After a nice Irish breakfast in local restaurant, the Cherrywood Inn, Bas and I took our Taiwanese guests to meet my Dad and grandparents. We then went for a short walk (the walk Bas and I do most days) -- our neighbour's dog, Goldie, came along to keep us company, which added to the fun!! Then we went to Limerick to do the Angela's Ashes walking tour, in which a guide takes you to some of the places mentioned in the famous book, and talks about Frank McCourt, Limerick, etc. I was very impressed by it, even though I haven't yet read the book -- highly recommended to anyone who visits Limerick. After that we had a bite to eat, then took the ladies to the airport and waved them off. Back to normal life now!!!

I received an email from a fan a while ago complaining that I only printed emails from converts, i.e. people who didn't like reading before they read my books!! So, for those of you who are natural lovers of reading, here's one from a fan in the States, called Angela, who wasn't a reluctant reader before encountering my novels!!!

I read your blog entry from a mother who was ecstatic because you got her child hooked on reading, and I'm in the same boat...except I'm the child. In my eighth grade literature class, we had to pick out a book for "free reading" or whatever they called it back then. I have always had a love for vampires and demons, so when I found "Cirque Du Freak," I had to get it. I then found myself reading book after book, due to the fact that they are so hard to put down. Unfortunately I only got up to about book 4 when school got out, and my life got somewhat preoccupied over summer. I've always had that "special" place in my heart for "Cirque Du Freak", but for some reason I never went back and finished the series. That was when I was about 13, I'm now 16 and this year I went to the library and found "Lord Loss" from The Demonata series. When I realized it was yet another book written by none other than you, I had to get it. I fell in love by the tenth page. Once I finished that book, I had to wait to get "Demon Thief", and the wait was killing me. And when I finally got it, I finished it in a day. The next day I got "Bec" because my school library only has one copy of "Slawter", which was already checked out. I figured that I'd be able to read "Bec" and then go back and read "Slawter" because they're all... connected, but not in any specific order. I just finished "Bec" last night, and now I'm sad. That's how I always am when I finish one of your books. I have the tendency to get caught up in the story, pretending I'm actually a part of it. And because I'm so in love with your books, I want to keep reading them all day long. Then when I'm done I get that kind of... "Awwwww, it's over already" feeling. And now I'm anxious to read "Slawter" and "Blood Beast", especially because the next book comes out so soon.

I guess I'm basically just emailing you to express how amazing your works are. Not only are your books so good simply because of your writing ability, but there are other, more specific reasons I'm in love with them. I think one of the reasons I love The Demonata is, of course due to the demon-packed action, but also because if you read "Lord Loss", the uncle is this mysterious man named Dervish. You don't learn much about who he is, or what his past was like. But then you read "Demon Thief" and you meet Dervish as a teenager. I love that, I didn't expect him to show up at all. When I started the book, I thought they'd all be completely different. And to a certain degree, they are. Yet you find a way to tie them all together.

It's kind of strange for me to be so into books aimed towards young-adults more or less. I'm the type of person who is usually interested in non-fiction (usually about serial killers and such... I want to be a criminal psychologist), or books that are fictional, but based on something real in history. The Hobbit was actually my favorite book-until I read The Demonata! Your stories are just so well written and interesting that I can't help but fall entirely in love with them. As I'm reading I wish I was in that world, where demons, vampires and all other sorts of imaginary creatures exist.

Well, enough about me. I'm sorry this is so lengthy. I just thought I should tell you that you are such an amazing author, and I plan on reading every book you've ever made available to the public.

Awww ... that's lovely!! But just to prove that I'm still reaching the reluctant readers too, here's another email from a fan who wasn't a big reader until she found her way into my dark, twisted world!! Let's hear from Katie, in the UK:

I started reading in year 6/7, and it really helped me with my literature and it also helped with getting good grades, as before your series I wasn't interested in english and books, but when I read them, I got in to english literature straight away! Now I am in year 7 it really helps, and your books left me in amazement, awe, excitement and on several events tears! Thank you for writing these books -- they are the best books ever! I look at the world differently, in a good way!, and I am on to your demonota series now (Lord Loss etc.) My parents can see an improvement with my english too, so I'm really happy!

That last line from Katie also explains why I print more emails from fans in her situation than I do from long-term fans of reading. I don't feel the need to preach to the converts -- those of you who have always had the reading bug don't need to be told how exciting reading can be. I get lots of emails from fans every day, saying how much they like my books -- if I printed them all, I'd just be acting like the most egotistical man on the face of the planet -- "Look!! Here's another letter to prove how brilliant I am!!!!!" The reason I print letters by people like Katie is to hopefully help other reluctant readers find their way into my world -- and, no, it's not just so that I can make money from them!!!! Like most people involved in the world of books, I love reading, and I love to see other people reading. I think there's a book for everyone, that even the most reluctant of readers can be converted if you give them the right book -- the book that's right for them. I know a lot of teachers and parents mistrust my books, and dismiss them as horrible horror tales, devoid of depth and meaning. By printing emails like Katie's, I hope to reach some of those, that they'll come across this blog, or have it pointed out to them by their students. And if they read testimonials from kids who had reading problems, or from parents or teachers or librarians of kids like that... kids who overcame those problems when someone took the time to introduce them to a book that would excite them and fire their imagination... then maybe they'll take a chance on my work and give a copy of Cirque Du Freak or one of my other books to the "problem" child. I'm not saying I'm the answer to every reluctant reader out there -- of course I'm not!!! But there ARE lots of kids who will be more willing to gamble on a blood-and-guts type story than on other, more traditional tales. My books have a kind of dangerous, forbidden feel -- and that's exactly what appeals to a lot of children and teenagers who think that reading's only for geeks!!

I've spent the past few days on a little holiday in Ireland, touring around with Bas, my Taiwanese publisher Emily, her sister Elaine and one of their friends, Fong-I. They came to stay with us for a couple of days, and we've been showing them some of the local sights. We started on Friday night, after picking them up at the airport, but going to a Folk Night in Bunratty. There's a greast castle and historical theme park in Bunratty, and they do medieval banquet nights, which I've been to several times before. This was my first time at the folk ngiht, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It doesn't have the same wow factor as the banquet, but it's fun, the dancing and singing are impressive, and the food is tasty. We all had a good night, and I think it served as a neat introduction to Ireland for the ladies.

On Saturday we went to Craggaunowen first, which provided much of the inspiration for Bec, and is where we had the launch party for the book when it was first released in Ireland and the UK. It's a great place, featuring recreations of old Irish dwellings, providing people with a real insight into the country's Celtic past. I can't recommend it highly enough!! From there we drove to the Burren, which I always love. We went to the Cliffs of Moher, which were also featured in Bec (when her and Drust jump of the cliff, that's where they leap!). It's been developed severely since I was last there, and a new tourist centre and restaurant have been carved out of one of the hills. For the most part I think the developments add to the place -- but I hate the way they've blocked off access to a large ledge where previously you were able to lie down and look directly down over the cliff. I know it was a safety hazard for people who didn't have sense enough to lie down, but I think the rewards more than justified the risks. Sometimes there's such a thing as making the public TOO safe ...

From there we went to Doolin, where we visited a cave which was only opened a couple of years ago. It's a very raw cave -- they've tried hard not to over-develop it, so as to keep its natural feel. They only take in a maximum of 20 people an hour, 8 hours a day. It's WAY better than the more famous Ailwee cave, and features the 2nd biggest stalactite in the world -- it's mind-blowing!!!! They're looking to expand into new areas of the cave over the coming years, and they probably need to -- things are a bit too cnetred around the massive stalactite at the moment. But even as it is, it's definitely worth seeing -- that giant baby hanging from the ceiling won't leave your memory banks in a hurry!!! You can check out their web site by clicking here: http://www.doolincave.ie/

We concluded the day with a tasy dinner at Dromoland Castle -- my Mum and my aunt Maureen also joined us there (I owed them a dinner from Mother's Day -- I take them out every year to celebrate it). Today we headed for Killarney. The weather was pretty bad while we were driving there -- that's the problem with Ireland -- since so much of its beauty is of the outdoor type, appreciation of it can often depend on the weather, but in this little country that's never dependable!! I thought today might be a washout, but fortunately it improved when we got there, and though the clouds stayed down, the rain held off. We visited Torc Waterfall and Muckross House -- both well worth a visit -- and finished up with a jaunting car trip into the Gap Of Dunloe, one of the most spectacular parts of the county.

I always like an excuse to tour around Ireland. Living here, I don't explore it as much as I probably should. That's one of the things I've found when I travel the world -- people living in amazing places often down't appreciate them as much as tourists do. When you have a natural wonder on your doorstep, I think most of us take the view that we can visit it any time -- so we end up visiting it rarely, or never at all!!!! Sometimes it's good to travel around your own area with a tourist -- it helps you realise what a special place it is that you live in.

Anyway, the ladies and I will be doing the Angela's Ashes walk in Limerick this Monday (Emily translated the book into Chinese when it was released in Taiwan, so she's very keen to see the city first-hand), then we'll be sending them on their way back home, and I'll be returning to work and getting ready for my tour, which starts on Friday!!!! Yipes -- where did the time go?!?!? I'd better start practising my Lord Loss voice, quickly!!!!!

Started another edit of Book 8 of The Demonata -- it comes out in October, so this will be one of the last times I work on it, and probably the last time that I make any really important changes -- after this it should all be very minor fine-tuning. I didn't think I'd be able to get round to this until after my tour, but because I finished the first draft of the new book earlier than anticipated, I was able to get stuck into this ahead of schedule. So, Stella (my editor), if you're reading this, heads up -- all going well, it should be winging your way some time next week!!!

Had to break from editing in the middle of the day to go for a dental check up. It's always a drag going to the dentist, but they're a necessary evil. Luckily she didn't find anything wrong with me this time, so it was just a quick clean and polish, and I was on my way again. Popped in to see my cousin Tiernan in hospital -- he had to have his appendix out a few days ago. He's fine and recovering nicely. While we were in visiting mode, we also went to see my Mum and grandparents. I watched the last episode of season 6 of The Shield back home -- fine stuff. I thought some of the earlier seasons were a bit uneven, but it's grown steadily and is one of my favourite shows at the moment. Also watched the latest episode of The Apprentice (UK edition) later. That always makes me chuckle! It's one of the very few shows I watch live. Most TV shows, I wait and watch when they come out on DVD, sometimes years after they've aired on TV. But I'm always there for The Apprentice and Dragon's Den!!

While I was checking out the IMDB site for the Cirque Du Freak movie earlier (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450405/ -- I highly recommend it for all the latest info about the cast and crew), I spotted a post on the message board from a fan whose friend had shared ebook version of the first 11 books of the series with him. I quickly fired off the following email:

There are currently no official ebooks of any Darren Shan books. Any versions which exist are pirate copies. Illegal ebooks damage author sales. And, on a personal level, they p@@s me off big-time!!! I don't mind people sharing their books with friends - we all do that - but photocopying them and putting them online to distribute to a wider audience... It's robbery! And, even worse, it's downright rude!!! Anyone who reads illegal ebook versions of my books is no true fan in my eyes.

A bit later, deciding upon reflection that I'd been a bit harsher than I needed to be, I added the following:

Sorry if I came across a bit heavy, but I see this as being a serious problem in years to come -- at the moment internet pirating of books isn't a makor issue, but I think it will worsen, and it's the sort of thing that will have a very negative impact on writers. Most writers don't make very much money even as things stand -- if their work becomes widely available, and they don't get any royalties from illegal online versions, it will become pretty much impossible for most people in this business to make a living, meaning less books will get published, making it even harder for new authors to get started. I think everyone involved in the publishing industry has to be aware of this and do what they can to counteract it, even if they're an established, successful author. Those of us who stand back and say, "That won't start harming writers for another 10 or 20 years, so it's not my problem," are in effect selling out writers who are yet to come. I see us all as being part of the same family, and in families you do what you can to look out for your own.

That's pretty much my stand on the whole internet ebook rip-off issue. As I said, I don't think it has much of an impact right now, but I think it will get to be more damaging if left to spread, so I think it's important that writers stand up and speak out about it -- even if it means we come across as being sour, miserly misery guts who only want to fleece people of their money and don't care about our fans!!! I know a lot of people see the internet as open territory, and that they don't think copyright applies where the web is involved. Several years ago, a cousin of mine was telling me how he downloaded all of his music through a free file-sharing site. Even though I've nothing to do with the music industry, I was shocked. "That's stealing," I told him. "It's the same thing as if you walked into a shop and stole a CD." He just refused to see it that way. For him it was the same as borrowing a CD or book from a friend.

But it isn't. Borrowing a CD, book, computer game or whatever from a friend is honourable. We all lend out stuff that we like to the people we know, and accept loans from them in return -- it's how we find out about new bands, new writers, new films. But getting something from a friend is VERY different to getting it from a public online source. If you borrow a CD or book, the person who created it is missing out on one sale. Big deal. And if you like it, the chances are you'll buy other works by them in the future. Even if you don't, you'll hopefully tell other friends about it, and some of them will buy, and sales will spread. And the creator will make money and be able to pay their bills and carry on doing whatever it is that you like, providing you and all their other fans with fresh works for a long time to come.

If something's available on the internet, on the other hand -- if one person makes their CD or film or book available to others -- a hundred people can download it. Or a thousand. Or ten thousand. Or more. And because it's popular, future works by that person will be uploaded and illegally downloaded too. And the creator, from that one copy, will miss out on hundreds and thousands and maybe tens of thousands of sales. And they won't make any money. And the publishers who produced their works won't make any money. So the publishers won't publish any more of that person's work, and that creator will end up being a plumber or teacher or whatever.

When I download music online, I buy from iTunes. If films become more widely available and quicker to download, I'll buy them from official sources too. If ebooks ever really take off, I'll download them from a genuine, author-approved web site. Anything else is theft, and -- as I make VERY clear in Cirque Du Freak -- I don't believe that anything good comes of theft. Thieves are low, dishonourable people, and casual theft is in many ways the worst of all. I mean, if someone steals food because they're hungry and have no money, that's one thing. But to steal a CD or film or book just because you CAN, because it's available and you can't be bothered shelling out for it... Well, what do you think the Vampire Generals would think of that?

Pirate ebooks aren't a major concern right now, but I do believe that they will be one day, which is why I'm getting my view in early. Right is right, people, and wrong is wrong. We make moral decisions in everything we do. Be aware of that. Take responsibility for your choices. Show respect for the work of those you admire. Be true to your role models -- and be true to yourself.

I finished the first draft of the first book of the new series today. Just 8 days -- that's a record for me!!! But, having said that, I almost always fly through first drafts -- I don't believe in dragging out the process. I think you're better off to get through the story as quickly as you can first time round. Once the bones of it are down on paper, you can crack on with the the re-writing and editing process, and spend as much time on it as you need to get it right. There are already some things I want to change about the book, a few structural tweaks I became aware that it needed while I was working on the first draft. But rather than stop, go back, and work on those points now, I pushed ahead and finished. I'll see to them next time round. The problem with side-tracking yourself midway through a novel is that you might lose focus, and lose sight of where you're heading. Many a writer has come unstuck by pausing to fix something in an early chapter -- they spend so much time working on an element of the book, that they lose touch with the overall aim of it, and end up never completing it.

For the most part I'm pretty pleased withe first draft, even though I know there's lots still to do with it. In an odd way I feel a bit guilty that it's short and fairly straightforward in terms of narrative. My last few books (the fantasy novel and the four book series) have all been longer, very involved stories, not quite as pacy as my vampire or demon books. I'm very proud of those, as I think I've taken my story-telling skill forward with them. But this series is all about FUN!! Dark, twisted, bloodstained fun, of course -- the first book has one of the highest body counts of any book of mine, if not THE highest!!! But fun all the same. I need to do something different to the books that I've worked on in recent years, something speedy and, to a large extent, throwaway -- the series WILL explore all sorts of serious issues, and go in some very grim directions, but I want it to grow and build up to the more involved stuff. The first book is all about the adrenaline rush!!! I always think it's good to have a varied creative balance, to try different things, to not be afraid to go on a soul-searching, deeply personal quest with a story -- but also not be afraid to just let your hair down on other occasions and set out to rock your readers' socks!!! And the new series is definitely of the full-on rock-socking kind!!!!!!

I received the following, very sweet email yesterday:

My name is Shawna Helt and I am a parent of a 14-year-old boy living just outside of Kansas City, Missouri (USA).  I have been trying to encourage my son to read since birth, but he never developed an interest.  I always dreaded the times he had to read a book for Language Arts because it was a constant battle, and most of the time I had to read the book with him or for him to get him through it. 

Then last spring, he had to pick out a book for class from the school library. Typically, he would blindly pick something and it would end up in his locker until it was due back.  On this particular day, he picked  "Cirque Du Freak - The Vampire's Assistant" because he thought the cover looked "cool".  He or I did not know that it would change his life!  He brought the book to class and ended up reading it entirely within a few days, without my help or knowledge.  Then he got the next book and so on.  It's been a year now, and he has read and bought the entire series and is re-reading them for his Accelerated Reading tests.  He is getting an A in that class now, which never happened before! 

This past year, he's been begging ME to read the first book, and used reverse psychology on me with my own words.  He told me to try the first 30 pages and if I didn't like it, I didn't have to finish it.  How could I say no to that without guilt?  (That's the same technique I used to use to persuade him.)  So I started reading, and next thing I knew, I had the book finished in a couple of hours (which seemed like only a couple of minutes).  I'm now starting on "Tunnels of Blood".

I wanted to thank you for your excellent writing skills, and for encouraging my son to find an interest in something that doesn't require a mouse or a joystick.  I helped my fiancée Jon Davies write a non-fiction children's book about storm chasing ("Storm Chasers! On the Trail of Twisters"), and we do presentations at schools to try and encourage kids to develop an interest in Science and Meteorology.  We receive notes from parents thanking us for our work, so I thought I'd pay it forward to do the same for you.

Awwww ... I love getting emails like that!!! I was also fascinated by Shawna and Jon's storm chasing adventures -- that sounds like some seriously scary fun!!! You can learn more about their book, and order a copy, by clicking here: http://onthetrailoftwisters.com/

I picked up a copy of SFX at the weekend -- there's an interview with me (as D B Shan) in it. The interview's very well laid out, as SFX interviews usually are -- it's a high quality sci-fi mag, one of the best and most professional in the business. I highly recommend it, and not only for the interview with me!!! BUT the photograph... that's another matter entirely!!! The photographer's top notch (he shot me for SFX before), and he spent a lot of time on the photo. The lighting and composition on the photo are all fine (I'm no expert in these matters). But WHY has he shot me from a low level, the worst possible angle when it comes to capturing my double chin on film?!?!?

Now, there's no getting away from it -- I'm a bit of a chubbster!! Always have been, and I suspect I always will be. Even though I watch my diet a lot more than I used to when I was younger, I still seem to put on weight every time I pop something into my mouth. C'est la vie. I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me as a teenager, but these days I'm fairly laid back about it. Some people are skinny, some aren't, and life's a lot happier if you accept yourself as you are, not as you might want to be. I don't mind my bit of a belly, and I don't mind my double chin. EXCEPT when it's rubbed in my face in a magazine photo!!! I mean, it's not THAT big. If shot straight-on or from a slightly high angle, you sometimes can't even see it. But in this photo I look like a cousin of Jabba The Hutt!!! What's wrong with air-brushing?!?

I'm exagerrating, of course -- it's not THAT bad. But it's not the first photo recently to capture my double chin. I think a conspiracy is afoot -- photographers are out in force to make my bit of flab look even flabbier than it is!! How am I supposed to sleep at night, knowing they're out there, waiting for me, flashbulbs at the ready, crouched low down so as to catch me in all my doubled glory?!?!? I think I might have to pretend I've got a sore neck, and wear a brace that comes up high over my chin ...

Or I could always try to lose lose a bit of weight...

Nah, I think I'll stick with the neck brace idea!!!!

All's going well on the writing front. I'm still averaging 12 pages a day, and tearing through it at a rare old pace. I'm not too far from the end now -- like I said last week when starting, I think that all of the books in this series are going to be on the short side. I'm aiming for fast-paced, quick reads, an explosion of action, and lots of cliff-hangers. The first book isn't terribly short -- it will probably be a bit shorter than the Vampire Mountain trilogy books in The Saga once I've worked on it a bit more and added some bits and pieces that I think it needs -- but it's definitely shorter than any of the novels I've released recently, and I suspect the others will be too. While that might sound like bad news for fans, I don't think it is -- I suspect, if all goes according to plan, that we'll release the books at a faster rate than The Demonata, and they'll probably be cheaper too -- hurrah!!! But such concerns are a long way off at the moment -- the series is still in its infancy. Right now I just want to get the first draft in the bag, have a think about where I want to go next with it, and see where the story takes me.

I've been pushing ahead fast on the new book, averaging 12 pages a day for the last few days. I hit the real action part of the book this morning -- the first half is setting the scene, introducing the characters, giving readers a sense that something bad is going to happen -- then the second half is slam-bang-thank-you-ma'am action!! It's not the most cerebral of my books, but then again it's not designed to be -- I think this is going to be quite a long series, and I'll spin off into weirder areas, and more convoluted plot twists, later. I want the first book to serve as a fast-paced hook, to drag readers kicking and screaming into the heart of the story, and then spiral off from there. The grand plan is to jerk the rug from under readers in almost every book, to show parts of the overall plot each time, lead them in one direction, then throw a curved ball at them. Things were pretty straightforward in my vampire and demon series -- the rules were set early on, and everything played out according to those rules. This time round, I don't want readers to know who to trust or what to believe -- it's going to be paranoia central!!!!

I've also been busy answering lots of fan mail. I tend to get more than usual at this time of the year. I've worked my way through most of the latest pile, but Pablo has already told me that another pile has been building up quickly! As always, if you've sent a letter to me, I ask for your patience -- I DO always reply, but it normally takes quite a while.

Saw a very intriguing film this afternoon -- Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. It was one of the more original flicks I've seen in quite a while, very different to any other film, dark and twisted. It's perhaps a little bit longer than it need be, but it sucked me in and held me all the way. I'm sure lots of people don't and won't like the fact that the central character is so alien and unlikeable, but I found it a fascinating dip into a very warped person's mind, and those sorts of trips always capture my fancy. Strongly recommended for older viewers who like movies which stray from conventional ideas of what a story should be and how it should be told.

That actually ties in quite neatly with an email from a fan called Chloe which I got last week. She wrote:

In your blogs, it is interesting to see you advise people on the terms of writing in general. Myself, I would like to be a writer but my style is very different; I write surrealistically, and occasionally use such things as present tense or second person which have a tendency to put people off! I do not want to sacrifice my style, but I worry that if I ever get anything published, as I would like to, it would have to be in a more orthodox format, because new things generally seem to be looked on in a more negative light than using a traditional style. Is my interpretation of this correct, do you think, or am I considering something that is impossible to predict?

I think this is a very well judged observation. In my experience the world of publishing is a two-faced beast. On the one hand, almost every publisher who holds forth on this matter will say they're always looking for fresh talent, new ideas, writers with a unique voice who can come up with original stories. On the other hand, from a cold hard business angle, they're always looking for the NEXT. The NEXT Stephen King, the NEXT J K Rowling, the NEXT Darren Shan ... whatever!! Publishers know that it's very difficult to convince people to take a chance on something new, something different, something not like anything they've read before. It's far easier to tap into an existing audience: "You like Author X? Then try this new guy -- he's just like X!!!"

As I've mentioned quite a few times before, Cirque Du Freak was turned down by pretty much every major publisher in the UK (along with quite a few not-so-major publishers) before it was accepted. Different editors had different reasons for turning it down, but an overriding factor was that there was nothing like CDF out there. Horror for children was a relatively new concept, and the few authors who'd explored it (R L Stine and Christopher Pike chief among them) had done so in a very different way to me. I was writing about circus freaks, a kid who steals and lies, who gets buried alive, who makes a blood pact with a vampire. Publishers didn't know how people would react, and so, not knowing, they chose not to take a chance on it. It makes me smile when some of those publishers now play up a few of their new authors with "The next Darren Shan!" tag line. But I'm not in the least bit bitter about it. That's just the way the industry works and I'm fully aware of it. You don't get far having a thin skin in the writing business. Publishers need to make money in order to keep publishing. They're not mind-readers. They can't always predict trends in advance. Most of the books they put out, they know how they're going to perform, roughly how many copies they're going to sell. But every so often a freak comes along that shatters all the rules. In those cases, publishers try to cash in and ride the coat-tails of that author -- hence all the fantasy books being published since Harry Potter took off.

So -- you're a young writer, starting out. Do you study the market and go with something you know will appeal to publishers? Or do you follow your instinct, write the stories you WANT to write, and hope you sneak in through the cracks and start a new trend? To be honest, I can't answer that question. Each writer must decide that for themselves. I know, WAY back, when I was 18 or 19, there was a publisher I sent a few of my very early books to. The editor there was very generous with her time, and responded with actual suggestions and comments (as opposed to a standard rejection letter, which is what most reply with). My work back then was much more experimental than most of my published work. I'm like an ice berg -- a lot of my work is hidden under water! My published output is only about half of what I've actually written over the years. I've written all sorts of books, hardcore sci-fi, sexually explosive psychological horrors, futuristic fantasies, road trip stories, even a few funny books!!

The editor said to me that if I stopped being so experimental, using different voices and tenses and story structures ... that if I just wrote a straightforward thriller or fanasy tale ... I'd get published. That was very encouraging for me -- but the trouble was, I didn't WANT to write that way. To me, writing has always been about the stories, doing them justice, going with wherever my mind leads me. If I'd wanted to make money, I'd have gone into another line of work. I wrote for pleasure and self-satisfaction. I wanted to be successful of course -- but only by doing my own thing. I didn't want to write to please an editor -- I wanted to write to please myself.

So I did. I kept on experimenting and trying different things and going in weird directions. Some of the books I worked on didn't lead anywhere and proved (for the time being at least) unpublishable. Some were Cirque Du Freak and Lord Loss and they went on to do very nicely indeed. But all were close to my heart. I was true on all of them. I wrote each one because I wanted to write it, because it demanded to be written. I hope they'd find readers, but if not ... so be it.

Now, I don't know if I could have stuck to my guns indefinitely. If I'd gone ten year, fifteen, twenty, without finding an audience, without making any money ... would I have continued? Would I have flogged a dead horse until I died, broke and bitter and beaten? As I say, I don't know, but I like to think I WOULD have. I like to think I'd have stood by my muse no matter what, for better or worse. The thing about writing is, books can sometimes flourish after you're dead -- some writers are only "discovered" years after their death. I like to think I would have clung to that sense of self-belief no matter what, that if the market had proved hostile, I would have ploughed on regardless, doing my own thing, hoping my stories would find more favourable ears in the hands of later generations. Every writer has that chance, that hope, no matter how bad things get.

But what's better -- to struggle on in the vain hope that your work will be appreciated when you're dead? Or to adjust and adapt to the market of your own times, give editors what they want, make a name for yourself while you're still alive to enjoy it? In an ideal world, you get both, like I have, like Stephen King did, like a small percentage of writers always have done and always will do. But many writers aren't so lucky. The time isn't right. The breaks don't go their way. The editor who might have changed their lives is off sick when their manuscript comes in, and somebody else reads it and tosses it away. I do believe that if you work hard and keep plugging away, your quality WILL show, and you'll enjoy the success of writing work you can be proud of, and work that other people (to some extent or other) will enjoy. But sometimes great writers DO go unloved. Sometimes cool story-tellers never sell the number of copies they should. Sometimes staying true to yourself means settling for less than those who play the game get.

It all boils down to what you want from your writing. Do you want to be adored and feted, sell millions and make a fortune? Or do you want to follow your dream and remain true to it, no matter what?

Well??????

A lot of my recent posts have been long and involved, so I think it’s time for a nice, short, inconsequential entry!!! 

Wrote 11 pages of the new book, which I was very pleased about, as I had some workmen come early in the morning to do some stuff for me. It’s very easy to get distracted when you’re a writer working at home, so I was glad I didn’t take the easy excuse of saying "I can’t do a full day’s work because I have something else to deal with!"

I’ve started watching season 6 of The Shield -- great TV!! It’s rattling along brilliantly at the moment. Essential viewing.

Finished season 3 of Battlestar Galactica last week. It ended with a superb cliffhanger. My gal on the inside in New York (you know who you are, bee-atch!!!) tells me season 4 has just started there. I’m almost tempted to immigrate, just to steal a jump on the release schedule over here!!!

I began reading Bloodtide by Melvin Burgess a couple of weeks ago. Fascinating stuff, although I haven’t read any of it in the last week -- I’ve been too busy writing!!

Saw National Treasure tonight. It was better than I thought it would be, though it moved too slowly at times -- if the editing had been a bit tighter, it would have flowed much more smoothly. Still, fun overall. I think I’ll check out the sequel in the near future.

Right -- that’s enough prattling! I’m off to watch some TV and take things easy, because sometimes you just have to!!!

Yesterday’s blog elicited a lorry load of responses, most of the outraged, indignant kind! While most were from kids, I was glad to see a few from adults too, and one from a teacher!! As I said, in my experience the vast majority of teachers are very open-minded and great to their kids. But you’ll always find those who are stuck in their ways or who never cared much about the job to begin with. That’s just the way life is. There are jobsworths everywhere, and we just have to endure them -- but we don’t always have to dance to their tune!!!

Wrote another 12-plus pages of the new book. I’m enjoying it more than I thought. There isn’t a huge amount of action in the early stages (although I wrote a VERY creepy chapter today!), and I was worried it might drag a bit, but so far it’s flowing ultra smoothly, the characters telling me what they want to say. In a way, I sometimes find chatty, actionless scenes easier to write than the fast-paced, action-packed ones. You need to describe things in much more detail when there’s fighting going on, or people dashing about the place. Action scenes might be the quickest part of a book to read, but they often take the longest to write!!!

My only worry so far is the race angle. I’m tackling the thorny problem of racism in this book. I’ve done that before, obliquely, in The Saga, but this is more of a direct confrontation. I’ve seen a lot more racism around me in recent years, particularly since 9/11 and the bombings in London. It worries me, the way people are giving in to fear, hatred and suspicion, and even though the new series is fantastical, I want to deal with some real-life issues in it. The problem with writing about racism, though, is that it’s ugly. It involves the use of nasty, derogatory words, words which taken out of context could prove very hurtful. It’s a delicate balancing act -- to accurately portray racists, you need to let their racist colours show, but by doing that you can insult certain readers. At the moment I’m tackling it head on, letting characters speak as they wish, going along with the casual viciousness and ignorance which lies at the heart of every racist. But I suspect I might have to tinker with it in later drafts -- not dilute it down, but make it more palatable. Then again, I dunno. My gut instinct says that if you start being too polite about racism, you risk not driving your point across. Sometimes you have to be blunt to be clear.

Oh well, I have plenty of time to work on it. The point I wanted to make here was that, as I often say when offering advice about writing, you shouldn’t worry about getting things right first time round. Writing is often a voyage of discovery. You figure things out as you stumble along, and if you make mistakes, you can go back and correct them later. You’re better off writing and making those mistakes, than sitting at your desk, thinking too much and worrying. Stories will lead you where they need to go. If you let them.

Started writing the first book of what looks like my new series. It got off to a promising start -- I wrote 14 pages! But there was a lot of dialogue, so it wasn’t much more than I’d write on a normal day (10 pages is my standard). I’m always surprised by how characters grow and start talking in their own way. I usually have a good idea of the plot when I start writing, but very little knowledge of what the characters will be like. I wrote up a list of names last night. When I sat down this morning, that’s all they were -- names. But as soon as I began writing, they started taking on lives of their own, doing their own thing, saying their own thing. It’ll be interesting to see how they develop over the course of the book. I hadn’t planned to carry too many of the characters forward, but now there’s one I definitely think might have more of a role to play, and who knows, maybe one or two others will force their way into the grander scheme of things ... The nice thing is, I’ve plenty of time to consider their fate -- this book probably won’t see the light of day until at least 2012, so I’ve four years or more to tinker with it!!!

Received the following email yesterday from Rachel, in America:

I have just recently discovered just how ignorant the world can be. I was doing a report for a teacher of mine about my favorite author. Naturally, I picked you. As I was giving her my pick, she asked who you were. I said you were Darren Shan, a famous writer who has a Novel series entitled Cirque Du Freak, and another Novel series entiled The Demonata. She had told me you must not be very good, because she’d never heard of you. This upset me a bit. She asked me to name a few of your books. I named Vampire Mountain, Blood Beast, and Trials Of Death. She told me I was talking crap and needed to pick a "real" author. This made me absolutely enraged.

What she had said made me start thinking about how close-minded some people can be. Just because a book is not in your preferred genre of reading material, doesn’t give you any right to insult it and the people who do read it. It’s not like you are asking them to read it, just to not mock it. I believe everyone needs to take a bit of comstructive criticism now and then, but I believe she was just being rude. She had never even read a word of anything closely related to your work, and she was talking about it as if she had even given your books a chance. I apologize if I sound like a prattling fangirl, because that is not how I’m trying to come off. I just found it a bit sad how some people will make fun of something that they haven’t even tried. The phrase "Don’t Knock It ’Till You’ve Tried It" comes to mind, doesn’t it? I didn’t mean to bring you down or anything, Darren. I, and many, many others think you are the best author they have ever read things from. I just thought I would state how I felt on this.

A teacher who hasn’t heard of Darren Shan?!? Outrageous!!!! She should be struck off immediately!!! But, seriously, I’m not the least bit bothered by the fact that she doesn’t know who I am -- nobody can keep up with all the books that are released every year. And I don’t mind that she made a snap judgement about my books based on the titles and a brief description -- we all do that to some extent. But telling a student she can’t write about one of their favourite authors ... Well, I think that’s WRONG. Big-time wrong. You-don’t-know-what-you’re-doing and you probably shouldn’t be allowed to teach wrong. This was my reply to Rachel:

She WAS being rude!!! My advice would be to do your report on my books anyway, to prove to the teacher that she’s wrong. If she’s fair-minded, she’ll be open to your report. If she’s not, you might get in a bit of trouble -- but I’m a firm believer that in life it’s better to get in a bit of trouble for doing the right thing, than to just go along like a sheep with what other people tell you to do! And you can quote me on that in the report if you wish, since that’s one of the messages my books stress over and over throughout their pages.

I don’t think any teacher should discourage their students from reading, even if it’s books that teacher doesn’t approve of. You hear a lot of people moaning about how kids don’t read any more or read as much as they used to long ago, and while I’d argue with that, I think if it IS to any extent true, it’s largely because of teachers like this, NOT because of the usual suspects -- TV, computer games, the internet. Most of the teachers I’ve met over the years have been first-rate. They understand that we live in an era where there are more distractions for kids than ever before, and that we face a struggle to convince children to spend their free time reading instead of doing something else for fun. They also understand that children WILL read IF you give them books that they’re interested in, books which appeal to them, which will excite or intrigue them. We all want different things from the books we read, but there are books for pretty much everybody. Good teachers try to find out what their students like, and guide them towards books which will rock their socks and turn their worlds upside down, and turn them into voluntary, enthusiastic readers.

And then you get teachers like this one. Teachers who think kids should only read "real" books, whatever the hell that means!!! Actually, I know very well what it means -- a dry, outdated, serious book that will bore kids rotten, but which the teacher can understand and mark them on. Kids, I hate to tell you this (though I know a lot of you will have worked it out already), but some teachers are like some of your schoolmates -- lazy and unimaginative!! Some only want to grade you with the minimum of effort, to breeze through your reports and be able to automatically pick out the good points and bad points. They don’t want to accept a world where new authors exist, where one of their students tried to explain how a vampire or demon book can relate to their life, to their course, to literature. They don’t want new ideas or ways of thinking, thank you very much -- they’re happy with the way things are, and because they have authority over their students, they’re determined to make the students fall in line and play ball.

Stuff ’em!!!!

That’s what I say, and I say it knowing full well that anyone who stands up to a teacher like this faces trouble, maybe bad grades, maybe worse. But I don’t believe in bowing to ignorance and those who parade it proudly. I’m not saying you should antagonise a teacher like this, or argue with them in class, or be in any way nasty to them. But if there’s an author who excites you, an author you really want to write about -- go ahead and write about that author. Even if your teacher tell you not to. Do the best job you can. Put your heart into it. Show why this person matters to you, why their books have affected you, why you think they’re worthy of study and consideration. We’re all entitled to our views of what’s good and what isn’t. It isn’t a teacher’s job to tell their students what is and isn’t "real" literature -- they’re there to explore books with you, to teach, yes, but also to learn. Any good teacher should be open to new ideas, and in my experience most will accept an argument if it’s politely and intelligently presented. And if you’re unlucky and the teacher in your case isn’t one of those, and he or she gives you a lousy grade no matter how strong your essay, and complains about you to your principal or your parents? Well, as I said to Rachel, at least you’ll have done the right thing. Life is a series of choices. The more right choices we make, the better our lives will be in the long run. You might not appreciate that when you’re being given an F by your teacher, and your parents ground you, but hey, like the saying goes, "no pain, no gain!!!!!!"

Power to the pupils!!!!!!!!

I began prep work on what MIGHT become my next series (meaning my next series AFTER the fantasy book and 4 book series that I’ve talked about on this blog before). As I said recently, I’ve been playing around with the basic idea for a few years, trying to find my way into the story. It began to come together more concretely over the past few weeks, and news ideas have been clicking into place in recent days. It’s still at a very early stage, with lots of blanks to fill in, but today I wrote up a very rough outline of what I want to do in the first 3 books, along with a full plot outline for the first book, which hopefully I’ll start writing tomorrow. If all goes according to plan, the books will be a bit shorter than my previous books (probably even shorter than any of The Saga books), but will hopefully be released at a faster pace than The Demonata -- my aim is to write short, punchy books, many of which will end on cliffhangers, and each of which will run into the next -- i.e. it would be like the Vampire Mountain trilogy, in that it’s one big story split up into parts, only this story would be split into quite a lot of parts!!! I’ve no idea how many books there might be in this series, or even how to develop the contral conflict at the heart of the storyline (although I have a vague sense of what that conflict will be). But, if all goes smoothly with the writing, I guess I’ll find out over the coming months and years ...

I’m both excited and nervous about this new series. Excited because it’s good to be back in the saddle after almost a year of not writing anything new -- because of the way I work, I spent most of the last year editing several books (the last half of The Demonata, my three D B Shan books, the fantasy book, the 4 book series), and when you add in my tour dates, there hasn’t been much time for anything new. I get itchy when there’s a long gap between new books. First drafts are the lifeblood of any writer, and I’m always looking ahead to what comes next. Editing is more fun that writing a first draft (at least for me), but without a first draft, I have nothing to edit!! It’s exciting to be launching myself into something new again, to start out afresh and see where the story takes me.

But I’m also nervous because this is the first time I’ve ever consciously set out to write a multi-book series. The Saga and The Demonata grew organically -- I got sucked into them. I was working onbook 3 of The Saga before I got a sense of the scale of the project, and I was five books intoThe Demonata before I figured out the main story!!!! This is the first time I’ve tried to plot out a series in advance. It’s not that I made a decision to write another series -- I never work that way -- I just knew, from the moment the idea first struck me, that this needed several books to work the way I felt it could. That’s the main reason why I didn’t start work on it earlier. I could probably have developed and written a first draft of book 1 during the past year, but I knew this wasn’t a book I could write and stop at. That is, Cirque Du Freak and Lord Loss were both conceived as one-off books. I knew with CDF that there would be a potential to write more vampire books, but I also knew that if I didn’t, the book could stand by itself. That’s not the case here -- the first book of this series would have been nothing without more to follow it and take the story forward. I didn’t want to start it until I had a better idea of what came next.

A developing story is a bit like a developing photo. You can see a bit or two clearly to begin with. Then you get a very vague sense of everything around those bits. And then, as you focus in, the whole starts to reveal itself to you. The difference is, with a photo you KNOW the image will reveal itself. With a story, you have to work on it and plug away at it and force it to develop. For a long time, all I could see of this story was the bit or two that I’ve had in mind for the last couple of years. But now more and more is coming into focus, and the thing about writing is that once you get on a roll, the revelations start coming thick and fast. There’s still a lot about this series that’s a mystery to me, but now that I’ve cracked the first few books, I’m more confident that the rest will reveal itself too. In time ...