Believe it or not, Ladies and Gentlemen, but Darren Shan is here! International Bestseller of two series of books, Shan has sold over 10 million copies of his books all around the world! With the last book, Hell's Heroes in the Demonata series coming out in October, a manga series for The Saga of Darren Shan and the first of a new four-book series due out in October 2010, Shan has kept himself very busy. That still doesn't stop him from blogging though, and today, that's what he's here to talk about.

STN: Hello Mr Shan. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer a few questions. So tell us, what do you blog about?

DS: Writing -- I try to provide as much insight into the working life of a writer as I possibly can, along with lots of hints and tips -- and also my day-to-day life.

STN: Do you think the blogging helps you with your career?

DS: Not particularly, no. It's fun for me, and hopefully for my fans, but it doesn't have much impact on sales, as far as I'm aware.

STN: How much feedback do you get from fans on your blog? Is it a good way to keep in touch, in your opinion?

DS: I get a nice few comments about most blogs. It's a nice way to keep in touch -- I think it makes me more real for fans, they can hear me moaning about power cuts at home, raving about films that I like, etc.

STN: What advice can you give to other bloggers to get noticed more?

DS: Don't worry about getting noticed -- I think, the harder you try, the less you'll succeed. Write for yourself, then just hope others are interested too.

STN: How do you decide what to talk about? It's not always as account of something in your day, is it?

DS:Sometimes it will be about what I'm working on, or something that happened to me, or I'll respond to a question that a fan asked in a letter or email.

STN: What can you tell newbies to blogging about how to do it? Does a personal blog like yours get a lot of traffic?

DS: It doesn't get huge amounts of traffic. Do it because you want to, for fun.

STN: What makes you want to blog?

DS: I used to keep a diary when I was younger. I stopped several years ago and have regretted it ever since. The blog is a way for me to keep a kind of diary which I can look back on in later years.

STN: I'll let you get back to your work now; anything you'd like to say to your adoring fans before you go?

DS: Keep on adoring!!!!!

:-)

Cheers,

Darren.

A million thank-yous to Mr Shan (sorry, I'm star-struck and can't call him "Darren"!) As you an imagine, with everything I've listed above, he's rather busy, so his answers are short and sweet. Better than no answers at all as far as I'm concerned!