The numbers of fans who have become MySpace friends with me passed the 7000 mark today -- coolio!!! Of course that's not an entirely accurate number -- it includes spammers and people who maybe joined for a short time but don't check back any more. Still, it's nice to see the figures going increasingly up -- no chance of me feeling lonely with you lot around to cheer me up!!!!

Spent most of today working on the Shanville Monthly. It took a bit longer than normal because I had to set up a large, complex competition -- this is probably the last time I'll run 12 competitions simultaneously -- ai yi yi!!!!! Still, what was a pain in the posterior for me is good news for you guys, with loads of signed books up for grabs, covering fans in most of the globe. It was a good issue of the Monthly, I think -- I also reveal the title of Book 7 of The Demonata in it, for the first time anywhere!!!! To check it out, click here: SHANVILLE MONTHLY

I did want to write about a comment I received a few days ago, about my books not maturing at the same rate as my long-term fans, but it's late and I'm tired, so I'll leave that for another blog. I'm just putting this in to remind myself, or else it'll slip my mind!!! I don't plan these blogs out in advance (as you've probably noticed!!!). There are no firm themes running through them on a day-to-day basis. I simply decide what to write each night that I sit down at my PC, sometimes recording what I've been up to that day, sometimes responding to something I read or saw or a fan said. Maybe it would be a better blog if I thought more clearly about it and took a direct line of approach. But, hell, I quite like the chaos of it, and I think it gives you a better idea of what I'm actually like. With my books, I'm always a shadowy figure, giving my characters as much space as possible, not getting in the way whenever I can help it. And in interviews I put on my Darren Shan front, focusing on the books most of the time. It's only really here that you get glimpses of what life is like away from that world, and what passes through my thoughts when I'm not applying them to writing. You'll never get a complete picture of me, of course -- this isn't about laying myself bare and exorcising all my inner demons (assuming I have any!) in public. But I think this comes pretty close.

Right -- I'm rambling!!! Time to stop and head up to bed. Might not be blogging tomorrow (I'm going to London to see a Spurs game), but I'll see you all back here soonish.