Flew to Houston this morning. Brought my blog up to date once I'd checked into my hotel, then hit the road and did three events. The first was at Kingwood Middle School, for a small group of hand-picked fans who call themselves Shananigans!!!! A self-contained room in the library had been decorated spookily, and the kids all chipped in to create a ghoulishly delicious feast, with treats such as "icky eyeballs" and "Sam's remains"!!! (A bit different than the treats Rosy and her friends in Irving are used to!) I had great fun -- just a pity I had to dash off before I had time to smaple some more of the delights on offer!!!!

Next up was a large event at Fort Settlement Middle School. It was open to the public and LOTS of fans came. I was on a big stage, where I did my "Cirque Du Freak" scene and answered questions. Then I was signing for about an hour and a half afterwards.

Finally I did another talk and signing at Border at Fountains on the Lake in Houston. We weren't expecting a big crowd, because the Houston Astros were playing a World Series game, but we actually got a decent turnout and I signed quite a lot of books in the end. I also signed plenty of stock copies, so if you live in the area and want a signed Darren Shan book, get to Borders ASAP!!!!!

Overall, I'm very impressed with the Shan-fan level in Houston -- excellent crowds and enthusiastic fans. I'd certainly return here in the future, if the opportunity arose!!!

Oh -- forgot to mention yesterday that I stopped at a Sonic restaurant for the first time!! I had tots, which I'd never had before, and liked them!!!!!!

Despite my patchy night's sleep, and snoozing through my wake-up call (I knocked my mobile phone off of my bedside table during the night!), I felt pretty good in the morning. My nose was bunged up, but my throat was fine, so I could talk OK. Had 4 excellent events. The first two were school events, in Irving, in Lamar Middle School, and The Academy of Irving ISD. Lots of kids, plenty of fans, and loads of them bought books. I was signing for ages, especially at the second event, which is just how I love it when I go on tour!!!!

Had a nice Mexican lunch with Jennifer and Rosy, then drove over to Fort Worth Public Library, Summerglen Branch, for a public event. There was a good turnout and some VERY excited fans!!! Signed lots more books, then made our way up to Frisco for the final event at Barnes & Noble at 2601 Preston Road. Had a large turnout -- especially for a Tuesday night -- and was there about two hours, giving a reading, answering some questions, and signing LOTS of books.

This was my busiest day of the tour so far, and thus my most enjoyable. I'm never happier on tour than when I'm working hard, meeting lots of fans, and signing stacks of books!! This was my first time in the Dallas region, and based on this response, I certainly hope to return some day soon!!!!!

... Shan rested!!! I didn't speak much, taking care of my throat. Went for a look around a few of my favourite Vegas hotels -- the Venetian (my #1 pick), New York New York (where I went on the roller coaster) and the MGM Grand. Did a small bit of gambling and won a few dollars at roulette, but wasn't really in a gambling kind of mood.

Flew out in the early afternoon, to Dallas. Met my publicist, Jennifer, there, and we went for a meal and some treats with a librarian called Rosy Bee-Atch and a few of her friends. Got to our hotel late, after 11p.m. -- only to find out they'd over-booked and given our rooms away!!!! That's the first time that's ever happened to me, and I was mad as hell!!! The hotel, people, is the Omni Mandalay, 221 E Las Colinas Blvd, Irving -- my advice is to NEVER go anywhere near it!!!!! And warn off all your friends too!!! Luckily we found temporary lodgings in a nearby hotel, but it was VERY late when we got to bed, and naturally we were both quite agitated, so I don't think either of us slept particularly well. Life on the road -- it isn't all glamour and fun!!!!!!

Sorry for the delay in updates, folks -- when I'm on tour, I don't get the chance to go online every day!!!

My Las Vegas events all went well. I'm always nervous at Sunday events -- it's usually the quietest day of the week for crowd turn-outs, in my experience, but I got good crowds at all 3 of the libraries and the store I went to. Started with a mix-up -- the driver who picked me up took me to the wrong library!!! And his company didn't have the correct details on file, so they weren't going to allow him to take me to the correct place!!!!! Luckily Jennifer, my publicist, sorted everything out by phone, and I made it to Henderson about half an hour late. There was a nice sized crowd and I signed their books for them.

I got my largest crowd of the day at Sahara West library, and also two of my most dedicated fans! A couple of teenagers had FLOWN up from MEXICO -- JUST to see me!!!!! They had to get a connecting flight, and were heading back straight afterwards, because they had school on Monday!!!! I always appreciate the effort fans go to when they come to one of my public events, but this was dedication far above and beyond the call of any normal duty!!!!

Having said that, there were some more die-hard Shansters at the Green Valley Library -- they'd driven over 4 hours from Orange County in California to be at the event!!!! I got another good crowd there, then went for something to eat with one of the librarians (Andrew) and a couple of his colleagues. (Sorry, guys -- I'm terrible with names!!) Did my final signing of the day at Borders North Rainbow Road. Not a huge crowd at this one, but more than I might have expected for late on a Sunday night, so I was pleased enough with it.

Only downside of the day was that I picked up a sore throat from the air-conditioning during the day!! The one thing I fear most about tours is catching a cold and losing my voice during them!!! My throat wasn't especially bad by late Sunday night, but I could tell I had a small dose of a cold coming on, so I took care not to go too crazy. Went to check out the Bellagio water fountain display, then strolled back to my hotel (Mandalay Bay), popping in to have a look at one or two casinos along the way, before turning in for a relatively early night.

Had my best public event so far at the Barnes & Noble shop in University Village on Saturday. Had a good turn-out, loads of fun questions, and was signing for nearly an hour. I also had the pleasure of meeting one of my favourite comics creators, the incredibly imaginative Jim Woodring -- check out www.jimwoodring.com for more info about him and samples of his incredible works. I wish we could have had a bit of a longer chat, but I had to make tracks to catch my plane. Flew out of Seattle at 6.31pm. Had a good time up there. Would have liked it if a few more fans had turned up at some of the public events, but those who did turn up were first-rate fans and made the events a pleasure for me.

Flew into Las Vegas, the next stop on my tour. Checked into my hotel, had a relaxing bath, put my ear-plugs in (hotels in Vegas can be noisy places sometimes!!) and hit the sack.

***I'm entering this on Saturday. I wrote it yesterday, to post, but there was a problem with my PC, so I couldn't add it until now!!***

Had a fun event at the Secret Garden bookshop last night. There wasn't a huge crowd, but there were some hardcore fans present, and the store was lovely. And it only just clicked with me that one of my favourite chilhood books was "The Secre Garden"!!! Why didn't I think of that and comment on it last night, when I was there?!? DOH!

Ended up doing FIVE events AND a signing today!!! The first was in the Youth Service Center in Seattle. This was my first time doing an event in a correctional facility and it was a fascinating experience. I had to enter via a metal detector, and leave my passport at reception. I was speaking to a small group, but almost all of them had read my books. Some had even read all 12 of my vampire books! We had a nice intimate chat about the series. In fact, this was the first time I've talked in-depth with fans about book 12 -- when I went on tour in the UK and Ireland last year, it was mostly just signings, so I never got a chace to really discuss the finale with fans!!!! So this event was a LOT of fun for me!

I popped into a book supplier after that, to sign lots of copies to send to stores. Then I went to Auburn High School. I was only meant to be doing one event, but they wanted me to do two. I wasn't happy about that in advance (it's never nice to be surprised with an "extra" event when you're on tour!), but the staff were lovely when I got there, and had decorated the library especially. In the end I had a great time and did two very different events, one focusing on "Cirque Du Freak", the other on "Lord Loss".

After that I did two more store events, at All For Kids and Third Place Books. The turn-outs were small, but again the fans who did turn up were really committed Shansters, and the shop staff were fab. I think the people who work in children's book stores (particularly indepedent stores) are some of the nicest in the world!!!!!

I'm quite tired right now, but I only have one event tomorrow, so it's not too bad!!! I certainly plan to sleep well tonight though!!

Oh, almost forgot to mention! My "escort" (the person who drives m from one event to the next) is a lovely lady called Tracey. She used to star in a local TV comedy show which was hugely successful in NorthWest America several years back! She now mostly gives talks about heart problems (she almost died from a heart problem while on air one night!), but takes around authors her spare time. This is the first time I've had a celebrity escort -- I have to say, it's pretty cool!!!!!!

 

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.