This email from an editor called Katie, in the USA, put a big smile on my face -- and might also prove helpful if any of you are wondering what to buy a newborn at any point in the near future... :-)

"It has been at least 15 years since I last read The Saga of Darren Shan. And yet I still feel compelled to write to you today to thank you for the impact that this brilliant series had on me, all these years later.

"As an awkward adolescent, one of my greatest joys was retreating into the worlds you created. My aunt, a literary agent in London, sent me the first three books in the Saga before they were available in the United States. I so fondly remember reading through Cirque du Freak, The Vampire's Assistant, and Tunnels of Blood at the speed of light, and then re-reading, and re-reading, them again--that is, until the next book in the series arrived! Growing up in a rural town, I circulated the books throughout my tiny elementary school, and even created a makeshift library stamp stating "Property of Katie" on the inside cover, lest another, bloodthirsty student stole my precious books!

"Fast-forward to today: After many years of working in book publishing, I received an invitation to a fellow editor's baby shower, with the instructions to bring a book for the little one rather than a traditional gift. While my friends frantically texted about whether to give Goodnight, Moon, or The Very Hungry Caterpillar, my mind conjured up a mental image I hadn't seen in years -- of a young man on a rooftop, looking upward, as his body and spirit dissolve into the sky. I have never forgotten that moment, the cathartic and meaningful end to my preteen self's favorite book series, though I have not laid eyes on that page in over a decade. Now, I plan on gifting the gift of Darren to the next generation, in the form of the first three books in the Saga. I also plan on including a note on the inside cover that indicates not my property, but, "To a special Little Person, who I hope, one day, finds these books as life-changing as I did."

"THANK YOU for your work, your art, and your creative mind, and for sharing all three with the world. I hope you know the great impact you have had and continue to have on developing minds, past and present."

And for those of you who might never have seen those original covers of the UK editions, here they are in all their early noughties gory glory!!

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