When I looked on my Twitter feed this morning, there were quite a few emails from Japanese fans, telling me my name was trending on Twitter in Japan -- a nice way to start the day!!

Basically, Tweeters were responding to a popular thread called "the 5 books for children that have made me who I am," and loads of people were mentioning my books, specifically The Saga Of Darren Shan / Cirque Du Freak.

My books were wildly popular in Japan in the early noughties (and Japan is one of the biggest book markets in the world). Some of them hit the #1 spot on the overall bestsellers chart, and I went there on tour a few times, where I was literally mobbed by huge crowds -- it's one of the very few occasions I've ever got to experience a little of what it must be like to be a moive or music star! My book sales in Japan (on a series that's 20 years old) are still pretty good even today, but it was lovely to be reminded of a time when they were stratospheric, and to know that they left such a lasting positive impression among the hundreds of thousands of readers who, as children or teenagers or much younger adults (back in the day, many of my fans in Japan were 18 to 30 years old women!!) journeyed with me into the dark, vampiric night of my imagination.

Thanks to everyone in Japan who mentioned my books and helped me trend. Hopefully our paths will cross again one day, and I'll get to return to your beautiful, enchanting country for at least one more senses-expanding trip.