Hi !!

Welcome to the July issue of the Shanville Monthly. Sorry if this one's a bit later than usual, but my publishers sent me their copy-edited manuscript of THE VAMPIRE PRINCE on Thursday and I've been busy going through it, making a lot of last-minute changes. I'm really pleased with it now -- hope you lot are too when it hits the shops next February (so far away!! but fret not -- you've Book 5, TRIALS OF DEATH, to look forward to in between!). Anyway, no more delays -- on with the show!!
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VAMPIRE MOUNTAIN

Book 4 of The Saga Of Darren Shan: Vampire Mountain, hit the shops last month and has become the quickest selling of the books so far! Word is spreading, the Shansters are multiplying -- how long before the freaks take over?!?!? If any of you haven't picked up a copy yet -- do so immediately or I'll set the ghost of Murlough on you!!!! And remember to tell your friends to buy it too!!
I've added links to the early reviews for Vampire Mountain. You can access them through the Shanville UK REVIEWS button, or directly by clicking on this link: http://www.darrenshan.com/vmreviews.htm If you come across any reviews not listed on the site, please let me know by dropping me a line at [email protected] And don't forget you can post your own reviews on Amazon.co.uk.
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LETTERS & INTERVIEWS

I've added some new letters to the site recently. You can access them through the Shanville LETTERS page. I've also added a few new interviews/articles, and one of them features a photo of me in one of my "special" shirts (which I usually only wear when I'm travelling around doing public events -- bearing in mind that Darren in the books likes to dress up brightly!). Check out the Shanville INTERVIEWS page if you want to see just how lousy my taste in fashion really is!!!
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NEW COMPETITION

[email protected]
A brand new competition for Shanville UK readers! To help promote the release of Vampire Mountain, my publishers -- HarperCollins -- have produced a brand new Darren Shan double-sided poster, and a Vampire Mountain postcard. The poster features the cover of Vampire Mountain on one side, and smaller snaps of the other covers on the flip side; the postcard features the VM cover. They're both pretty cool!! This month I'm offering 5 lucky winners the chance to win both a poster and a postcard, and 10 others a postcard! All you have to do is send your full name and address to [email protected] -- that's it!!! No questions to answer or poems to compose!!! The competition will run until midnight, Tuesday July 31st. The first 5 names pulled out of the hat after that will receive a poster and a postcard, the next 10 a postcard (I'll write a personalised message on each card).
Please note: only one entry per person; when sending your e-mail, please put your name in the subject box (it makes it easier for me that way) and make sure you include your full address (including postal code and country) in the message; the winners will be picked at random from all the entries, and the posters and postcards will be sent to them directly; I will post a list of the winners on the Shanville Message Board; this competition is not open to readers in America. Best of bloody luck!!
PS In case there are any paranoid Shansters out there, let me make it clear that I won't be holding on to the addresses of those who enter, or passing them on to anybody else: I'll keep them on file until the competition is over, then delete them.
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TRIALS COMPETITION WINNERS

There was a great response to last month's competition to win a proof copy of Trials Of Death (the biggest response to any of the competitions so far!). The answer to the question -- who is the quartermaster of Vampire Mountain? -- was Seba Nile. I put the names of all those who answered correctly into a hat. The first 3 names out of it were: Conor O'Loughlin of Cork; Stephen Kenneally of Wexford; and Susan Robertson of Glasgow. Congratulations to the lucky winners -- commiserations to those of you who entered and didn't win. Better luck in the new competition!!!!
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USA VAMPIRES ASSISTANT USA

You can now see what the American COVER of Book 2: The Vampire's Assistant looks like, by checking out the Shanville USA home page at http://www.darrenshan.com/usa.htm It's a genuinely creepy looking cover -- I LOVE it!!!
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OTHER COVERS

Have you checked out the COVERS page on Shanville recently, for images of the different Cirque Du Freak covers? There are quite a lot of them now (I recently added the Japanese and Brazilian covers). There's a COVERS button on both the USA and UK home pages -- just click on it for thumbnail of the various covers, which you can then enlarge.
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USA NEW REVIEWS & LETTERS USA

I've added some new American reviews of Cirque Du Freak to Shanville USA. You can access them by clicking on this link: http://www.darrenshan.com/usshan9.htm Also, some new reader's letters, on: http://www.darrenshan.com/usshan10.htm
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EDINBURGH

I'm going to the Edinburgh Book Festival again this year, and very much looking forward to it! I'm doing two events there, on Sunday August 19th at 4.15pm and Monday August 20 at 4.30pm. The events will be very different -- on Sunday I'll be having lots of fun, answering general questions about the books, reading out a bit of Book 5, etc. On Monday I'm going to be talking about how I actually write the books, how I plot them, develop story-line and characters, and edit them, etc. It won't be as much fun as the Sunday event (assuming all goes well on Sunday!!), but it should be interesting -- you might also pick up a few tips if you're a wannabe writer ...
The tickets for each event cost £3.50 and are on sale now. You can order them by phoning the Box Office on 0131 624 5050, or by going to the Box Office at James Thin Booksellers, 57 George Street, Edinburgh, or through their internet site, which you can access by clicking on this link: http://www.edbookfest.co.uk/home.asp#
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TRANSLATORS REQUIRED!

I came across a Dutch review of Cirque Du Freak recently which looks quite interesting, but I can't translate it!! The link is: http://www.pzc.nl/CDA/regioportal/1,2078,1633__639338_,00.html If any Shansters would care to translate it, I'd love to know what it says! You can send translated version to me at [email protected]

ON THE ROAD

I had a bizarre, wonderful start to June in the Gaelscoil in Newcastlewest in Limerick, where the kids and teachers had prepared a right bloody welcome for me!! There was a hand-made coffin with a pop-up head, posters, drawings, ceiling-hangers, a bunch of kids dressed up as vampires doing a "Darren Shan Rap", etc. A great, fun-packed day. It was captured on film by RTE and shown on the Nationwide TV show later in the month. Thanks to Daithi & Norita and everyone else there for arranging it all -- MUCH appreciated!!
The following week was spent touring Scotland and England, promoting the launch of Vampire Mountain. I started in Edinburgh, wound my way down through Newcastle, Huddersfield and Halifax, Sutton in Surrey, and Pinner in Middlesex. Lots of great schools and bookshops, and lots of great kids! I meant to write a long report of my trip this month, to let readers know what life's like for me when I'm on the road, but the arrival of The Vampire Prince manuscript means I don't have the time -- so I'll try to do it next month!
Finally, later in June, I did a public book signing in Eason's in Limerick (one of the very few signing sessions that I've done -- normally I talk to pre-arranged groups). A really good turn-out -- I enjoyed it immensely! Thanks to everyone who came, and to Mary at Eason's for setting it up.
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IT'S A WRAP

And that's it for this issue. No travels for poor Darren Shan in July -- I'll be busy writing while the rest of you are out enjoying the sun and planning your holidays! It's a hard old life ... Oh well, just got to stick my head down and get on with it. Talk to you all again in August. Until then, all the bloody best, Darren Shan x x x
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