Printed out all of my Edinburgh material and marked it up, i.e. highlighted the lines which my volunteers will have to read out. I'm happy with what I've prepared for both events. I don't think either will match my best-ever events (the very first scene I ever prepared - the bit where the wolf man bites off a woman's hand at the Cirque Du Freak - is still the most popular of anything I've ever done, and wows the crowds even if use it now, more than 5 years after the book's release!), but they should hopefully be pretty enjoyable. They'll certainly be insightful -- Friday's will reveal facts about "The Saga" never before revealed, and on Saturday fans will learn all sort of world-exclusive facts about the next 3 books in "The Demonata"!!!

I actually place a lot of importance on live appearances, which is why I've been prattling on about them so much recently. I think a lot of writers don't bother, or feel uncomfortable, at live events, so they just read out a bit from their latest book. I prefer to turn a reading into an event, to involve the crowd and make it exciting and fun. Especially fun -- an hour can feel like an awfully long time if there aren't any laughs from the crowd!!! It doesn't take that much more of an effort, but it makes it mor entertaining for me, and hopefully more entertaining for those watching!!

As an aside, I don't ever charge for public appearances. When I was last in the States, I heard that top writers often charge a few thousand dollars just to appear, give an hour's talk and sign some books!!! I could probably command a pretty hefty fee if I wanted, but it's not something I've ever done. There are a few reasons. One is good karma -- my books are selling very well, so unlike the vast majority of writers, I don't really need to charge for readings or signings; the way I figure it, if I do them for free, I'm putting out good karmic vibes which will hopefully keep me bobbing along nicely!!! But also, I like not charging because it means I'm free to say and do whatever I please. If you accept money to appear at an event, I think you owe it to the person paying you to do as they command, and to structure your event around their requirements. If you do it for free, you have a free hand! I've never pretended to do anything else than plug my books when I do an event!!! I'm there to entertain people in the hope that they'll buy my book!!! I don't ever take the "reading is good for you" line or try to promote books as a whole. My events are never anything more than a glorified Darren Shan plug -- and since I don't charge for them, nobody can ever quibble about that!!!!     :-)