The waiting is over! I am delighted to be able to reveal that the title for the fifth Zom-B book will be...
ZOM-B BABY.
Set straight after the events of book 4, Zom-B Angels, this takes us even further into the darkness of the strange new post-Apocalyptic world of B Smith. If you read book 1, you probably remember the babies in B's dreams? Well, without giving too much away, this book is going to re-introduce us to one of those "charming" little infants. Trust me -- when you've read this book, you will never look at babies in the same way again!!!!! The cover of Zom-B Baby is also shaping up to be one of the creepiest yet. I hope to be able to share that with you next month, although since I will be on honeymoon, my publishers will be revealing it first, via the official Darren Shan Facebook and Twitter pages. You can find the Facebook page by CLICKING HERE and you can follow me on Twitter by CLICKING HERE
HAGUROSAN
As I revealed in February, I am releasing a short book on May 15th called Hagurosan. Adapted from a short story I wrote way back in 2002, this is a sweet tale about mountain spirits, inspired by something that really happened to me in Japan. Publishers Barrington Stoke have done a beautiful job with the story, adding lots of incredibly detailed interior artwork by Zack McLaughlin. You can find out a bit more about the book, as well as read the first chapter more than a month ahead of its release, by CLICKING HERE.
NEW AUDIO BOOKS
For fans who like audiobooks, please take note that Zom-B Underground is now available to download both in the UK, read by Zawe Ashton, and in the USA, read by Emma Galvin.
To download it in the UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zom-B-Underground-Book-Unabridged/dp/B00B76VQ5Y/shanville
To download it in the USA: http://www.amazon.com/Zom-B-Underground/dp/B00AVGGEB2
Also, the book for adult readers that I released last year, Lady Of The Shades, is now available in unabridged audio format in the UK and Ireland, read by William Hope. You can buy it on CD through Amazon, or download it if you prefer. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lady-of-the-Shades-Unabridged/dp/B00AM9D9LQ/ref=tmm_aud_title_0
A GERMAN LADY
Speaking of Lady Of The Shades... if you are one of my older German fans, take note that it will be released in a German translation as Die Toten, Die Ich Rief on April 2nd. I absolutely LOVE the German cover for the book, which you can see above!! If you can’t find it in your local store, please ask staff for help or to order in a copy for you, or else you can buy it online here: http://www.vorablesen.de/buecher/die-toten-die-ich-rief
THE DAY SHAN DID IT LIVE!
On Tuesday 19th March I performed a live online streamed event, accessible to fans everywhere in the world. It was a high-tech, one hour affair, in which I read out some grisly extracts and answered as many questions as I could squeeze itn. It had a great response from those who saw it live, and the event has been archived, meaning the rest of you are now able to watch it any time you like -- just click on the following link, enter your details as if you planned to watch the live show, and you will be provided with the link. Enjoy!!! http://www.darrenshanlive.com/
TEACHERS TAKE NOTE!
If you are in the education field, you might want to check out these interesting reports about how a school in Scotland imaginatively incorporated my books into their curriculum:
ARTICLES
I've been a busy boy over the last couple of months, writing some aritcles and giving interviews, around the release of Zom-B City. First up, The Guardian asked me to write a Top 10 list for them, so I chose to focus on my 10 favourite books about outsiders. You can find my choices by CLICKING HERE.
I was also asked by The Telegraph to write a Top 10 list of my favourite children's books, but rather than just list them simply, I made it a bit quirkier by placing them into sometimes inventive categories. CLICK HERE to find out what I'm talking about.
In Ireland I was interviewed by one of my local papers, The Limerick Post, and we chatted about subjects including zombies, racism and cyber bullying. CLICK HERE.
You can read a very sweet report of one of my recent school events in The News Shopper by CLICKING HERE.
You can read another report, this time about one of my signings, in The Cambridge News by CLICKING HERE.
Finally, check out a lengthy interview with me in The Zombie Times -- it starts on page 11. CLICK HERE.
UK MANGA
The Saga Of Darren Shan was adapted into a manga in Japan several years ago, and has been translated and published in lots of countries around the world since then. The UK schedule hit a snag (it's a long story) and stalled at volume 7. Everything has now been sorted out, and the remaining volumes are finally being released in the UK and Ireland. Volume 8: Allies of the Night, hit shelves in the UK and Ireland in December, and Volume 9: Killers of the Dawn and Volume 10: The Lake Of Souls went on sale in January. Volume 11: Lord of the Shadows went on sale in March. That just leaves Volume 12: Sons Of Destiny which goes on sale on June 6th 2013.
The manga won't be widely available, but your local bookseller should be able to order in copies for you if you ask for them. Or you can order by clicking on the Amazon UK links above.
American fans -- all 12 volumes are on sale already in the States. As in the UK, they aren't as widely available as my books, so if you don't see them on the shelves of your local bookseller, either ask the staff to order them for you, or you can get them on Amazon. This is the link to Volume One, and you can find the rest from there.
COMPETITION
There's a great competition currently running over on the Zom-B UK site. One lucky winner is going to get their hands on a HUGE Zom-B City poster -- it's from the batch of posters which were used in train stations to advertise the release of the book. The winner will also receive signed copies of the first 3 books in the series. To enter, visit the site by CLICKING HERE and then have a look in the WIN section.
Because the site is run by my British publishers, I'm afraid the competition is only open to residents of the UK or Ireland. And you need to be under 18 years of age. My apologies to my older and more globally spread-out Shansters!!!