GREETINGS!

Merry March greetings, everyone! I had a crazy but fantastically fun February. I took 8 flights, visited London, Prague and Las Vegas, and saw my soccer team, Tottenham Hotspur win a Cup Final at Wembley -- not bad for the shortest month of the year!!! I even managed to squeeze in some work too, including doing my final edit of Death's Shadow, book 7 of The Demonata -- it's all done and dusted now, and ready to hit shops in the UK and Ireland early in May (or even late April, if you're lucky!). While things have calmed down somewhat now, the next few months are still going to be incredibly busy, with lots of to-ing and fro-ing between my home in Ireland and my flat in London -- and then my book tours start!!!! You can find out more about those tours further down in this issue of the Monthly, but first there's some movie and book news to report, starting with ...



MOVIE UPDATES

Filming of the Cirque Du Freak movie started in new Orleans on February 19th. Although I'm not directly involved in the movie, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it all goes smoothly, and I'd like to wish the very best of luck to everyone involved in it -- I hope you all have as much fun working on the film as I had working on the books!!!! I had a short telephone conversation with the director, Paul Weitz, a week after filming started and he said it was going well and that he was very excited about the project. I was also sent the following photo of the actors playing Darren and Steve (click on the thumbnail to enlarge).

That's Chris Kelly on the left, who'll be playing Darren, and Josh Hutcherson on the right, who's playing Steve. If I get any updates about the movie shoot over the coming months, I'll be sure to let you all know. In the meantime, apparently Ray Stevenson has been cast as Murlough in the movie. A native of Ireland (hurrah!!), he has been in a lot of films and TV shows, but achieved fame recently for his major role in the hit TV series Rome. He is also starring as The Punisher in the new film of the comic book. I think he's a great addition to the cast!!! This hasn't been confirmed by the studio yet, but as the info came directly from Ray Stevenson in an interview, I think it's a pretty sure thing.



PROCESSION OF THE DEAD

http://www.dbshan.co.uk

My first book for older readers, Procession of the Dead, is on sale in the Uk and Ireland NOW!!! I've released it under the author name of D B Shan. A dark fantasy novel about a young man who wants to become a powerful gangster, it's very different in style and tone to my children's books, but is written in the same straightforward, pacy style. My D B Shan books are written with an adult audience in mind, so I'd say they were for 15 or 16 year olds upwards. But that should be taken as a rough guide rather than an official certificate. If you're a parent with a 10 or 12 or 14 year old, and you're wondering if Procession of the Dead is appropriate, you'll need to judge the child in question rather than the novel. The book isn't much more violent than my Darren Shan novels, but it features bad language, some mild sex scenes, and a moral ambiguity which younger readers might find troubling -- the divisions between good and evil are explored, rather than laid out in stone, and some of the things that the main character does will make readers wince, and perhaps confuse younger readers who are less worldly. If your child or teenager is comfortable reading Stephen King, they'll be fine with this. But if you'd hesitate to give them one of King's books, I'd recommend exercising caution in this instance too.

Anyway, for those of you who are old enough (or who decide you're old enough!!!) to read the book, it will hopefully be available in most book stores -- but in the adult section, not the children's!!! If you don't see it on the shelves of your local store, please do ask for it. Alternatively you can buy it from Amazon by clicking on the following link

BUY PROCESSION OF THE DEAD

I have also created a web site for my D B Shan books. It features deleted and unpublished scenes, notes about the books, covers, a messageboard, and more. From this point onwards, I'm going to be keeping most of the news about my D B Shan books on the D B Shan site -- I won't be talking about them much here. You can subscribe to the site and be updated any time I post a new item -- as with those who register for this site, I will be keeping your details private and won't share them with any other individuals or companies. The URL for the web site is:

http://www.dbshan.co.uk/

Quite a few people (especially fans in America) have asked if the books are going to be released in other countries. While I certainly hope they are, so far only publishers in the Netherlands have bought the rights. I know my agent has been talking to publishers in other countries, and with luck we'll be able to agree some deals in the near future. Keep an eye on the News section of the D B Shan site for further updates.



CZECH TV INTERVIEW

I went to the Czech Republic to watch Tottenham Hotspur play a game against Slavia Prague in February. While there, I gave a couple of interviews, one to a newspaper, the other to a TV show. You can see me giving the interview on Czech television by clicking on the following link:

http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/vysi...01:05.html

You'll need to scroll forward to the 17 minutes 50 seconds mark, which is when my interview begins. The interview has been dubbed into Czech, but you can hear my answers in English most of the time. It runs for just over 6 minutes.



HUCKLEBERRY SHAN

A new edition of the classic book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is released in the UK and Ireland on March 6th, by Puffin. I have written an introduction for the book, saying why I love it so much, and why I recommend it. look out for the book in your local stores, or you can order it from Amazon by clicking here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adventur.../shanville



AUTHORS FOR AUTISM RESEARCH

AUCTION LINK

A common request from fans is that I use their name in one of my books. While I usually have to turn down such requests, I'm delighted to be able to offer one lucky winner the chance to have their name featured in an upcoming book of mine!!! Charity organisation Autism Speaks has set up an auction on ebay, in which many authors are giving fans the chance to buy a place in one of their future books. I was honoured to be approached by them, and had no hesitation in agreeing to take part. I'm in the process of pinning down the fine details and working out which book the winner's name will appear in, but I'm hoping it will be in Book 8 of The Demonata -- if not, it will be in Book 9. Alternatively I'll give the winner the chance to have their name appear in Hell's Horizon (my second D B Shan book) if they prefer. I'll send out an email about this to all of you guys later in March, confirming the details and reminding you of when the auction is due to go live. In the meantime, you can check out the auction line-up by clicking on this link:

http://members.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=authors_for_autism_speaks

The auction will run from March 23rd to April 2nd. This will be a unique opportunity for one lucky winner to have their name immortalised in a Darren Shan book forever -- and, if I can swing it, I'll even try to give their character a nice, gruesome death scene, so the winner will be able to boast proudly of being killed off by Darren Shan!!!!! All proceeds from the auction will go to Autism Speaks, a charity which seeks to help research the causes of autism. You can find out more about the great work they do by clicking here:

http://www.autismspeaks.org.uk/


It's a one-off chance to be part of a Darren Shan book, and it's for a great cause, so dig deep, people!!!!!!



NEW INTERVIEWS



I gave a couple of interviews recently as D B Shan. I talked mostly about my adult books in them, but I think they might also be of interest to fans of my Darren Shan books. I also scanned in an old interview with me, one of the first I ever gave, back in 1999 when Procession of the Dead was first published as Ayuamarca. If you want to check them out, go to the Interviews page on my D B Shan site by clicking on this link:

http://dbshan.co.uk/thecity/category/interviews/



NEW REVIEWS

I've added several new reviews of Blood Beast and Demon Apocalypse to my web site over the past month. To see what critics have to say about the books, click here: http://www.darrenshan.com/demons...index.html

NEW COVERS

I've added the cover for the Czech Republic edition of Hunters of the Dusk to my site, as well as the Thailand edition of Lord of the Shadows. You can check both of them out by clicking here: http://www.darrenshan.com/vampir...index.html



HUNGARY TOUR

I'm coming on tour to Hungary late in April. I'm going to be doing events on April 25th, 26th and 27th. I will confirm venues, times, etc. in the April issue of the Shanville Monthly.



U.K. & IRELAND TOUR

Here are the latest details for my tour of the UK in April and May (as well as details of an event in Ireland at the start of June -- I'll be doing a larger Irish tour in October when Book 8 is released). Public events are normally ticketed, so you should contact the venue in advance to be certain of your place. Public signings are open to everyone -- you just have to turn up and queue. I always advise getting to my signings a bit early, as they tend to last quite a long time, and those near the back often have a long wait!!! I'll almost always spend at least an hour signing at a store, but often much longer -- I never leave until I've signed for everyone. I will update this schedule closer to the start of the tour, so please do check back in April. If you're interested in trying to arrange a last-minute event for me (i.e. if you live in an area where I'll be visiting), please contact Geraldine Stroud at [email protected] Have a look at the CONTACT page on my web site before you get in touch, for advice about trying to arrange an event.


APRIL

TIME

VENUE
Tuesday 29 9.00am

School event at Emanuel School, Battersea Rise, Wandsworth, London SW11.
Tuesday 29 1.30pm School event at Eaton House Prep School, Clapham Common North, London.
Tuesday 29 5.00pm PUBLIC event at Bexley Central Library, Townley Road, Bexleyheath, Kent DA6 7HJ. This is a ticketed event, so you will need to contact Paul Fisher to arrange for tickets if you are interested in attending. Phone: 02088367451. email: [email protected]

Wednesday 30 1.45pm School event at Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys, Nackington Road, Canterbury, Kent.
Wednesday 30 6.30pm PUBLIC event at Waterstones, 20-21 St Margaret’s Street, Canterbury CT1 2TH.

MAY

TIME

VENUE
Thursday 1 4.30pm PUBLIC event at Borders, N1 Shopping Centre, Parkfield Street, Islington N1 OPS.

Friday 2 10.00am School event at St Columba’s College, King Harry Lane, St Albans AL3 4AW.
Friday 2 2.15pm School event at Astley Cooper School, St Agnells Lane, HP2 7HL. There will also be a PUBLIC signing afterwards. For more information contact Karl Vadaszffy. email: [email protected]
Friday 2 6.30pm PUBLIC event at FCBG Public Event, Leighton Park School, Shinfield Road, Reading RG2 7ED. This is a ticketed event. Contact Sarah Stuffins at the FCBG by visiting their web site: http://www.btinternet.com/~martin.kromer/

Saturday 3 10.00am PUBLIC event. Venue TBC. This is being arranged by The Bookshop, 1d Calton Avenue, Dulwich SE21. Please contact the store for more details. phone: 0208 693 2808.
Saturday 3 3.00pm PUBLIC signing at WHSmith, The Bentall Centre, Kingston Upon Thames, KT1 1EU.

Sunday 4 12.00pm PUBLIC signing at Waterstones, Bluewater West Shopping Centre, Greenhithe, Kent DA9.

Monday 5 2.00pm PUBLIC signing at Borders, Thamesdown Dr, Swindon SN25 4AN.

Tuesday 6 9.00am School event at Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School, Butterfly Lane, Elstree, Herts.
Tuesday 6 1.00pm School event at Bushey Hall School, London Road, Bushey, Herts.
Tuesday 6 4.30pm PUBLIC signing at Borders, 210 High St, Waterfield Retail Park Walk, Watford WD17 2EU.

Wednesday 7 2.00pm School event at The Mall School, 185 Hampton Road, Twickenham.
Wednesday 7 4.30pm PUBLIC signing at Waterstones, 77 High Street, Staines TW18 4PQ.

Thursday 8 10.00am School event at The Judd School, Brook Street, Tonbridge.
Thursday 8 Time TBC School event at Skinners School, St Johns Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
Thursday 8 4.30pm PUBLIC signing at Waterstones, 32-40 Calverley Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

Friday 9 9.30am School event at Caterham School, Harestone Valley Road, Caterham, Surrey.
Friday 9 2.30pm School event at More House School, Moons Hill, Frensham, Farnham, Surrey.
Friday 9 4.30pm PUBLIC signing at Waterstones, 11 Lion & Lamb Yard, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7LL.

Saturday 10 1.00pm PUBLIC event at Polka Theatre, 240 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London SW19 1SB. This is a ticketed event. Please contact the Polka Theatre for more details. web site: http://www.polkatheatre.com/ phone: 020 8543 4888. email: [email protected]

Saturday 17 2.00pm PUBLIC signing at Easons, Golden Island Shopping Center, Athlone, Ireland.

Wednesday 28 Time TBC Event in Birmingham -- venue and details To Be Confirmed.

Thursday 29 Time TBC PUBLIC event at Hay-On-Wye Festival. Details TBC. web site: http://www.hayfestival.com/wales/

JUNE

TIME

VENUE
Sunday 1 11.00am PUBLIC event at Listowel Festival, Kerry, Ireland. web site: http://www.writersweek.ie/



IT'S A WRAP

And that's it for March. I hope you all get lots of yummy eggs for Easter! I'll be back here at the start of April with all the latest news, and updates to my tour schedules. Until then, all my bloody best, Darren Shan x x x