Flew to Seattle from NY last night, after going to see Spamalot (HUGE fun -- I loved every zany minute of it, though my favourite part was probably the song about needing to find some Jews!!). Flew on Delta Song for the first time -- I thought they were pretty good, and didn't mind having to pay for food or movies. We have that system in Europe now, on many airlines, and if it keeps the costs of tickets down, HURRAH!!!!

I'm staying at a cool hotel in downtown Seattle, and an even cooler room -- the John Lennon suite!! I feel like a rock star!!!!

Did my first two events of my America 2005 tour this morning, in Salmon Bay School, and Whitman Middle School. Enjoyed them both. The students were older at the second event, so I varied my act from the first -- I try to pitch my events to the age level of my audience when I go to a school, having learned (the hard way) that a reading that works for 11 and 12 year olds might not go down at al well with 13 or 14 year olds!!!! I don't get the same sort of kick out of school events that I did when I first started touring, because I've done so many of them by now. But I still enjoy them -- each event is different, and I like the uncertainty of not knowing what the questions-and-answers session is going to bring!!!! I have my first public event later, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for agood turnout ...

Found out that one of my best friend's brother-in-law died in a motorcyle accident today. The friend is Liam Fitz, the guy behind Xeropoint and the designer of my web site. I write a lot about death in my books, because I think it's important to dwell on it and get to terms with it through fiction, since that can help you deal with it when it happens in real life. But it's still always a shock when it happens unexpectedly to someone you know. I've got to get on with my tour and keep my show on the road, but my thoughts will be with Liam and his family for the next few days.

Went to the Metropolitan Museum yesterday -- it's ENORMOUS!!!! Absolutely huge, full of stunning collections. We only got to see a few slices of it. Started off with a new, limited Van Gogh exhibitions -- over a hundred of his drawings. Fine stuff. Then we checked out the Egyptian section. It just kept going on and on and on ... full of amazing artifacts. Had a quick waltz through their African collection, then some of their modern art collection. After that we were just too exhausted to continue!!! We'll definitely be coming back for more the next time we hit NY!!!!

Went for pizza at a cool little pizzeria called Patsy's, up on 1st Ave, between 117 and 118th street. It's an old-style pizzeria, with huge, thin, delicious New York style pizzas. YUM!!!!

Then we went to see "Wicked". We saw it a couple of years ago, with the original cast. Bas loved it. I thought it was good, not great, though I enjoyed listening to the CD afterwards. This time, the actress playing Elphaba wasn't so strong (very good, but Edina Menzel (spelling??) was spectacular), but most of the other actors were fine. The sets are cool and the costumes are great. But I stand by my original verdict -- a fine, amusing, catchy, original play, but no classic!!!

Now I'm off to see "Spamalot", then flying on to Seattle for the start of my tour. I had a fab time in NY and can't wait to return!! Oh, and for those who were curious, I stayed in the Sofitel, and highly recommend it!!!!!!

Toodle-pip, Big Apple!!!!!!!

Went to see the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) yesterday. Some absolutely gorgeous paintings, including Van Gogh's "The Starry Night", which is one of my all-time favourites. Also loved Picasso's "Demoiselles D'Avignon" (not sure of spelling!!), and several of his other pieces. But there was also a lot of stuff in the museum that I thought was complete rubbish!!!! But I guess that's the wonder of modern art, indeed art in general -- what's garbage to one person is a marvel to someone else!!!!

Went for a nice long walk in Central Park after that -- always a highlight when I'm in New York! Then went to visit a couple of friends/work colleague of Bas's, Michael and Kathy, who are puppeteers. They were largely responsible for the creation of "Fraggle Rock"!!!! Spent a couple of hours with them, chatting about puppets, theatre and lots of other stuff.

Then went to the restaurant, "Jean-Georges" for dinner. VERY expensive!!! But also VERY delicious! A very nice restaurant, with nice, attentive staff and absolutely delicious food. It's an extravagance, sure, but if you have a few hundred dollars to spend, there are worse ways to blow it!!!

Howdy from New York!! The flight over was fine. I was flying business class, which is always nice, though Aer Lingus business class to NY from Shannon is nothing extra special, so I probably wouldn't bother with it if I had to pay by myself!!! My video screen wasn't working! The cabin wasn't full, so I could have moved, but then I decided I'd just read for the entire flight -- so I did!!!

First, I went through the page proofs of "Koyasan", which came just before I left. Didn't have to make any real changes, though I did find a few mistakes which I corrected! I'll send these home with Bas (who is in NY with me) to send to my editor next week -- and that will be the end of my work on "Koyasan"!!!

Then I spent most of the flight finishing "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown. It was nicely paced, with some good twists. Not as captivating as "The Da Vinci Code", but a good, enjoyable read.

After that I started "From a Buick 8" by Stephen King. It kicked off very engaginly, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops ...

Met Bas at our hotel, which is very close to Times Square. (She flew from Manchester -- she was at a wedding on Saturday.) We have a very nice room (it would need to be, considering the price I paid for it!!). Went for a little walk in the evening. Ate at TGI Friday's. Then I bought some art pieces by a guy called David Roy -- http://www.woodthatworks.com/ -- they're moving, wooden pieces, extremely cool!! I bought one a couple of years ago and was determined to look for more when I next came back! After that, we watched a bit of TV, then tucked in for a deep night's sleep.

Went to see Spurs play Everton yesterday. We won 2-0, sending us to second in the table!!! It's still very early in the season, but this is the best start we've had in years, so it's exciting times for us at White Hart Lane!!!! Long may they continue!! It was a lovely day for football -- clear sky, not too hot, a full and vocal house, a few drinks before and after the game ... perfect!!!!! Days like this remind me why it's worth going to football matches!!!

Returned home after the game, getting in just before midnight. I spent this morning making sure I have everything for my trip to the States -- I'll be away from home for more than three weeks, so there was a lot to pack!! I don't THINK I've left out anything important -- fingers crossed!!! Right, I'm off soon to catch my plane from Shannon to New York (I'm having a few days R&R before flying on to Seattle for the start of the tour). I'll be providing updates from the tour as often as possible, so keep checking back for all the latest news and gossip!!!!!

Flew over to London last night with my cousins, Lorcan and Kealan. (Lorcan, by the way, was partly responsible for Evra Von -- he can stick his tongue up his nose, which is where I got that part of Evra from!!!) Went to Thorpe Park with them and my brother, Declan, today. I hadn't been there in, I dunno, 18 years or more. It's changed enormously since then, and even more so since the first time I went, which was the year it opened -- back then, they had NO rides, just recreations of things like castles and roman buildings!!! I enjoyed it, especially the Collossus roller coaster, but it's certainly no match for Islands of Adventure or Busch Gardens in Florida!!!! But not bad for a UK park, and it was quite small and easy to walk around. Only downside was that I made the mistake of going on a spinning ride, and felt a bit sick afterwards, so I had to go easy in the latter half of the day!!! Oh -- they also have the best water slide I've ever been on -- it creates a HUGE wall of water, much of which falls back down on thos beneath -- we were SOAKED!!!!

After that, back in London, we went to see a play called "Thick" at the Warehouse Theatre in East Croydon. I'd seen the play a couple of years ago, in Edinburgh, and loved it. It's been expanded slightly since then, though it plays more or less the same as originally. Very funny and very moving. You can read more about it at www.thicktheplay.co.uk If you ever get the chance, GO SEE IT!!!!!!

Well, we're out of it!!!! We fought hard, but just weren't good enough on the night. The game ended 0-0, meaning Switzerland are through to the play-offs, while Ireland's World Cup campaign is OVER!!! I'm not too depressed -- I didn't believe we would win last night, and guessed that the game would end in a draw. In fact, in the end, we were lucky not to lose, as the Swiss had the best chances!!! We blew our hopes in the two draws with Israel -- we should have won both of those games, but didn't. C'est la vie!!!!

Apart from the result, it was a nice little trip to Dublin. The train went smoothly, the weather was perfect, I had a few drinks with one of my cousins (Little John) and a friend of his, the hotel I stayed at was nice (Bewleys) and I got back home on time this morning.

Started to read "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown. It's not quite as catchy as "The Da Vinci Code", but I'm enjoying it so far. His style is similar to mine in many ways -- we both like to make a story move forward as fast as possible, and to end chapters on catchy little (and sometimes big) cliffhangers!!! I know critics often turn up their noses as writers who focus on "insubstantial" matters like pace and plot devices, but I'll take a hot-as-hell story-line over a beutifully-written-but-dry-as-dust character study any day!!!! The best writers, of course, merge the two -- Shakespeare and Dickens spring to mind -- and it's good, as a reader, to vary the type of books you read. But if I could only choose one type, page-turner or "classic", to read for the rest of my life, I'd definitely go for the former!!! For me, above all else, reading should be FUN!!!!!!!

Spent the morning adding more photos to my site! I'm certainly making up for lost time!!! Added two more galleries, one from 2002 (which includes a snap of me on my 30th birthday, as well as one of my in a rather fetching wig!), the other from my trip to Napa Valley in 2004 during my USA book tour.

Right -- I'm off to have a spot of lunch, then I'm catching the train east to Dublin and Ireland's World Cup destiny ...

I managed to add some new photos to my site at last, after a year and a half or so since my last update!!! I can't believe it's been so long!! While I say they're "new" photos, they're actually all fairly old. One folder contains photos of me when I was a very young child. The other contains photos from the summer of 2003!! You can check them out here: http://www.darrenshan.com/photos/index.html

I hope to add a few more folders, of more slightly up to date snapshots, before I leave for the States, and bring the photos page completely up to date by late this year. But we'll see ... And no, I haven't forgotten the new fan art I promised, but the photos are quicker to process, so I'm focusing on them first.

Answered lots more questions from Megumi about book 3 of "The Demonata" today. I also told her a HUGE plot twist from the later book, because I thought it might affect the way she translated this one. But I swore her to secrecy first!!! :)

I'm off to Dublin tomorrow to see Ireland play Switzerland in a make-or-break world cup qualifier. Wish us luck, Shansters!!!!!

Tidying up bits and pieces before I head off for the States. Backed up my computer files, started preparing scenes and plays to take with me on tour (I like to do a variety of readings over the course of a 2 or 3 week tour, to make it more interesting for myself!). Also started answering my Japanese translators questions about book 3 of "The Demonata" -- Megumi is the most thorough of all my translators and likes to pin down the exact meaning of anything she's even slightly unsure of. I suspect the Japanese versions of my books are as close in content to the English originals as it's possible to get!!!! I meant to add some more fan art to my site before I left, and maybe some photos, but that's not looking very likely at the moment ...

Went to see the new version of "Oliver Twist" at the cinema, the one directed by Roman Polanski. Quite good, but a strange choice for Polanski. There have been so many films of the book that I find it hard to get especially excited about new versions of it -- there's only so many times you can sit through the same story without losing a bit of interest!!! This was a good, workmanlike adaptation, but I found it hard to see the point for it. If you've never seen the 1940s David Lean version, with Alec Guinness as Fagin, you should track it down immediately -- that's easily the best film of the book ever! And Lean's other Dickens adaptation, "Great Expectations", is even better -- two classic movies that make all other versions seem more than a little redundant.