Finished my most recent edit of Book 4 of "The Demonata". My editor will get back to me early in January with some overall notes and suggestions and I'll do another edit. Then she'll go through that i more detail and provide me with a list of comments and suggested changes, and I'll edit it again. And that will be the bulk of the work completed -- it will go to the proofs stage then, and I might make some VERY minor last-minute adjustments, but it will be pretty much done and dusted. So I'm close to the end!!!!! I like this book more and more each time I read it. On one hand it's a simple quest story. On the other it's about capturing the feel of a specific time and place (something I don't do very often). I'm also looking forward to the scratching of heads that will take place when fans of the first three books read it and wonder how exactly it links in with them -- only to have the answers to that revealed in books 5, 6 and beyond ...

Picked up a HUGE pile of letters from Pablo today. I still have letters going back to October and November that I haven't found time to answer yet, so if you've sent a letter to me any time within the last three months and haven't received a reply yet -- PLEASE BE PATIENT!!!! I will reply eventually -- I've just fallen behind because of all the travelling I was doing lately and the amount of seasonal mail that's been coming through. I'd hope to be back up to speed by mid or late January ...

Went to Shannon with Bas this afternoon to pick up her parents, who are staying with us over the Christmas holidays. Their flight was delayed, so we were at the airport an hour and half in total. Went for dinner in Durty Nellies (a famous pub in Bunratty) after that. I plan to go in to one or both of the local pubs soon -- the Christmas festivities start here!!!!!!!

Watched the original 1933 "King Kong" tonight with the three cousins I took to the cinema to see the remake (Lorcan, Kealan and Tiernan). It had been a few years since I saw it. I hadn't realized just how closely Peter Jackson had stuck to it, and how much of it he'd incorporated into his version -- the adverts in Times Square are the same, loads of lines have been transferred intact, etc. Watching the two so close to each other shows just how much of a labour of love it was for him. I think that's why it worked -- normally, with remakes, just about everything is jettisoned in favour of new, modern material. Here, Jackson simply wanted to expand upon the original film and make it appealing to a 21st century audience, while maintaining the heart and core of the original. The only real major difference is the relationship between Kong and Anne Darrow. The original, in a way, was more realisitic -- Darrow looked upon Kong as a savage beast, and although we the audience saw his sweet side and felt pity for him at the end, she kept on screaming with horror all the way through. In the remake Darrow reciprocates much of Kong's love and plays around with him. This makes his death more emotional, but it also humanises in an unrealistic way. I can see why Jackson did that, and I think it works well, but it does soften Kong quite a lot compared to the roaring, destructive beast he originally was.

One final word on the matter -- I was delighted by just how much my cousins enjoyed the original. They weren't looking forward to watching a 1930s black and white film, especially having just seen the remake. Tiernan even said straight out that he didn't want to watch it. But, as creaky as the effects are in comparion to the remake, the story sucked them right in and they enjoyed it almost as much as I did. Proof that, no matter how dated a film might become technically, a good, cracking, fast-paced, moving story can stand the test of time and work for ANY audience!! For those of you who want to experience more great 1930s fantastical movies, may I suggest "The Invisible Man", "The Man Who Could Work Miracles", "Things To Come" (uneven and stodgy in places compared to the others, but fascinating), "Frankenstein" and, probably the decade's finest, and maybe the finest mix of horror, fantasy and comedy ever, the incomparable "Bride of Frankenstein".

Edited another 40+ pages of Book 4 of "The Demonata". Almost finished -- I'm hoping to wrap it up tomorrow, allowing me to break cleanly for Christmas and New Year's.

Liam Fitz, my web designer, has jazzed up the "secret" zone of Shanville, adding some neat graphics and giving it its own home page. If you've already become a Shanster, or registered for the Shanville Monthly in the past, you can go check it out now. Otherwise you can join the club by clicking here: http://darrenshan.com/phplist/?p=subscribe

Saw "King Kong" earlier tonight -- brilliant stuff!!! The first third could and probably should have been trimmed (I saw no need to spend quite so much time on the Jamie Bell character), but it didn't put a foot wrong from the moment the ship entered the fog around Skull Island. This is modern, CGI-heavy movie-making at it finest! I was reminded, while watching it, of how much more can be done these days in movies -- the Kong versus three T-Rex's scene simply couldn't have been filmed in the 80s or 90s, or certainly not to such stunning, smooth effect. We're living in an age where movies can take us to completely new worlds in a truly realistic way -- modern film-makers actually have the tools to do all the things that sci-fi, fantasy and horror buffs of earlier generations wished to do and tried do but could never realistically pull off. But most of that technology is wasted on trash like "Van Helsing" (one of the worst film's I've ever seen!), "League of Gentlemen" (not so bad, but still pretty poor), etc. etc. etc. It's wonderful to see a talented director making full use of the miraculous tools available and turning out hard-hitting, fast-paced, imaginative, emotionally layered fantasies. More please!!!!

Did have to smile, though, when Jackson took the same "How the hell did they get the ape onto the boat?!?" approach as the original movie -- he just completely ignored the logistical problems and moved the action straight to New York!!!! It's a move I approve of heartily -- sometimes the story is more important than the details!!!!

Also smiled when I was remembering Jackson's earlier movies. I was one of his fans from back in the early 90s, when I caught films like "Bad Taste" and "Meet the Feebles" -- worlds removed from his current family-friendly blockbusters!!! I'm sure some innocent kids have rented "Feebles" on the strength of Jackson's being the director, and have encountered an entirely different beast to "Kong"!!!! I think that's one of the funniest films I've ever seen, the highlight of Jackson's pre-"Rings" oeuvre -- but I certainly wouldn't show it to any young kids!!!! Well, not unless I wanted to REALLY mess up their minds!!!!!!!!!!

One final recollection which left me grinning -- I remember my Mum telling me that she and my Dad used to take me to a big public park in London when I was very young. I think it might have been in Crystal Palace. There was a statue of a gorilla there, and I used to stop in front of it, jump up and down, beat my chest and make ape noises at the top of my voice!!! Apparently I used to freak out any other kids who were around, and their parents used to pull them away very quickly lest they be attacked by the apparently psycho ape boy!!!!!!!!!

Away from all things ape, I edited another 30 or so pages of Book 4 of "The Demonata" and saw the final episode of "Doctor Who". Felt it was a suitable finale -- liked the way they worked in the "Bad Wolf" references throughout the series! A pity that Ecclestone only signed up for one season though -- his chemistry with Billie Piper really came to the fore and grew in the last few episodes and I think they could have done much more together if they'd had more time. Oh well, we'll just have to see how the new doctor clicks with her. I hope there's more of Captain Jack too -- I think he was my favourite character out of them all!!!!!

Treated myself to "Babette's Feast" on Monday night. It's a great Danish film from the mid 1980s. I hadn't seen it in quite a few years. It's a quiet, gently paced film, full of small, delicious treats. It's about self-sacrifice, love, friendship -- and great food!! I've found in recent years that lots of the films I loved in my teens and early 20s don't really have the same impact these days (I'm getting crankier and harder to please as I grwo older!!). But this one delighted me just as much now as when I first saw it 15 or more years ago.

Edited another good chunk of Book 4 of "The Demonata" yesterday. I'm not having to change much, just make minor adjustments and corrections. I'm REALLY pleased with this one -- it moves fluidly and neatly, and I find the characters are interesting, amusing and involving, even though they're all from Celtic Ireland and thus not quite as easy to identify with as a modern-day character!!!!

Watched "Kingdom of Heaven" -- interesting subject matter, quite boringly handled. It looked nice, but it didn't have any real story to propel it along, and Orlando Bloom's sudden leap from blacksmith to military genius was just plain dumb!!! A damp squib of a film.

Also saw the penultimate episode of "Doctor Who" -- exciting stuff!!! My only real gripe with the series is the trailers they show at the end of each episode before the credits -- they give WAY too much away!! I didn't WANT to know that the Daleks were returning -- it would have been much more effective if it had come as a complete surprise!!!!!!

Started editing book 4 of "The Demonata". This one is set over 1,500 years in the past, in a land beseiged by demons -- I look upon it as historical horror!!! I've carefully researched the book, and all the locations and customs described are accurate to the best of my knowledge and ability. All I've added to fact are a few demons (well ... a LOT of demons, actually!!) and a twenty-first century narrative pace. I'm very pleased with the result. The first draft was radically different to the book as it stands now, much rougher and weaker, but as I've re-worked it and fit it in with the other books in the series, it's grown far beyond what I originally intended. I think, in its own way, for a number of reasons, it might even be my favourite book of the series -- though that's not to say it's the best!! As ever, that will be for you, the fans, to decide ...

Saw another episode of "Doctor Who". Went for my usual walk after lunch. My schedule changes slightly in the winter. In summer I normally go for a walk in the evening or even at night. But with it getting dark not long after 4.00pm at this time of year, I now go for a walk in the early afternoon. I prefer walking later - I tend not to get as much done after I get back as I would if I started working again straight after lunch - but c'est la vie!!!

Watched "A Gathering Storm" this evening, a TV film about Winston Churchill in the 1930s. Interesting and very watchable, but the cast - Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave, Ronnie Barker and a host of other familiar actors - were stronger than the material. Winston was an interesting character -- a tough, sometimes nasty piece of work, disliked by most of the British public for much of his life, who just happened to be the right man in the right place at the right time, to save England (and the rest of the world) from the Nazis, stop Hitler in his tracks, and eventually lead the Allies to victory (with a little help from his American friends, of course!). I'm of the opinion that most leaders are simple servants of the great events of their times, and that one prime minister or president is pretty much the same as any other. But there are exceptions, leaders who shape history rather than let themselves be manipulated by it. Churchill was a leader who was individualistic in the most positive of lights. Our current American Main Man, Bush the younger, is an example of a leader who has an equally individualistic but totally negative impact on the world!!! I always think of Forrest Gump when I see Georgie Boy in action. It's like some force in the universe wanted to know what it would be like if Forrest had wound up running affairs at the White House -- and so gave us the great George Bush Jnr to find out ... "Run, George, run!!!!"

Finished editing "Slawter"!!!! Very pleased with the final work. I've tightened it up nicely, made lots of little nips and tucks which, while unremarkable and unnoticeable in and of themselves, should add up to make it a smoother, faster, more enjoyable reading experience that it otherwise would have been. The book itself isn't, in my view, the best in the series -- I don't think it's as scary as "Lord Loss", as fluid or twisty as "Demon Thief", or as dark and hard-hitting as some of the later "Demonata" books. But it's creepy, fast-moving fun; it advances the character of Grubbs; it teaches us more about the workings of magic; it expands upon some of the themes and background details from the first two books; it contains some material which will read very differently in light of events in later books; and overall serves its purpose very neatly. I look upon it as the "Vampire's Assistant" of this series -- a book which is more important in the grander scheme of things than in its own right. Although, having said that, I've met LOADS of fans who say "Vampire's Assistant" was their favourite book of "The Saga", and I definitely think this is better than that book was, so I suspect this will prove to be some readers' favourite of "The Demonata"!!!!!!

Watched "Goodfellas" again last night. I can remember when I first saw it at the cinema back in 1990 with Pablo and another friend of mine, David O'Dwyer. (*aside* We all called him Rick. He was the worst golfer I've ever seen. Which makes it rather ironic that he lost the sight in one of his eyes recently in a freak golfing accident!!!!) Pablo acclaimed it as an instant classic. I was less fulsome with my praise -- a great film, yes, but not a CLASSIC. I'm still of that opinion. It's wonderfully filmed, and the acting is amazing, but I wouldn't put it in the same class as "Taxi Driver" or "Raging Bull".

Forgot to mention that I saw the Stephen Spielberg "War of the Worlds" a few days ago. Thought it was OK, but an odd choice for him to tackle. It was a very limited story, and moved a bit stiffly. Nice effects -- but we've known for a couple of decades that Spielberg can do good effects. This seemed to be a bit of a lazy project for him, something he did to keep his hand in while he waits for something bigger and better to come along.

Finally on the movie front, I saw a TV movie called "A House in Umbria" tonight. Starring Maggie Smith and the late Ronnie Barker (one of my all-time favourite TV actors), it's a very nice film about a writer living in Italy who takes in some survivors of a bomb blast. Carefully structured and paced, it's not an exciting film, but there's much to enjoy, and quite a few plot strands which develop neatly and not always expectedly over the course of the story. Most enjoyable.

Also saw Spurs play away to Middlesborough on the TV. A 3-3 thriller!!! To be honest, we were a bit lucky to get a point -- we were behind twice, and our goalie had to make a few world-class saves. Having said that, we almost nicked a win late in the game!!! That's the glory of football -- regardless of how well or badly you play, of how much you deserve or don't deserve a result, anything can always happen. On a match to match basis, it's one of the most unpredictable sports in the world -- I think that's one of the reasons why, globally, it's also the most popular.

Edited another 40+ pages of "Slawter" yesterday (Friday). The editing process is so much more fun than the first draft stage!! It's nice to have all the words in front of me and just have the job of fiddling about with them and making minor adjustments. I like the hard creativity of the first draft, of bringing a book into life out of nothing, watching it grow and change and develop. But editing's definitely a lot more enjoyable and easier!!!!

Went to see one of my favourite Irish bands, Fred - http://www.fredtheband.com/framepage.htm - play in Dolans Upstairs last night. They're a fun-filled, poptastic, tight-knit band who play great, entertaining tunes and seem to get at least as much of a kick out of their gigs as their fans do. I've seen them several times in Limerick, and there's always been a big turnout for them. But it was very quiet last night -- a disappointingly small crowd. They played a great gig regardless, very professional, but it's a shame that they haven't moved on to bigger, better things by now. Fred deserve to be playing much larger venues than Dolans Upstairs -- and, at the very least, if they DO have to play small venues, those venues should be packed to the rafters!! But, alas, last night it wasn't. In music, as in writing and art, hard work and talent aren't always enough. Some bands never get that lucky break, and as good as they are, they never rise as high as they should. It's looking like Fred will never make any sort of real commercial breakthrough, and that truly is a pity. But c'est la vie! At least those who have gone to their gigs and listened to their albums will be able to tell the rest of the world, "Once ... there was a band ... and they were one of the coolest bands around ..."

Watched a few more episodes of "Doctor Who". Edited another 40 or so pages of "Slawter" today (Saturday). Saw a 1970s Japanese film called "Vengeance is mine". A serial killer flick, but nothing like the Hollywood serial killer films of recent times -- this was much more subtly structured and themed. A bit on the long side, but well acted and mostly engrossing.

Started my final full edit of "Slawter" (the third "Demonata" book) yesterday. My editor's sent me lots of notes and recommended little changes and deletions. Small stuff, but the devil's the details!! Once I get through this edit, the book will go to what's called the Proofs stage -- that's when it will be typeset, i.e. printed up the way it will appear when the book is published. At that stage I'll have one final read-through, looking for any tiny mistakes, making VERY minor adjustments. But this is the last REAL edit that I'll do on the book, the last chance I have to make real changes. The book's about the same length as the last two -- 184 pages on my computer. Got through 45 of those yesterday -- the entire first section of the book. Because "Slawter" is a Grubbs book, I have to recap certain events from "Lord Loss", so it doesn't flow quite as smoothly at the beginning as "Lord Loss" or "Demon Thief". But it doesn't feel TOO static -- I've worked hard at tightening it up and telling the back story as concisely and unobtrusively as possible.

Watched another episode of "Doctor Who". I'm enjoying it a lot -- a nice mix of action, intrigue and comedy. Then, in the night, Bas and I took three of my cousins (Lorcan, Kealan and Tiernan) to see the new Narnia movie, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". They all liked it, but I have to say it didn't do much for me. I never read the book as a kid, only when I was at university. I thought it was an OK book, but it didn't overly excite me, and the film didn't either. I felt it was at least half an hour to forty-five minutes too long ... it moved very slowly in the first two-thirds ... it didn't make as much use of the stunning New Zealand scenery as it could have ... its attempts to be serious were ludicrous ... etc. etc. I certainly didn't HATE the film -- I just felt it was a bit stodgy, with grandiose ambitions that it couldn't quite match in the execution ... just like the book. I know the book is loved by many, and the film seems to have been a big hit too, but for me both are decidedly average forms of entertainment. Bah humbug!!!!!!!

Another day of sorting stuff out, making phone calls, tidying things up. I'm just about up to date with everything now, and plan to start editing "Slawter" tomorrow -- fingers crossed!!!

Bas and I bought a Roboraptor recently -- a robotic dinosaur which is supposed to be almost as good as a pet. We were keen to see it in action. I took it out of its box today, to start it up, only to find that its legs are screwed to a support base. No problem -- I got my screwdriver to unscrew the screws -- only to find that the head wouldn't fit!!! Rather than have the screw heads close to the surface, where you can easily get to them, the fools who designed this set them at the end of a long, incredibly narrow tube!!!!! Now I have to go try to find a thin, long screwdriver to set the Roboraptor free!!!!!! Somebody in design at that company should be losing their job over this!!  *Grrrrrrrr*

Watched "The Polar Express". Quite good, though easy to see how it didn't make quite the splash a Robert Zemeckis/Tom Hanks film would normally make. Too syrupy and "Aw Shucks"ish by far!! Had some good effects and some nice moments, but definitely no Christmas classic!!!!!!

Came across the "Jayne's World" blog earlier today. It's the blog of Jayne Nelson, an SFX interviewer who interviewed me recently. It's a fun blog, so I've included a link to it from mine -- check out the left side of this page ...

Also created a new, "secret" area of my www.darrenshan.com web site today. You can find out more about it by going to my site and clicking on the "Become a Shanster" link. It's fairly basic at the moment, but I'll be tidying it up (with the help of my web designer, Liam Fitz) and doing lots more with it in the future. One thing you CAN see on it now, which I think it worth the price of admission alone (not that there's any price attached!!) is the first draft of the UK "Slawter" cover -- it's a savage, slimy little beast!!!!!

Went in to town (Limerick city) in the morning. Had to go to the tax office to have a double taxation form signed (snore). Then did my weekly shopping in Tescos. Normally do that on a Saturday, but Bas was away at the weekend. When we got home, we went to Curraghchase (a nearby national park) and bought a Christmas tree. Set it up, watched "March of the Penguins" -- very enjoyable; drives home just how miraculous and amazing nature really is -- then decorated the tree. It's the first time we've had a proper Christmas tree in the house -- I moved in two years ago, but we were away last Christmas. I like it, even though I grumbled a lot about putting it up!!!!!

A dark day on the tax front. After my trip to the tax office, I later learnt that in the budget last week, the government abolished the "artists and writers tax exemption" clause which has been in operation here since 1969. It was introduced at a time when the country was struggling financially, to encourage people to gamble and pursue creative paths at home, rather than emigrate and secure safe jobs. It was Ireland's way of saying to the world that the Irish people respected and cherished creativity, that the country was prepared to reward those few who earned success even though most people at the time were struggling to make a living. It showed that we put culture before cold economics.

Well, times have changed. The Irish people have never had it so good. There are jobs for just about everybody, mod cons are everywhere, the country's one of the wealthiest in Europe. And now, when the country has never needed to tax writers and artists less, they've decided it's time to cut us down to size and slap a tax on us again. It's pettiness, pure and simple. The country doesn't need the (relative) pittance they're going to squeeze out of the very few writers and artists who've managed to make a decent amount of money working in a peril-filled craft. The government -- and, it seems, quite a lot of the voters -- just doesn't value art and creativity any longer. Culture's no longer important now that the country's riding high. Creators are no longer deemed to be anything special.

As one of the few people who's been in a position to take advantage of the tax breaks over the last few years, it's difficult for me to talk about this and not seem like I'm just being greedy and bitter. But I was a reader long before I was a writer, an Irishman long before I earned any money. I was proud of the cultural stance my leaders took, the importance they placed on the arts, the benefits they rewarded. It set us apart from every other country in the world. They didn't NEED to give us those benefits -- they did it because they believed we were worth rewarding, that we gave back more artistically than we ever could financially.

Now that's all changed. And, yes, of course I'm angry because of how it affects me personally. But I'm more sad and ashamed than angry. Because we had something truly great here. Something unique and pure and -- if you've ever enjoyed a song by an Irish singer, or a painting by an Irish artist, or a book by an Irish writer -- unarguably good and positive. And a few small-minded, unimaginative, creativeless men with euro signs instead of souls have torn it to shreds, dragged us down to their level, and let everyone know that they can put a price on creativity just as easily as they can put a price on a slab of beef.

Congratulations, gentlemen and gentleladies. You've delivered a powerful blow to this country's creative heart and lungs -- but you've made a few extra euros in the process. And that's all that really counts, isn't it?