. I got in at 06.30, went to my flat, then made the dreadful mistake of going to the Nickelodeon award ceremony ...

***In the heat of the moment I wrote a long summary of what happened to me at the awards, but in retrospect I've decided to remove that part of the entry. Suffice to say I wasn't happy with what happened there ...***

Anyhoo, I flew back home to Limerick on Sunday and it was a delight to be back on terra firma again. Spent most of the night going through my post and sorting out emails. Watched a couple of espisodes of season 8 of "Frasier" to relax, then hit the sack at midnight and didn't get up until almost 11.30a.m. on Monday!!!! I don't normally sleep in late, but I needed those extra few hours of rest -- big time!! Spent today doing various bits and pieces around my office. I meant to get stuck into an edit of Book 7 of The Demonata but I didn't have time (sorry, Stella!!). Went to visit my grandparents and parents later, then drove into Limerick to watch Spurs play Newcastle on the TV -- we lost 3-1. SIGH. Now I'm off to seek further solace in the witty world of Fraiser & co, before heading up to enjoy more of the wonders of bed -- sometimes sleeping can be the best dang thing in the world!!!!!!

Nearly finished my Canada tour and it's all gone swimmingly so far!! My second day in Vancouver was even better than the first -- three good school events, then a great signing that night -- a very big crowd, and I was signing for an hour and a half!!! Had to get up early the next morning (06.00!!!) to fly to Toronto. Did an event in a big book store that night. It wasn't as big as the Vancouver events, but it was a very good sized crowd for a bookstore. I don't usually enjoy store events as much as those which are set up in other venues -- I'm always having to compete against background noise, passers-by, etc. It's something you just have to do as an author, so I don't moan about it, but it's much nicer when I get a venue like a town hall or school gym, where it's just me and the audience. That said, the people in this particular store had gone to a lot of effort to make it as intimate an experience as possible, even providing me with a small stage from which to address the crowd, so it was better than most store events that I've done in my time!!! This morning I did an interview with CBC radio -- it will be airing on a show called "Definitely Not The Opera", though I'm not sure of the date. Then I did another good school event, before finishing up with a small event in a fab litlte bookstore. Normally I prefer large-scale events, but the staff at the store had personally contacted each of the fans, inviting only hardcore Shansters, so it was a lot of fun!! I've just got one more event, on Friday, in a school, and then that will be that!!! Overall I've really enjoyed my visit -- I've discovered a much larger fan base than I thought I had in Canada! Now that my vampire books are all available here, and now that I've seen I have so many fans here, I'll hopefully be able to return some time in the future, and give more notice next time, to give fans a chance to pitch for me. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who made the effort to come and see me. I hope you all enjoyed the events as much as I did!!!

Have to be quick -- I'm on a hotel PC and I'm almost out of credit!! Flew over to Canada yesterday and arrived safely in Vancouver. Did a couple of school events this morning and they both went well -- older kids than I normally get in the UK (because teachers are more wary of "The Demonata" on this side of the Atlantic!!) but they responded nicely. Then did a very enjoyable public event in the evening. I was worried there might be a low turnout, since this is my first trip here, but lots of fans turned up and I ws signing for well over an hour after my event -- nice!!! It's a top-notch start to the tour -- hopefully the rest of it will pass as smoothly!

Saturday was a day for families. First Bas and I went to visit her brother Justin and his wife and two boys in their new home. The boys are a fun, lively pair, and it was nice to play with them for a few hours and catch up with their parents at the same time. Because this has been such a busy year for me, I haven't seen some of the people in my family as much as I would have liked to. In an ideal world work should never come before family, and I try hard not to let it, but in reality it often does, and sometimes a plan to visit someone in a month or two's time can fall to pieces, and six months or a year can pass, almost without you knowing it!!! I don't know about other people, but the way my brain works is that meetings with people I like usually stay very fresh inside my head, as if they only happened a short while ago. I'm often amazed, when meeting up with an old friend, to find out that a year or more has passed since our last chat together. "That can't be right" I often exclaim. "It only feels like a month!" But the calendar never lies ...

Later my uncle Derek and his wife and son came to our flat. We went to a nearby pub to watch an England footbal match (they beat Estonia 3-0), then went to Covent Garden for a family party to celebrate my grand-aunt Nora's 40th wedding anniversary. It wasn't a huge affair, but most of the people there were people I really like (and in a big family like mine, there are plenty of people I don't know very well or don't have much in common with), so I really enjoyed mingling. I also love Nora and Davey loads, so I was delighted to be able to be there to toast their long-lasting marriage. I was there for their 25th anniversary, and in this case that DOES seem like a long time ago -- I've changed hugely over the last 15 years, and so have many of the others who were there last night, so it was an occasion to look back and marvel at where life has taken us in the decade and a half since we last gathered under similar circumstances. As you get older I think most people find that a lot of life is about introspection, looking back at what you've done, what your friends have done, the hard times, the good times, thinking about the things you might have done differently, etc. In a way we're all story-tellers, and the story of our life is the one we keep returning to and focusing on, re-telling it to ourselves, re-structuring it, revising and editing, remembering bits we thoughts we'd forgotten and forgetting bits we were sure we'd always remember. Our story will never mean as much to others as it does to ourselves, and nobody will ever know it even a fraction of the way we do, but that's what makes it so special -- it's a personal, one-of-a-kind story, unique to each of us, and while it might not mean much in the grand, universal scheme of things, on a personal level it's what gives our lives meaning and allows us to place ourselves in context of life, the universe and everything.

Anyway, the next leg of my life is about to unfold (each day brings a new leg to every person's life, even though we don't normally think much of it), and I'll be heading for the airport soon to catch my flight to Canada. This is my first visit, and I'm looking forward to seeing a small bit of the country and hopefully meeting lots of fans and signing shed-loads of books!!! I'm not sure what sort of internet access I'll have while I'm on the road. I'll try to update my blog as often as possible, but as you guys know, sometimes that just can't be done. So if you don't hear from me for a while, don't panic -- I'll be back soon!!!!!

Went to the Frieze Art Fair in Regent's Park in the morning. This is a HUGE art fair that's held annually in London. It's all contemporary work by modern artists. It was very interesting to walk around, although most of the art on display wasn't my cup of tea -- for me, most of the work was high on concept but low on talent. A lot of new art seems to be all about the idea behind the work, of giving people something that SAYS something, whether it's about society, politics, sex or whatever -- but (in my view) most of it isn't actually any bloody GOOD!!!!! For me, a good work of art involves me and makes me go WOW -- it doesn't just make me nod seriously and think "That's clever." I think artists should always strive to put their talent first, not just come across as being clever. Too much of what I saw today struck me as being of the "Emperor's New Cothes" strand of art-making. Of course, other people will rave about it and claim it's the artistic heart and soul of our modern times -- but I very much doubt if a lot of what I say today will be causing a stir a hundred years from now ...

Having said all that, a few of the pieces DID tickle my fancy or impress me. There were some paintings or sculptures which showed a lot of work and imagination, which made me laugh or ogle. I even bought a couple of pieces, a painting and a sculpture! But, overall, it wasn't for me. Still, to each their own ...

Came back to the flat and sorted through some of my own art pieces -- I have quite a lot of art over here, which I've bought over the last few years, some of which will be staying in the flat, some of which I'm moving back to Ireland. I'd been putting off going through it for ages, but the art fair inspired me into action, so Bas and I spent the afternoon working on it. We even hung a few small pieces up! It's amazing the difference even a minor painting can make to a wall and a room.

Later, we went to see Maximo Park at the Brixton Academy. We arrived only about half an hour before they went on, but we managed to get to the very front! We were off the far left, but it was still a great view. My concert-going tip for people is to always approach the stage from the sides -- you can usually get really close to the front if you're prepared to sacrifice a middle view. The band put on a strong, vibrant set, playing most of the tracks from their two albums. I enjoyed it a lot, though I feel they need at least another album, maybe two, of similar quality to their debut, before they can put on a really great gig -- they have several stand-out songs at the moment, but another several of those they played are just average. The singer, Paul Smith, is a great performer, and he captures the crowd on the better songs. In another couple of years, with 5 or 6 more songs of the claibre of "Under Pressure" and "Graffiti", and they might be one of the best bands around. For now they're still pretenders to the throne. But damn fine pretenders!!!!

Sorry it's taken me so long to get round to this, but the last half of the tour was full-on, and I've been bouncing about the place since finishing!! Anyway, after a hugely successful stint on the south coast, I flew up north and had an equally enjoyable and busy time up there. Newcastle was first up, where I did a couple of schools and a big public signing in the massive Metro Centre -- how big IS that place?!? I did a multi-school event in Kendal the next day -- several schools came to the Kendal leisure centre and I addressed them all at the same time. I really like this format, and we're going to try and do most of our school events this way in the future in the UK and Ireland -- because we get so many requests, it's the fairest, easiest and only way to fit in even a fairly good number of them. By bringing several schools together at the same time, we give far more groups a chance of seeing me -- it's impossible to visit every single school or library that asks for me. So any of you thinking of sending in a pitch for me to my publishers, please note that a willingness to travel (or if you have access to a large venue and you're prepared to help accomodate other groups) will bump you WAY up the waiting list ...

I did a talk and signing in Preston on Friday evening, in a court!! No, not a tennis court -- a court where a judge and jury hear trials!!!!! It was a fun, interesting location, a bit different to my usual type of venue, and I enjoyed the setting tremendously!! It was on to Leeds after that. I got a good night's sleep, while my publicist Geraldine was up dancing the night away with Chris Moyles (heh heh -- sorry, Geraldine, I couldn't resist!!!!). Did two good signings the next day, in Wakefield and Leeds, then went on to Manchester, where I did a big public signing on Sunday at WHSmith in the Arndale centre, then signed stock at 3 more shops later in the day. On Monday we finished up in York, where I did one final school event (I finished with my favourite scene, the hand-biting one from "Cirque Du Freak"), and one last public signing in the afternoon ... and that was that!!! Overall it was an excellent tour -- huge turnouts, lots of copies of "Demon Apocalypse" bought by fans, no crap schools (I usually get at least one stinker, but this time they were all top-notch!), nice hotels, perfect organisation. It was busy, but much less so than my massive "Blood Beast" tour, and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Also, because it was half the length of the BB tour, I never got to the stage where I was sick of signing copies of the book! I have to admit, after 3 weeks of writing similar messages in endless copies of BB, I could have quite happily never looked at another copy of that book again!!! But I don't feel that way with "Demon Apocalypse". Maybe I'll stick to the 10 or 11 day tours in future, to keep things more interesting for myself -- I always think that if an author's having fun on the road, that comes through, and people enjoy his events and signings more. I was able to do a lot more talking to people in lines on this tour, because I wasn't as exhausted as I was in the last half of the BB tour four months ago!!!!

As always, endless thanks to Geraldine, Mary, Catherine and Emma for organising the tour, escorting me around, and ensuring everything passed as smoothly as possible. And everybody else who helped out in any way, shape or form along the way -- you're too innumerable to mention, but I appreciate the input of each and every one of you!!! And, of course, my greatest thanks as ever to those of you who turned up to say hello to me, whether you were a long-established fan who'd seen me before (and I met some fans who'd seen me 7or more years ago!!), or a brand new fan who was coming to meet me for the first time. You guys are what it's all about at the end of the day, and as long as you lot keep turning up, so will I!!!!

Got back to London on Monday night, then went to visit Bas's aunt the next day. Mary is a Carmelite nun -- she lives in an enclosed order in a convent near Norwich. We spent a couple of days there, chatting with her and relaxing. It was a nice way to calm down after the tour! We also got to visit Banham zoo, which impressed us both -- if you're in the area, it's definitely worth a visit! We got back to the flat late on Wednesday, then strolled around central London for a while today, before going to see a new version of "Glengarry Glen Ross" at the theatre. Jonathan Pryce is the star. I've seen him before on stage and he was electric, and he was brilliant as usual tonight -- he's one of the most commanding and charismatic actors I've seen live. If you can ever catch him (in anything), do. He could make even the dullest of plays seem like a classic! And in a strong play like GGR, he leaves you feeling dazed and slightly awed.