Edited another 40+ pages of Book 8 of The Demonata. The trimming was less drastic than yesterday, though I still found plenty of ways to tighten things up. Watched another episode of The Sopranos. My friend Pa popped down for a visit -- he's a cool musician and you should definitely check out his MySpace page if you haven't already. (He's one of my Top Friends, so you can find the link on my main page.) I watched the film Green Street (known in the States as Hooligans). Better than I thought it would be, though unfortunately it lapses into the hysterical mode that most films about football hooliganism fall into. It's a bit like those old movies set in mining towns years ago -- there was always a tragedy down the pit at some stage. Similarly, with recent films about football hooligans, there are some core staples -- the young thugs coming up against the older geezers, a BIG showdown fight between rivals -- that crop up all the time. Of course that's part and parcel of what footie hooliganism is all about, so you can't entirely escape it -- but it's a pity film-makers don't look for more original ways to tackle the subject.

Replied to 20 fan letters after watching the film. I picked up a load off of Pablo during the week, which will take me a while to get through, though anyone who's written to be before early November should get a response before Christmas (though I can't make any promises!!!).

Some BIG Darren Shan news broke in the media today. I was hoping to send out an email about it myself, but I haven't been given the all-clear yet, so I've had to wait a while. But if you're keen enough, and do some canny web surfing, you should be able to beat me to the punch and find out for yourself before I make the news public ...

Started re-editing book 8 of The Demonata today. This is probably the last edit I'll do solo, i.e. before my editor gets back to me with her notes about it. I started by cutting out most of the opening chapter!! A lot of it was recap, telling about things that had happened in earlier books. I always find it helpful to include a summary of what's gone on before when I'm starting a later book in the series, as it helps me refresh events in my own mind. But as I move closer to the final edit, I usually cut out most of the recaps, as they're not really necessary, and in fact can be downright annoying for fans -- "Why is he telling us things we already know? Does he think we're so stupid we can't remember what happened before?!?" It's essential, when working on a series, to provide just enough info for newcomers (and those who might not have read the older books in quite a while) to be able to follow what's going on. But "just enough" is usually all you should include. Sometimes a bit more is needed, but you should always be wary of including too much background filler. Write plenty for yourself - as I did with the early drafts of book 8 - but be prepared to slice it down when you're coming closer to your final edit.

One of the good things of doing an edit quite soon after another (I did an edit of book 8 only a few months ago) is that it helps you spot the flaws quicker. I find that if I leave a story for several months or a year, it's a pleasure to return to it, and sometimes I treat it a bit too respectfully. Having working on book 8 such a short time ago, I'm a little irritated returning to it now, so I want it to flow as smoothly as possible, so that I don't have too much to do on it next time round. Being a bit irritable, I'm quick to spot sections that aren;t working or need to be cut or severly rewritten. It's quite satisfying cutting out material in this state of mind, almost like punishing a naughty child -- "You offend me, foul line, so I shall banish you from this book forevermore!!!!!" Writing a book is a labour of love, but sometimes you have to ... not exactly hate ... but feel a bit p****d-off at it. Books need knocking into shape, and it's easier to slap a book about if you have the hump with it and are looking to kick its literary ass!!!!!!!

Enjoying season 1 of The Twilight Zone. Though dated, most of the episodes stand up remarkably well, and they have surprisingly high production values -- good actors, decent sets, professional camerawork, skillful scores. I thought they might be a bit of a chore to sit through, but so far I'm having a whale of a time! Also saw The Devil Wears Prada. VERY different, of course, but to my surprise I actually liked it. I've no real interest in fashion (as anyone who's met me at a signing or event will have noticed very quickly!), but this was a fun look into a world I'd otherwise never get anywhere near. That's one of the things I like most about movies -- they can take you places you'd not think of going. It went off the boil near the end - too sappy - but for the most part it held my attention and made me smile. And who knows -- maybe some of that fashion sense will rub off, and next time you see me on the road I'll be decked out in the season's latest hot clothes ... dahling!!!!!!

Reading through Jonathan Carroll's blog today (as I do almost every day -- it's the only blog I check out regularly), I came across an interesting quote by the poet Rilke, who was responding to a fan who wanted to know how to make sense of the great dilemmas of life:

"Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for answers, which could not be given to you now because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer. Perhaps you do carry within you the possibility of creating and forming, as an especially blessed and pure way of living: train yourself for that. But whatever comes, with great trust, and as long as it comes out of your will, out of some need of your innermost self, then take it upon yourself, and don't hate anything."

I forwarded this (and the rest of the blog entry) to Bas's aunt Mary, a Carmelite nun -- I just felt she'd be interested. Later she responded with the following quotes:

'There is no such thing as an answer, but if one can stay in front of the question, if one can stay open to the fact that there is always a question and there is always a new situation: in other words there are no pills, there are no given answers; that one has to be really open to confront something as if for the first time, now - the present.  And it's not yesterday and it's not tomorrow but it's today.  The question is right now and it's a question of life.'
I often get asked about my beliefs. Do I believe in a God or gods? In reincarnation? Am I an athiest? My answer has always been a very polite "None of your business!!!" I don't think a writer's beliefs should matter to his/her readers. I'm not looking to express my beliefs through my writing (unlike, say, C S Lewis with the Narnia books). I'm happy to let my characters believe in their own things, to explore their views of life and the universe with them. Sometimes some of those views coincide to some extent with my own. Sometimes they're entirely different. Anyway, as I said, I've always been fairly blunt about telling people I don't want to discuss my beliefs. But those few quotes have made me re-think my position a bit, and not being one to willingly offend people (and I know some people DO take offense when I'm secretive about my beliefs, being of the mindset that if you don't pin your religious colours to a mast, you're somehow being dishonest with them), I think in future, when asked, I will smile enigmatically and answer in my most profound whisper:

"I believe in questions."

Finished my latest edit of Book 7 of The Demonata today, which I was very happy about. I feckon there will be one more thorough edit (when my editor comes back with detailed notes), then a couple of more tidy-up drafts -- and that will be that!! Time flies by so quickly when you're working on a book. I started the first draft of Book 7 back in May 2005. I knew I had 3 years to work on it, which seemed like more time that I could ever possibly need, yet here I am now and it's almost time to put the baby to bed!! You have to be VERY patient to be a writer -- nothing happens quickly in this business! The trick to getting your head around it and not getting frustrated is to never think about all the time the book is going to take before it gets published. I know, when I first sit down with a story, that it will be years before it sees print -- but I don't focus on that. I don't even think about it. I just get on with the current job at hand (finishing the first draft), then set it aside for a while and don't think about it. Next time round, I do the same, focus on doing my editing, then set it aside again and don't think about it. Before I know it, 3 years have passed and BANG -- it's history!!!! Writing can be scary if you stop to think about all the time and effort and problems involved in taking a book or story all the way to print -- SO DON'T THINK ABOUT IT!!! If that seems facetious, it's not -- I think that's the best bit of advice I could ever give. It might not seem like much if you're just starting out and thinking "Three years? No way!! That guy's just slow -- I'll get my work published in a month or two, tops!!!!!" But those of you who are serious about being writers, take note -- the waters of writing are riddled with dragons, but they can only cause you problems if you CHOOSE to focus on them. If you look away and ignore them, they cease to really exist ...

Started watching the original series of The Twilight Zone last night, the one from 1959. Saw the first two episodes. They're dated, obviously, and nowhere near as creepy as the best shows from the series, but still pretty good even judged by today's standards. This is the first time I've sat and watched the originals. I saw lots of the episodes made in the 1980s, but the older ones weren't readily available when I was growing up. I'm looking forward to immersing myself in the "fifth dimension" over the next few weeks and soaking up lots of crazy plots and situations -- hopefully they'll help spark off some fresh ideas of my own!!! (Not that I'm running out of them! But you can never have too many ideas if you're a writer!!!) I'm also looking forward to hearing the famous theme music -- it wasn't on the first couple of episodes ... In fact, the music is largely what brought me round to the series. I've had it on my shelf for many months, but in Orlando recently I went on the Tower Of Terror ride, and I grinned when I heard that spooky tune, and thought, "That reminds me -- I must start watching the series when I get back home ..."

Saw Spiderman 3 tonight. I wasn't expecting much - almsot everyone who told me about it said it wasn't as good as the first two films - but I enjoyed it for the most part. It was half an hour too long, and it probably didn't need three villains, and some of its more patriotic touches (such as Spidey bouncing across the face of a flag) were ridiculous -- though I think they might have been meant to be taken ironically -- well, I laughed at them anyway!!!! But, for the most part, it was pretty cool. My favourite bits were when Peter was being bad -- personally, I LOVED the sight of Spidey kicking ass and killing people (even though the two he supposedly killed both turned up again later in the film)!!!!!!! If I ever made a Spidey film, I'd have cannibals eat his girlfriend, and I'd then have Spidey track the cannibals down and eat them all, one by one -- now THAT would be the coolest superhero movie EVER!!!!!!!!!!

Night night folks -- sleep tight!!

I've been sleeping late ever since getting back from Florida mid-week. Most mornings I haven't been getting up until after 10 -- and today it was after 10.20!!! Normally I rise at or before 9, but I've felt exhausted since getting back, not just after all the roller-coasters, but from spending much of the last seven months travelling, either on work or hols. It's nice to spend some real time at home, not having to worry about packing a bag or having all my travel documents in place. A bit boring, obviously -- but nice!! Also, since I'm editing, I don't have to be quite as strict in my work routines as I normall am. I can afford to sleep in for a while, so why not?!? That's one of the perks of working for yourself!!!

Edited a bit more of Book 7 of The Demonata when I finally rose. My plan is to finish it off tomorrow, then move on to books 8, 9 and 10 again -- it's not very long since I last did an edit of them, but if I do another now, while I'm "in the zone", I think they'll benefit. The last four books are very tightly knit together, and I like working on them as a unit -- that way I can make sure everything ties together neatly and not get confused. The first six books of the series were the set-up -- the last four are when it kicks into high gear and all the plot threads gel and ignite an explosion of ideas, story-lines and action scenes. It's hot stuff, and I'm working hard to ensure it's as sharp and tight-knit as I can get it before the books start rolling out to you lot next year!!!

Forgot to mention the other night that I finished season 8 of Frasier. While it wasn't quite as superb as the very best seasons, it was still mighty impressive, and I enjoyed it far more than I thought it would. There are signs that it's beginning to run out of fresh ideas, but so far it's still one of the finest sitcoms of the last 15 years. I'm also well into season 6 of The Sopranos -- as usual, it oozes class, albeit of a sleazy, vicious kind!!! Finally, I saw the film of The Thief Lord today, and I'm afraid I was decidedly underimpressed. I haven't read the book, but I know it has lots of fans, so I guess this is one of those cases where a movie failed to do justice to its source material. It didn't look like it had a big budget, and the cast and dialogue were mostly fairly wooden. Some nice ideas and bright scenes, but for the most part it was dull as dishwater.

I've had a busy couple of days, editing Book 7 of The Demonata. The book is split into three sections (and before any bright spark moots the idea that that's because it features three narrators -- it doesn't -- each book of The Demonata will be told by just one person), and it sort of works like a three-act play. Act 1 is set in a specific location, ditto most of Acts 2 and 3, and each Act revolves around a battle. As I'm sure I've said before on this blog, structure is VERY important to me. I'm always playing around with ways to structure and pace a story. I often go along with the simplest way, where you start slow and build up to the action (book 8 will be one of those), since that's more often than not the best way to tell a tale. But I like to pepper my work with different approaches -- I think it's good to experiment and not just settle for what you know you can do. I'm very pleased with the way Book 7 sits together, and I hope you guys are pleased too when you get to read it!!!

Of course, the trouble with experiments is they can sometimes go wrong, and evidence of that came when I watched Death Proof by Quentin Tarantino tonight. It's the second half of the GrindHouse movie, and Tarantino's first film since Kill Bill. I wasn't expecting too much, having read many dodgy reviews, and sadly it didn't prove my low expectations wrong. I'm a big Tarantino fan. I remember catching Reservoir Dogs when it was first released, and though I wasn't as blown away by it as some critics and fans, I thought it was a great film and I had high hopes for its yooung director's future. Those hopes were rewarded unbelievably with Pulp Fiction -- one of my ten favourite films of all time. Like Dogs, it played around with structure and was all the better because of it. I guessed it would be virtually impossible for Tarantino to ever top Pulp Fiction, and that's proved to be the case, but I've always greatly enjoyed everything he's directed or worked on as a scriptwriter -- until now. Death Proof just doesn't work, even as a pastiche of 70s throwaway movies. Kurt Russell is perfectly cast, the girls are beautiful to look at, and the actions scenes on the road are perfect. But the long, aimless stretches of dialogue between the ladies make the film seem twice as long as it is. Tarantino's main strength has always been his ear for a great line, but here there are no memorable lines, the references to other movies seem forced, and the whole thing just plays out very limply. A major disappointment.

Returned to my editing duties on book 7 of The Demonata today, armed with my editor's first set of notes. The way the books come together is like this -- I usually do 4 or 5 drafts by myself; then I show the book to my editor. She reads through it a couple of times, then sends me a short list of her general recommendations and comments, e.g. a certain chapter might be a bit slow, or she might think part of the book needs to be cut down or expanded. I then go back and do another draft. She reads that, then sends me a more detailed list of more specific comments and queries. Once I go back over it again, the hard work is usually done, although I'll normally go through it at least once or twice more, fine-tuning and focusing on really small details. Does that sound like a lot of work? Well, I guess it is -- but if you spread it out over 2 or 3 years, as I normally do, it tends to make it easier -- you don't feel as if the book is taking over your life, and you get to work on other books, so it feels fresh every time you return to it. I think most writers focus on one book at a time, doing their re-writes one after the other, until the book is finished. But I find this way of working much more fun!!! Of course, you need a brain that can go away from a story for a year and still keep it alive somewhere at the back of your mind, so that you can pick up smoothly when you return to it -- but I think our brains can be much more flexible than we believe they are, if only we test them ...

Saw Planet Terror, half of the GrindHouse set of movies made by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino earlier this year. I really enjoyed it -- I felt it captured the style and feel of those creaky old 70s movies, but without degenerating into a pointless copy of them. It was imaginative and well paced, with some laugh-out loud and gross-out moments. No classic, but highly enjoyable and skillfully crafted. I'm looking forward to watching the Tarantino piece too, probably within the next few days.

Went to Disney/MGM Studios on our last day. It was OK, but busier than the other parks had been, and a bit thin on rides. Still, it was nice to do something different on our final day (although we'd been there before on a precious visit). Got to the airport in plenty of time, and arrived in London a bit early after a smooth, hassle-free flight -- although, after suffering a tender bottom when I went on some high, fast water rides earlier in the week, I was feeling a bit numb in my lower regions by the end of the flight!!!!! To kill time, we caught the train to our flat, where we rested up for a couple of hours, before returning to Gatwick and flying home to Ireland. Had dinner at my aunt's house and told her and her hubbie about the holiday. Then, bidding the kids farewell, we came home. I caught up with my post and emails, watched a few episodes of "Frasier", then hit the sack at midnight ...

... and slept almost straight through to midday!! I say almost because my agent rang me with some news at 10.00a.m. -- but it was very good news, so I didn't mind!!!! (I'll be sharing it with you all in the near future, but can't comment at the moment, so don't ask...) Had a lazyish day after that -- did some stuff on the web, answered some emails, took things easy. Received the following nice email from a teacher called Russ in the States:

Hi Mr. Shan! I am a 6th grade Reading teacher here in Dallas, TX., USA. We have your Cirque du Freak series in our library and are slowly but surely building our Lord Loss series. I was noticing that kids were checking out the books and decided to give it a try myself. I started with number one in the Cirque series and then finished number 12 within three weeks. I loved them so much as they took me back to being a kid again. This was the stuff that I enjoyed when I was little. I wanted to thank you for making these books so accessable to children as well as adults. Please note that I have all my kids turned on to both of your series and they "fight" over them and actually go to the public library to reserve what we don't carry or is checked out. Again - thanks and keep up the awesome work! If ever in Dallas, stop by J.L. Long Middle School - we would love to have you!!

As I told Russ, I will probably (it isn't confirmed yet) next be coming to the States on tour in October 2008. Keep an eye on the Shanville Monthly -- if the tour gets the go-ahead, at some stage in the spring or early summer I'll be posting info about how to "pitch" for me and giving tips on how to increase your chances of organizing a Darren Shan visit.

Almost at the end of my short holiday in Orlando. It's been a jam-packed, crazy, exhausting week -- but that's the way I like it!!! I guess I'm a bit hyper in many ways. When I travel (either for work or pleasure) I try to pack in as much as I can. I've been finding the pace a bit too fast for liking in recent times -- I think I'm slowing up a bit physically -- but I still push myself to experience as much as I can when I'm on the road. On this holiday we've been getting up at 07.30 most mornings, making our way swiftly around all the various theme parks, going on our favourite rides several times, getting back to our hotel at 8.00 or 9.00pm most nights, to fall into bed and sleep soundly after watching a bit of TV. We had a relaxing day on Saturday, when we went to Discovery Cove, where we got to play with and swim with a dolphin, then drift around their coral reef and lazy river -- and it was a delicious treat! I've never been much of a one for beach holidays or lying around when on vacation, but maybe I'll start working a few quieter days into my schedules when I travel in future...

Anyway, exhaustion aside, it's been a fabulous week. Went to Busch Gardens today, which boasts probably my favourite roller coasters in Florida -- Kumba and Gwazi are world-class, and Shiekra and another, Egyptian-themed coaster (whose name I can't recall) are high up there too! It's a bit out of the way, but definitely worth making the trip if you're ever in Orlando. Tomorrow we're going to do the MGM theme park before catching our flight back home. Normal service should resume on this blog from Tuesday or Wednesday. See you all back here then!

Happy Halloween everyone!!!! I hope you're all having (or had) a fab, spooky time!! I'm saving my scares until Thursday, when I'm going to a Halloween Horror Night at Universal Studios in Orlando, where I'm on holiday at the moment. I've had a great, frantic couple of days. Flew over on Monday, then raced straight into action on Tuesday, hitting Islands of Adventure. The park was very quiet (this is our third time here, but we came in June/July previously) and it was perfect for getting around -- we didn't spend more than 10 minutes in any line, and got to go on all of our favourite rides at least twice -- it was brilliant!!! I'm a bit disappointed that the park hasn't been updated since we were last here, over two years ago, but all the old rides are just as good as ever. The Hulk, SpiderMan, Popeye's Bilge Rat Barges, and Duelling Dragons stand out as my favourites. In the afternoon we visited Wet 'n' Wild for a short visit (it shuts at 5, which is the only real downside of coming at this time of year), and got through most of the slides -- we'll pop back again later in the week to take care of those we missed this time!

Today we went to Sea World in the morning. Our plan was to go on Kraken a few times right at the beginning -- it's probably the best roller-coaster in Orland, a large, fast, beast of a ride!! But it wasn't operating because of technical difficulties! We kept checking back over the course of the day, without any joy. There's plenty of other stuff to do in Sea World, and we saw most of the animals, fed the rays, etc. But Kraken was our main reason for visiting, so we were quite upset. Finally, at 1.30pm, we decided to call it a day and head back to our hotel. But we gave Kraken one last chance before leaving -- and to our delight, it reopened just before we meant to leave!!! We went on it 3 times in quick succession, then staggered out of the park on legs of jelly, with big smiles on our faces!! After that we went shopping (not my choice, but Bas and the kids wanted to check out one of the malls, and who am I to argue with a democracy?!?). We got back about 8.00pm and I put on a scary film for the kids -- 1408. I'm just going to watch some TV for the rest of the night and take it easy. Not the most exciting way to spend Halloween, I know, but tomorrow night should make up for all that -- terror ahoy!!!!!!!!!