Started work on Book 8 of "The Demonata" today! I hadn't finished writing up my plot notes, but I can do that as I go along. I wanted to get stuck in as soon as possible -- I hope to finish it before heading for the States in October, but it's going to be tight!! Every day counts!!!

I have a nice catchy title for the book, but I won't be revealing it until much closer to the publication date -- don't want to give the game away too early!!

Wrote 10 pages, which is my target every working day of the week (usually Monday to Friday, though I occasionally work at weekends too). It's always nice to hit the 10 mark at the end of the day -- that's when I know I've put in a good day's work and can down tools! A lot of those 10 pages were recapping events from earlier books. I'll probably trim them down later, or move them to later in the book if possible, but I find it's helpful to lay the recap out at the start -- it refreshes things inside my own mind.

Spent the last few hours updating the Shop and Covers sections of my web site. Doesn't sound like a lot of work, but appearances can be deceptive!! I had to check on Amazon and Barnes & Noble to see what books were and were not available now. Then I found out that the Audio CD apaptations of the first 3 books in my vampire series are now listed on Amazon UK, so I had to add links for those. And then ... in the end, a job I thought would take maybe half an hour ended up taking at least two hours!!! This is why I don't update my site as often as I'd like to -- the simplest of tasks usually runs over by a lot more than I expected! Still, I don't feel too guilty -- I provide updates a lot more than most writers!! You can find links to the new stuff by clicking here, if interested: http://p090.ezboard.com/fdarrenshanmessageboardfrm9

Had a night out with Pablo (my board moderator) in Limerick last night. Just sat in a pub (the Trinity Rooms) having a few drinks and chatting. The pub used to called Doc's, and I used to go there a lot when I was a student and in my early 20s. Hadn't been there in years, so it was nice to check it out -- hasn't changed that much. Popped in to a night club briefly afterwards (it was attached to the pub, and entrance was free, so why not?!?), but neither of us has ever had much time for discos (except for indie discos when we were younger, where we happily thrashes around to music we actually liked!), so we left after a short sojourn.

I commenced my preparatory work on Book 8 of "The Demonata" today. I started, as I always do when plotting a book, by jotting down a rough outline of the book on a couple of sheets of A4 paper. I always write directly to a PC, except when I'm planning a book -- at this early stage, I prefer to write by hand. I'm not sure why -- it's just a habit.

I came up with some nice twists and ideas while working on the plot. Would-be writers often ask me about how to develop ideas, and I think the key is to actually write. Thinking's all well and good, but when I actually sit down with a pen in my hand and start to scribble, I find ideas pouring out -- the writing down of one idea usually leads to others. I had a vague idea of what I wanted the book to be like yesterday -- today I have a fairly full structure which, while it still needs a lot of work, should see me safely to the finish.

Once I finished the rough plot outline, I began work on the chapter breakdown. I don't always do this (with "Cirque Du Freak" and "Lord Loss" I worked from the rough plot only), but usually I do. I write a short description of what will be in each chapter. I find that this helps me flesh out the plot -- I usually have some more ideas at this stage -- and, when complete, it makes the writing process a lot easier. As I go along, I tick off each chapter on the pages, and that gives me a real sense of progress. Of course, I can veer away from the chapter descriptions along the way -- I often find that I'll split a longer chapter up into a couple of shorter chapters, or run a few together -- but I usually stick quite close to them.

I received the UK audio CD version of "Lord Loss" today, and all I can say is -- WOW!!!! The reader, Rupert Degas, has done a brilliant job! He reads at just the right pace, and handles the voices absolutely perfectly -- his Lord Loss is ace, exactly the way I imagined it should be, not overdone; Dervish's accent isn't quite the way I thought it would be, but it works very well; but my favourite is Bill-E -- he makes him sound like a wannabe rap star -- hilarious!!!!! The packaging is great too, and there's some spooky musical effects to round it all off.

I'd definitely recommend the CDs if you're into audio books. If you can't find it in your local shop, ask them to order it for you. Alternatively you can order it directly through my publishers, HarperCollins, by clicking on this link: http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/books/default.aspx?id=33332

You can also order it through Amazon by clicking here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0007213891/shanville -- but they're currently quoting a 4 to 6 week wait for it!!

Spent today working on the September issue of the Shanville Monthly. I didn't have a huge amount of news to report this month (August is generally a quiet month, since lots of people are on hols), so I added some reviews of "Lord Loss" and extracts from my Blog to pad it out a bit. I meant to have it finished by midday, so that I could work on some other stuff, but it stretched into the afternoon, as it nearly always does.

Started listening to a new batch of CDs yesterday: "Want Two" by Rufus Wainwright; "Shootenanny" by Eels; "Fisherman's Woman" by Emiliana Torrini; "The Magic Numbers"; "Staring at the Sea" by the Cure; and "Golden age of radio" by Josh Ritter.

One of my cousins, Ronan, was going to his Debs tonight. I went out to see him off in the afternoon. Have to admit I felt quite old watching him. He's the first of 5 kids that one of my aunts had, and they've been like younger brothers and a sister (4 boys and 1 girl) to me. I've babysat them all over the years, and it seems like just a couple of years ago that I was pushing Ronan around in a pram. Now he's several inches taller than me and heading out for a night of carousing and mischief (if he's lucky!!!), while I'm sitting home, probably to watch a movie and have a mug of hot chocolate. Time's a-passing and poor Shan's getting older. *sob*

:-)

In all seriousness -- have fun while you can, my young and crazy Shansters, because once time passes, it can never be bought back ...

Finished my first edit of Book 7 of "The Demonata"! It went quicker than I expected. Normally, at the first edit stage, I have quite a lot of rewriting to do, but this one seemed fairly solid -- hopefully that's a sign that it's going to be a very good book!!! Strange to think it won't see print for another 3 years -- May/June 2008!!!! But I'm glad I'm so far ahead of the publication schedule -- it gives me plenty of time to work on the editing process of the books in between, and also to write the last 3 books of the series. In fact, if all goes according to plan, and I finish the first drafts of books 8, 9 and 10 by the middle of next year, I'll have loads of time to focus on other books and projects, meaning, when the series ends in December 2009, I should have plenty of new material ready and waiting to hit you all with!!!!!!!

It was a dog of a day in Limerick. It rained almost non-stop, and we had thunderstorms around lunchtime -- lots of thunder and lightning. Had a power cut later, when I was eating my dinner. I thought I might be in for a night of no electricity, but luckily it snapped back on after 20 or 30 minutes. Living in the countryside is nice and peaceful, but you do sometimes find yourself at the mercy of the elements!!!!

Edited the middle third of Book 7 of "The Demonata" today. What I like most about the editing process is that it's so QUICK!!!!    :-)    I actually think speedy editing is quite crucial to the way that I write. When I do a first draft, I've no idea what the book will actually feel like when it is read -- because I'm doing it 10 pages per day, over a number of weeks, I can't see the overall picture; it's impossible to know if the book works as a whole. When I come to the editing process I try to place myself in the reader's position. By editing quickly, it's almost as if I'm reading the book, which gives me a good idea of what parts work and which don't. At certain stages of the editing process I have to take my time -- e.g. if I have to re-write certain scenes, or add new material. But I always like to fit in at least 2 or 3 really swift edits along the way, so that I can judge the pace of the book.

I'm pretty pleased with how the middle currently reads. I find the middle sections the trickiest part of most books -- it's where the action can bog down. There's one chapter which is probably a bit too slow as it stands, but I can work on that further down the road. Mostly it's nice and tight, with lots going on -- the way that I like it!!!!

Got back to my PC and editing duties after a couple of weeks away. Began editing Book 7 of "The Demonata". The start is stronger than I thought it might be. Although it's a bit slow to begin with, because of the need to recap certain events from earlier books, it picks up speed relatively quickly, and I like the action scenes. Book 7's got a high action quotient. It's structured in three acts, and in each act there's an attack and lots of fighting.

It struck me, while editing these chapters, how far the series has evolved since I first sat down to write "Lord Loss" a few years ago. It's taken me in directions I hadn't dreamt of back then, and never could have imagined. I thought I was writing a single book about demons, where everything was fairly straightforward and simple. Instead I've ended up doing 10 books about them, and found myself spiralling off into wild and blood-stained corners of my imagination.

Coolio!!!!!

I watched "Constantine" tonight. It was quite a good film, better than many comic-book adaptations, though not as striking as some of the comics which inspired it. (I loved the Garth Ennis run on "Hellblazer", though I never really got into any other writer's take on the character.) In some ways "The Demonata" is similar to the "Hellblazer" comics -- they both focus on humans who have been marked out by higher forces (or plain good/bad luck) to combat demonic evil. The similarities only run skin-deep -- the two story-lines are vastly different, and so are the characters and tone -- but I'd definitely have to cite "Hellblazer" as an influence on "The Demonata", albeit an unconscious one.

Another similarity is that the producer of "Constantine" is the same person who will be producing the movie of "Cirque Du Freak" (IF it gets made by Universal during the next few years). Coincidence, or demonic destiny?!?!?

Went to see Spurs at home to Chelsea on Saturday. Had an early start. Got up to Tottenham about 11.15, met with some friends, then went to our regular pub for the pre-match buildup. Left a bit earlier than usual, expecting there to be a big line at the turnstiles, but to our surprise it was the quietest we'd ever seen it -- I think everyone had gone in even earlier than us, to beat the crowds!!!! We started well, but then the ref decided to send off one of our forwards, Mido, and the tide turned. I didn't think it was a booking offence at the time, and when I saw it on the TV afterwards, I DEFINITELY didn't see anything worth a red card!!! It's crazy, in this age of advanced technology, that the safeguards aren't in place to stop a stupid, over-eager ref from ruining a game. There should be camera playback available, so that key decisions such as this can be called correctly. But then again, I guess the moaning and sense of an unjustice being done are part of what make football so interesting and involving!!! Anyway, we lost 2-0 in the end, and I stormed off in a huff. I was especially annoyed that our manager didn't play Robbie Keane -- I'm a huge Keane fan, and think he's one of our very best players, but sadly our manager doesn't see it that way.

Returned to our regular for a few drinks, then went up the West End with one of my friends. (Dave English -- he has a cameo appearance in "Demon Thief", so watch out for him!!) We went to a pub, then to a nightclub -- the Roadhouse, in Covent Garden. It's not often that I go clubbing -- it isn't really my scene -- but we had a bit of fun, dancing atrociously to some truly awful music!!! Got home about 03.00 and hit the sack.

Came back home to Limerick on Sunday. Felt quite rough, but not too bad -- I don't really get drunk when I drink, as I pace myself and try not to overindulge, so I don't suffer from bad hangovers. Opened my post back home, watched a film ("The Band Wagon", a classic old-style musical), had a bath (my first for a few months -- I prefer to shower in the summer, but was tired last night, so fancied a long, relaxing soak), then went to bed shortly after midnight.