• Issue 135 - October 2011

    03 October 2011

    GREETINGS!

     

    Hi, everyone, and welcome to the October issue of the Shanville Monthly!! This is the month when Palace of the Damned is unleashed on fans in Ireland, the UK and USA -- happy days!!! I've been busy writing since I got back from my holidays early in September (after a highly enjoyable event at the wonderful Mountains To Sea book festival in Dun Laoighre on my way home). As fans who follow me on Twitter already know, I've been working on a follow-up series to my Larten Crepsley books over the last few years. With this month's work, I've almost finished my first drafts for the entire series, but there is still a lot of re-writing and editing to be done over the next couple of years. I hope to be able to make an official announcement about the series soon, so keep an eye on the Shanville Monthly over the next few months -- if all goes according to plan, I'll be breaking the big news here in the not too distant future!!! But first there's Palace of the Damned to talk about...

     

     

    PALACE OF THE DAMNED

     

    The third book of The Saga Of Larten Crepsley will be blazing a trail across Canada, Ireland, the UK and the USA this month! In fact, Palace of the Damned offically went on sale in Ireland and the UK on September 29th, and although it is not scheduled to go on sale in the USA until October 3rd, some shops started selling it early, including online industry heavyweights Amazon and Barnes & Noble!! Picking up where Ocean of Blood ended, the book starts in the icy wilderness of Greenland, before going on to sweep across the globe, taking in such settings as Paris, Vampire Mountain, the trenches of World War I, and Revolution-era Russia. It's an epic tale of a lost soul who hits rock bottom them starts to climb again, in a search to find himself and discover who he really is. There are battles, betrayals, shocking twists, romance and lots more! To read my Author Notes about the book, in which I discuss it in more detail, CLICK HERE.

     

    Palace of the Damned should be available in book stores throughout Canada (I had been told from October 5th, but on Amazon it's saying October 18th) Ireland, the UK and USA. If you can't find it on the shelves of your local store, please do ask a member of staff to track down a copy for you -- after all, that's what they're there for!! Alternatively, you can download it as an eBook through Kindle or almost any of the other official online eBook channels. Or, if you prefer to buy a physical copy online, you can click on any of the following links to buy it through Amazon UK if you live in the UK or Ireland, or through Amazon or Barnes&Noble if you live in the USA, or Amazon Canada if you live in... well, I think you can guess where!!! -)

     

    I will be touring the UK and Ireland to promote the book -- in fact, I'll be at least a few days into the tour by the time you read this! I'll be focusing on the southern parts of the UK on this tour, as I haven't been down to many of those areas for a couple of years. Fans in the north shouldn't worry -- having serviced the west and east and south quite comprehensively over the last couple of tours, I think it's safe to say that I'll be spending a good chunk of my tour next May in the more northerly sections of the country!! For full details of this month's tour, check out the listings further below.

     

    I have also now opened a forum on my Message Board, where fans can discuss Palace of the Damned once they have read it. You can access the Forum by CLICKING HERE. Please do not read any of the posts in the forum UNTIL you have read the book, as they may contain spoilers about the book!

     


    BOOKS ON SALE IN OCTOBER

     

    In Hungary, City of the Snakes, the third of my trilogy of books for older readers, goes on sale on October 1st. I'll be interested to hear what my hordes of avid Hungarian fans make of this -- it's my favourite from the series, so I'm hoping they'll like it too! You can check out the incredible cover for it by CLICKING HERE.

     

     

    CHARLIE'S TOP 10

     

    Fast Show star of TV turned hugely popular children's author Charlie Higson has great taste in fantasy books for children!! Check out his Top 10 chart, published recently in the Guardian in the UK—especially entry number 7!! http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2011/sep/15/charlie-higson-top-10-fantasy-children

     


    VIDEO INTRO

     

    You can check out a short video intro to Palace of the Damned that I recorded recently by clicking here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt6IdNlOgv0

     

     

    NEW INTERVIEW

     

    I gave quite a lengthy interview to Jay Slayton-Joslin recently, in response to some very interesting questions that he pushed my way!! We covered a lot of ground -- my new series, my past work, my writing schedule, and more! To check it out, CLICK HERE.

     

     

    SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER TOUR

     

    Here are the final details of my September/October tour of the UK and Ireland, to promote Palace of the Damned. A public signing is open to anyone who wants to come. A schools event is for invited schools only. A public event is open to anyone who wishes to attend, but tickets normally need to be reserved in advance -- you should always contact the organiser in advance to make sure that you will be able to get a ticket. Please note, I am always happy to sign as many of my books as fans wish to bring along from home or buy on the day.

     

    29th September, Thursday

    am -- two schools events, Library Theatre, Central Library, Birmingham.

    7.00pm -- public event, Waterstones Worcester, Unit D, The Shambles, Worcester, WR1 2QJ.

    30th September, Friday

    11.00am -- schools event, Ralph Allen School, Bath.

    2.00pm -- school event, Writhlington Secondary School, Radstock.

    7.00pm -- public event with Charlie Higson, Guildhall, Bath. http://www.bathkidslitfest.org.uk/

    1st October, Saturday

    11.00am -- public signing, Waterstones Bluewater, West Village, Greenhithe, Bluewater, DA9 9SE.

    2nd October, Sunday

    10.30am -- public signing, Waterstones Newport, Isle of Wight, 118 High Street, PO30 1TP.

    3.00pm -- public event, Portsmouth, Highlight Comedy Club, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth, PO1 3TW. For ticket info, click here: http://www.portsmouthbookfest.co.uk/

    3rd October, Monday

    10.00am -- schools event, Bay House School, Gomer Lane, Alverstock, Gosport, Hampshire.

    5.00pm -- public signing, Waterstones Southampton, West Quay Shopping Centre, Western Esplanade, Southampton, SO15 1QE.

    4th October, Tuesday

    10.00am -- schools event, The Trafalgar School at Downton, Salisbury.

    4.30pm -- public signing, WHSmith Exeter, 34/35 Guildhall Shopping Centre, Exeter EX4 3NJ.

    5th October, Wednesday

    9.50am -- schools event, King's School, Barrack Road, Ottery St Mary, Exeter.

    2.00pm -- schools event, Honiton Community College, Devon.

    6.00pm -- public event, Waterstones Plymouth, 1 Charles Street (Drake Circus), Plymouth, PL1 1EA.

    6th October, Thursday

    09.00am -- schools event, Stoke Damerel Community College, Somerset Place, Stoke, Plymouth.

    12.40pm -- school event, Devonport High for Boys, Paradise Road, Plymouth.

    4.00pm -- public signing, Falmouth Bookseller, 21 Church Street, Falmouth, TR11 3EG.

    7th October, Friday

    11.00am -- schools event, The Library, The Sqaure, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

    4.30pm -- public signing, Easons, The Pavilions Shopping Centre, Swords, Co Dublin.

    8th October, Saturday

    11.00am -- public signing, Easons, Dundrum Shopping Centre, Dublin 14.

    3.00pm -- public signing, Easons, Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, Clondalkin, Dublin 22.

    9th October, Sunday

    1.00pm -- public signing, The Book Centre, 10 High Street, Kilkenny.

    3.00pm -- public signing, The Book Centre, 25 John Roberts Square, Waterford.

     

     

    SEPTEMBER GIVEAWAY WINNERS

     

    The exctiing news for anyone who entered the September Shanville Monthly Great Global Giveaway competition before the cut-off date is that EVERYONE was a winner!! Yes, once again I was able to find a prize for every entrant for all of the countries — except Turkey, since none of my Turkish fans entered for that one!! Everyone got at least one signed book — many won several!!! I can't promise to carry on being able to give every entrant a prize - it always depends on how many books I have for a particular country and how many people enter - but I'm doing my best to spread the love as widely as possible!!

     

     

    THE DARREN SHAN GREAT GLOBAL GIVEAWAY!!

     

    When my books are published, my publishers always send me free copies of them. I've built up a massive collection of Darren Shan books over the years, from countries all around the world. I always keep a few of each book for myself, but in many cases I have extra copies. These were stacked away haphazardly in my old house, then in storage for a year while I was living elsewhere, but when I moved back in, I had a chance to go through them and sort them out. Which means that I am now in a position to start GIVING THEM AWAY FOR FREE as competition prizes!!! Most months, for the next few months, I am going to run a competition for readers in different countries. The number of prizes will vary for each country depending on how many books I have to give away. I won't announce the number of books up for offer for any given country in advance -- all I will say is that I have a LOT of books to give away, so I'm going to be trying to issue as many prizes as possible each time! You don't get a choice of book as a prize -- basically, I'll see what I have available, and issue prizes accordingly. And, of course, I will SIGN every book before I send it out!!

     

    This month I am giving away books for fans in ENGLAND, IRELAND, NORTHERN IRELAND, SCOTLAND and WALES.

     

    GENERAL TERMS FOR ALL ENTRANTS:

     

    1) This competition is only open to fans who live in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales. (You cannot enter if you work for one of my publishers or are one of my relations.)

     

    2) You can only enter ONCE, and there can only be one entry per household. If you try to enter more than once, ALL of your entries will be disqualified.

     

    3) Put the NAME OF YOUR COUNTRY and YOUR NAME in the SUBJECT BOX when you send your e-mail. (For example, if I was entering, I would put Ireland, Darren Shan). And make sure you INCLUDE YOUR FULL POSTAL ADDRESS in the body of the e-mail. This is so that I can easily send your prize to you if you win!

     

    3a) If you are 15 years old or older, and would like to be considered for one of my adult books instead of one of my books for children, please include the word ADULT in your entry. (For example, if I wanted to be considered for a City book instead of any of my others, I would put Ireland, Darren Shan, Adult.) Please note. you cannot enter for both -- if you do, both entries will be disqualified. If you put the word Adult into your subject entry, you will be entered into the draw for my adult books -- otherwise you will be entered into the draw for one of my books for children/teenagers.

     

    4) Closing date is midnight, UK Time, Monday, October 10th, 2011.

     

    5) The draw for the winners will be made on Tuesday, October 11th, 2011, or on a date not long after that. It will be a completely random draw, made by Darren Shan personally (I use an online number generator to pick the winner).

     

    6) Information submitted by entrants WILL NOT be shared by me with any other individual or company. I'll keep your details on my PC, then delete the info once the competition ends.

     

    7) My decision will be final.

     

    8) To enter, send an email, along with YOUR NAME and the NAME OF YOUR COUNTRY in the SUBJECT BOX (as well as the word ADULT if you wish to be entered into the draw for my adult books), and your full name and address in the text, to this email address: [email protected]

     

     

    IT'S A WRAP


    And that's it for October!! I hope you all enjoy Palace of the Damned, and that I get to meet lots and LOTS of you on tour!!! Once I've celebrated Halloween (my favourite holiday of the year, of course!!) I'll be back here at the start of November with all the latest news and updates, and hopefully lots of positive reviews of the new book! Until then, all my bloody best, Darren Shan x x x

     

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