GREETINGS!!!

Phew!! I'm eXhausted!!!! I've been travelling around the UK and Ireland, doing book events, for more than 3 weeks now -- and there are some more still to come! I've had a brilliant time so far, though -- met lots of dedicated Shansters (including some regulars from the Message Board!) and hopefully converted some more. I've performed in schools, libraries, cinemas -- even a castle!!! Many genuine heartfelt thanks to everyone who's come along to meet me and support the books -- you've made a young half-vampire very weary but very, VERY happy!!! Now, on with the news ...

BOOK 8 GOES ON SALE IN UK & IRELAND!

Allies of the Night officially goes on sale on November 4, so the wait is almost over! I know I said last month that the book might be in the shops in the middle of October, but this appears not to be the case. Although we managed to supply books at most of my events, not many have turned up on general sale elsewhere, as sellers seem to be holding them back for the official release date. Oh well -- it just means most of you still have it to look forward to -- if you'd read it last month, it would have made the wait for Book 9 even longer!!!!!!!

SHAN ON TOUR

Almost at the end of the tour! I'm very excited to be able to report that I'm making my first ever trip to Northern Ireland this month, on Saturday November 9th, at 1.00pm, in Waterstones. (Please double-check the time with the store if you intend to come.) I hope lots of you turn up to give me a warm welcome!! Also, Limerick and Ennis Shansters take note: because Book 8 didn't arrive in time for my events in Limerick and Ennis in October, I'm going to be doing additional book signings there at the end of November. If you want to catch me, and have your copy of Allies of the Night or other books signed, then check out the NEW dates below!
NOVEMBER
5 - Tuesday - Northern Children's Book Festival, Durham
6 - Wednesday - Northern Children's Book Festival, Darlington
9 - Saturday - NEW! - Waterstones, Belfast - 1.00p.m. (t.b.c.)
29 - Friday - NEW! - The Ennis Bookshop - 4.30p.m.
30 - Saturday - NEW! - O'Mahony's Bookshop, Limerick - 12.00 (midday)

CONTEST
The winners of last month's contest (to win a signed Book 9 cover) are:
LOUISE SOLT, PETERBOROUGH.
MICHAEL RAMSELAAR, WILTSHIRE.
REBECCA HARRISON, LONDON.
PAT CANNON, NOTTINGHAM.
ADAM CROSIER, LONDON.
FIACHRA KENNY, CO. CLARE, IRELAND.
VERENA SCHULTE, GERMANY.
RYAN WALSH, ARIZONA, USA.
RILLY RATLIFF, OXNARD, USA.
CANDICE FRASER, WAKEFIELD, USA.
Congratulations to all the winners. Thanks to everybody else who entered, and better luck next time!

URBAN LEGEND

Check out the following news piece -- I've become part of a modern urban legend!!!!!!
Copyright 2002 The Press Association Limited
Press Association
October 8, 2002 , Tuesday
SECTION: HOME NEWS
HEADLINE: BLACK WIDOW SPIDER FOUND IN BUNCH OF GRAPES
BYLINE: Ben Mitchell, PA News
A mother today spoke of her shock at finding a black widow spider in her fridge. Linda Cooper, 39, was reaching for a bunch of grapes she had bought three days earlier when she spotted the little black spider crawling on the fruit. Mrs Cooper, a teacher with two children Edward, 10, and Sophie, five, said she was shocked and scared when she saw the spider which she later discovered was poisonous. Mrs Cooper, who lives with her husband David, 44, in Wimborne, Dorset, said: "I was getting a little bunch out when I saw something amazing in there. I tied a knot in the bag of grapes and threw it back in the fridge. It was very pretty and I got Edward to get his book so we could identify it. We found that it was a black widow and that they can be lethal, although they are tiny they can kill with one bite - especially children. That made it a bit scary and we didn't know what to do with it, we didn't want to kill it because it was so pretty and rare and if it escaped we would have to move house." They decided to name the spider Madame Octa after an evil spider in the children's book Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan. Mrs Cooper contacted police and the spider was taken to its new home at London Zoo. She added: "The children were thrilled to find it, it was more exciting than scary. But I am not cross with anyone about this, it's just one of those things." A spokesman for Tesco, where the grapes were bought, said the supermarket chain was concerned that the spider had got through safety checks and Mrs Cooper would be contacted about the discovery.

DARREN SHAN WALLPAPER

Fancy some Darren Shan wallpaper for your PC? Well, now you can download some super-cool images from the official Taiwan Darren Shan web site by clicking on this link: http://www.crown.com.tw/darrenshan/dnld.htm The files are zipped, and have to be unzipped before you can add them to your computer. There are probably different ways to do this. What I did was: (i)Clicked on the size of the image I wanted, ie 800*600, (ii)Saved it to a folder on my PC (iii)Unzipped it by clicking on the icon in the folder (iv)Saved it as a Bitmap image, which allowed me to right click on the main PC screen, go into Background, and select it. Good luck!!

DEJÁ VU!

Have you checked out the various Darren Shan covers, from all around the world? If not, now is a good time to break the ice, as I've added lots of new covers to Shanville, from countries including France, Taiwan, Hungary and Germany. To check them out, click on this link, and then go browsing! http://www.darrenshan.com/gallery/gallery1.html

IT'S A WRAP

And that's it for November! I hope those of you in the UK & Ireland (along with those from elsewhere who order copies from the UK!) relish your run-in with the Allies of the Night later this month. I'm going to enjoy the rest of my tour, along with the official book launch on the 12th (I'll talk more about that next month!!!!) -- then get back to doing some writing!! See you all in December, when the countdown to Christmas begins! Until then, all the bloody best, Darren Shan x x x