Back in the day I used to get lots of letters and lengthy emails from fans of my books. That's changed with social media, as most of you now contact me via Facebook or Twitter, where your messages tend to be more truncated. But I do still get the occasional old-school letter or long email, and one was sent to me a few months back by a Mum of a young boy who had just discovered the joy of reading. It's the kind of email that reminds me, on my glummer days, why I became a writer and how important my stories have been to my readers, and gives me a kick up the bum to say that I should be busy writing, not sitting around moping!!! :-)

"Dear Darren, my son Noah, age 9 (nearly 10) is a very competent reader, however he has never chosen to read for pleasure despite my encouragement. We've been to bookshops and libraries on numerous occasions, where he would choose a book that he seemed interested in, only for it to sit unread at home. Even my offers of reading it to him weren't enough to change his mind, he was totally uninterested. Until last week.

"He came home from school and started talking about a book that his teacher was reading to his class, he was keen to tell me about the characters and storyline. He was consistent in talking about it for three days, and while on my lunch break I came across a copy in a charity shop, so I bought it for him, and I have never seen him so thrilled to receive a book.

"That book was Cirque du Freak, and he eagerly started to read it the moment we got home. He was eagerly telling me about the plot, he was reading aloud to me, so keen to involve me in every chapter. He completed it in three evenings!

"Having seen how interested he was, I wanted to encourage him, so I purchased the complete set for his birthday. I ended up giving him the set yesterday as an early birthday present as he just would not stop talking about how he couldn't wait to find out what happens next. He was over the moon. The minute he got up this morning he started book two, and as I write this he's halfway through it. He has read the blurb on every book, and talked non stop about what he thinks will happen, and what he hopes will happen.

"I just wanted to say a huge thank you for writing a series of books that has captivated the most reluctant reader, and hopefully sparked a love of reading that will continue. I'd better leave it at that as I'm now being told that Darren has returned to Cirque du Freak, and is sharing a room with Evra the snake boy! Thank you so much, Zoe."