Day 5 of my tour of the USA, and I've been absolutely blown away by the commitment of my fans here!! I tend not to get the same sorts of numbers turning up at the public events that I get at my events in the UK and Ireland and other parts of the world, but the quality of those who come simply blows me away!! For instance -- Nicole (AKA Grafin Drachen) who drove 8 hours from Canada to come see me in Watchung Booksellers!! Katie and Dave, who drove nearly 6 hours from Wisconsin to Chicago, then flew from Chicago to New Jersey to see me at Barnes & Noble in Cherry Hill!!!! William and his Mum, who drove six hours down from New Hampshire to Boston for my event at the public library today!!!!! When you get fans going WAY above and beyond the call of duty as they have done, it's awe-inspiring and humbling. Most of the staff organising the events have never seen anything like it before. But I have. I know from past experience just how incredibly dedicated and loyal you guys are. That's why I keep on touring -- when fans like the above three, and all the others who have gone out of their way to come see me, keep turning up and putting in the effort, it seems only fair and proper that I do the same!!!

It's been an enjoyable tour so far. The events haven't been massively attended, but they've all been very good crowds, and we've filled most of the spaces in all the rooms where I've been, which is nice -- it's even been standing room only at some of them! The staff at Jefferson Market Library kicked things off in great style, turning the building into a freakishly eerie zone with characters in costume and even some menacing puppets!! I had a long day of driving around in New Jersey on Saturday, but the reception from the booksellers and fans made it all worthwhile -- I was particularly tickled pink when one seller said she had been doing events for 13 years and I was the best speaker she had ever heard!!!! I flew up to Boston this morning, grabbed a bite to eat in Faneuil Hall, did my event, and now I'm getting ready to go grab some dinner and then probably go see a movie a bit later on. The next few days are going to be intense, so I'm going to enjoy my slice of free time while I can!!! Don't forget, you can find full details of my remaining events in the Shanville Monthly on www.darrenshan.com