Yipes -- another long delay between blogs!!! Sorry, folks. We flew back from New York on Wednesday, arrived home Thursday, and it's been non-stop since then! First I was tired and needed some rest. Then I had mail and emails to deal with. Then I needed to spend some time out at my old house, which is currently being renovated and extended, discussing wiring and other such things with the builders. Then I needed to focus on my web site, to surf through it and find any mistakes, and to note any adjustments which I wanted my designer to make -- you can never know for sure how a site is going to feel until you get stuck in there and experience it for real once it's up and running. Then I needed to do the Shanville Monthly. Then I had to go to Listowel to do an event - great fun, with a great turnout - and I went out that night and got quite drunk without meaning to. Then I had to sleep off a hangover on Monday!!! But finally, at long last, after all that, here I am!!!!

I returned to work and my editing duties today. I'm currently working on a book for adults. I wrote the first draft years ago and now I've returned to it. As I've said here before, I don't know if this will be my next published book for adults or not. I've been editing another one recently, and I need to decide which to go with first. I hope to publish both of them -- it's just a case of trying to decide which might be the best one to lead off with. I've edited the other book a few times over the past several month. Once I've edited this one into shape, I'll be in a position to discuss it with my agent and we can take things from there.

Speaking of my books for older readers, I received the following email from Judith in Australia today:

We have a large fan base here at marcellin with Cirque du Freak which we offer as a book to study in year 7 and the Demonata series which we introduce with Lord Loss in year 8. The older boys (14+) are keen to keep reading and we have purchased The City series - do you think it is suitable for our shelves?

This is a tricky one. I told Judith that yes, I do think it's suitable for 14 or 15 years and older, but I pointed out the fact that it does contain swearing, some sexual references, and is more morally ambiguous than my books for younger readers. I never like to stick a general age range on a book, as every reader is different. I'm sure there are 12 year olds who have read Procession of the Dead and been fine with it, just as I'm sure that there are 15 and 16 year olds who it might not be suitable for. Children mature at different rates, in different ways. My general rule of thumb is that if they're old enough to seek out a book, then they're old enough to read it. I always loved horror, and I read my first Stephen King book (Salem's Lot) when I was 10 or so years old, so I'm in no position to say that my books are not suitable for children!!! But in a school or library situation, or if you're a parent deciding whether or not to give one of my adult books to a teenager or even a younger child... well, you need to have a quick look through it and decide for yourself. One of the big things that I stress in my children's books is the need to stand up big and take responsibility. It's something I strongly believe in, and it's something I think applies to adults just as much as it does to kids. If it's a child in YOUR care, don't let others make the important calls on your behalf -- take your knowledge of the child and exercise your commonsense. YOU know YOUR children better than anyone else in the world, and YOU should make the ultimate call on what you do and don't expose them to. By all means feel free to ask others for advice and guidance, but don't be afraid to make your final call by yourself. At the end of the day, that's maybe the best gift you can give to a child -- the freedom of choice, and the demonstration of such.