Darren Shan - Author

Hi everyone, and welcome to the June issue of the Shanville Monthly. I'm freshly back from honeymoon -- I loved the ancient ruins, beaches, modern cities and natural wonders of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, and you can check out some photos on my Facebook page by CLICKING HERE or on Twitter by CLICKING HERE and scrolling back through the entries. Meanwhile, the latest Zom-B book goes on sale this month. You can read more about that, and check out some cool interior images, below. There are also the latest tour updates, info about a competition, and a whole lot more. It's business as usual, folks -- Shan is back!!!!

Zom-B Angels, the fourth book in my new Zom-B series, goes on sale in the UK and Ireland on June 20th, and in the USA on July 9th (though it will probably start appearing in stores across the States earlier than that). It will also be going on sale around the same time in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. I've provided images of the UK and USA covers above.

Book 4 is when we start to get answers to many of the questions thrown up by the first 3 books -- where have the zombies come from? How did they spread across the globe so quickly? How do Mr Dowling, the mutants and Owl Man fit in with it all? It's not the most action-packed book of the series, but it is packed full of answers, it introduces us to lots of important new characters, and it also throws up a whole host of new questions -- including how much of what we learn in this book can we actually believe?!? I think it's going to provoke a lot of debate among fans -- at least, I hope it is!!!!

If you would like to pre-order Zom-B Angels, you can do so at your local bookseller, or else you can do it through Amazon UK or if you live in the States then the main Amazon site.

As always, Warren Pleece is on hand to provide gorgeous interior art for Zom-B Angels, and here are three of his rough drawings for you to drool over while you're waiting for the book to arrive. These are not the finished pieces, but I love seeing Warren's work in progress -- I hope you guys do too!

I released a short book on May 15th called Hagurosan. Adapted from a short story I wrote way back in 2002, it's 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 by CLICKING HERE. And you can read a couple of very nice reviews of it by CLICKING HERE. Hagurosan will not be as widely available in bookshops as most of my other books. If you can't find it in your local shop, please ask the staff if they can order it in for you. Otherwise you can buy it through Amazon UK by CLICKING HERE. (Fans in other countries, please note that you can probably order it through Amazon UK too, but shipping costs will probably be quite high.)

The publishers, Barrington Stoke, are running a great competition this month. Three lucky winners will each win an exclusive signed Hagurosan poster. There aren't many of these around, and even fewer that are signed by me!!! All you have to do is send an email with your name, age (you must be under 18), address and email address to: [email protected] The closing date is June 30th. After that, three lucky winners will be picked at random and the signed posters will be sent out ASAP.

Because the competition is being run by the British publishers of the book, 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!!! But worry not -- I will be running a different competition myself next month that will be open to fans of all ages, everywhere.

Although Zom-B Angels doesn't go on sale until June 20th, reviewers sometimes get sent advance copies of my books, so there have already been a couple of reviews -- and they've both been mostly nice and positive, I'm relieved to say! If you want to check them out, to whet your appetite ahead of the book's release, CLICK HERE.

INTERVIEWS AND ARTICLES

Here are links to some interviews and articles that I have either contributed to or been the focus of over the last few months.

First up, I recorded an audio interview with Talking Books, which you can listen to by CLICKING HERE.

Next, the Evening Standard ran an article that was both extremely complimentary to my books, while very dismissive and snobbish at the same time!! To find out what I mean, CLICK HERE. While I found the piece amusing despite its digs at my work, my feeling was that the author of the piece had not actually read any of my books, and I suggested over on Twitter that she give The Thin Executioner a try before dismissing me outright. She has gamely said that she will, so we’ll see if there are any updates on this in the near future — maybe she’ll end up becoming a hooked Shanster too!!!!! :-)

The New York Public Library recently recommended lots of good horror books to their readers who enjoy darker material, and I was delighted to see Zom-B in among the mix! You can find the full list OVER HERE.

In a Darren Shan-related article, Salma Hayek, in her role as Truska in the Cirque Du Freak movie, made this list of Best Movie Beards, the only woman to do so! CLICK HERE for hairy treats!

When Charlie Higson was interviewed by Horror Writers Association, he was asked to recommend some other books to his fans, and I delighted to see Zom-B in among his choices! You can read the full article HERE.

I took part in a Zombie Roundtable discussion with a couple of other YA authors on the Guilded Earlobe site. It’s very interesting to compare our responses to the same questions.CLICK HERE.

I was interviewed for Horror Writers Association by Jonathan Maberry, who, as a writer, came up with some very interesting questions! To read it, CLICK HERE.

Finally, I was very chuffed to see four of my series on the shortlist of a Top 10 Book Series page, and at the time of writing three of them are in Top 10 position, with one at #2! If you want to take part, choose your favourite and cast your vote for it, CLICK HERE.

A DELAYED HUNGARIAN BIRTH

It's been a while coming, but my Hungarian fans now have cause to celebrate, because Birth Of A Killer, the first of the 4 books in The Saga Of Larten Crepsley, went on sale in Hungary on May 31st!! I've been to Hungary a couple of times on tour, and I know that you guys are some of my most loyal fans anywhere in the world, so I'm delighted to finally be able to share Mr Crepsley's past with you! You can see the fantastic cover for the book above, and you can read a bit more about it on the Mora site by CLICKING HERE.

A DEAD GOOD BARGAIN DOWN UNDER!

Shansters in Australia, take note!! Zom-B (book 1) is going to be sold at the reduced rate of $1.99 for 2 weeks, starting June 18th. If you don’t already own a copy, this will be the perfect time to dive in! If you do own a copy (in fact, even if you don’t), make sure you tell all your friends!!!! Books 2 and 3 are already available in Australia, and book 4, Zom-B Angels, goes on sale there in July.

USA - BROTHERS TO THE DEATH

Brothers To The Death, the 4th and last of the Mr Crepsley books, went on sale in paperback format in the USA in May. I love the cover, and of course the story isn’t half-bad either!!! You should be able to find it, along with the other three books in the series, in your local book store, or they should be able to order it in for you if you ask. Or else you can buy it online by CLICKING HERE. All four books in the series are now available in paperback format in the USA, as well as already being available in hardback format, or as download for your eReader.

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 this month, on June 6th -- hurrah!! It's been a long time coming, but we got there in the end!!!!

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.

UK - DEMONATA REBORN

HarperCollins, my UK publishers for The Demonata, have decided to re-release the series with brand new covers. They've gone for a VERY different look this time round, and I'm intrigued to see how all ten covers are going to work out! The new editions of the first two books will go on sale in the UK and Ireland on July 4th, with the rest to follow over the space of the following year. And here are the covers for the first two little monsters -- enjoy!!

SUMMER EVENTS IN IRELAND AND THE UK

I'm going to do a few public events in Ireland and the UK over the course of the summer.

First I will be returning to the Listowel Writers' Week on Sunday June 2nd, at 12.30pm. http://writersweek.ie/

In Scotland I will be appearing at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose on Sunday June 16th at 1.30pm. You can book tickets by CLICKING HERE.

From June 20th to 23rd, I'll be going on a short tour to promote the release of Zom-B Angels, which will take in the following:

Thursday June 20th -- 9.45am -- School event -- Costello School, Basingstoke.

Thursday June 20th -- 2.15pm -- School Event -- Bishops Challenor School, Basingstoke.

Thursday June 20th -- 4.30pm -- Public Signing -- Waterstones Salisbury, 7-9 High Street, Salisbury.

Friday June 21st -- 9.00am -- School event -- Norton Hill School, Midsomer Norton, Somerset.

Friday June 21st -- 1.30pm -- School event -- Merchants' Academy, Bristol.

Friday June 21st -- 7.30pm -- Public event -- Bristol Central Library, College Green, Bristol.

Saturday June 22nd -- 11.00am -- Public signing -- Waterstones Newport, 159 Commercial Street, Newport.

Saturday June 22nd -- 2.00pm -- Public signing -- Waterstones Cardiff, 2a The Hayes, Cardiff.

Sunday June 23rd -- 12.00pm -- Public signing -- Waterstones Swansea, The Old Carlton Cinema, 17 Oxford Street, Swansea.

Then in Ireland on Wednesday 10th July I will be heading to Bantry to do an event at the West Cork Writers Festival at 2.30pm.
http://www.westcorkmusic.ie/literaryfestival/programme/detail/darren-shan-unveils-his-radical-new-zom-b-series

And in August, of course, I'll be heading to Edinburgh for my 14th Festival appearance in a row, before embarking on a full-on tour (at this moment I honestly have no idea where) in late September and early October when the Zom-B Baby is released.

CANADA! DO YOU WANT TO CHAT?!?

I will be doing an online virtual event for fans in Canada, in which I will be answering questions live. This will take place on July 12th, and you will be able to find out more about this at some point in June by CLICKING HERE. I will also provide updated information in the July issue of the Shanville Monthly.

IT'S A WRAP

And that's it for June. I plan to spend most of the summer writing, although I'm touring for a while as detailed above, and I'll also be taking in some bands, theatre, movies and other bits and pieces -- I'll be posting reviews, no doubt, over on Facebook and Twitter for those who are interested in what I get up to in my spare time. If you can come catch me on tour in June, don't forget that I'm always happy to sign as many of my books as you want to get signed -- it's never limited to just the most recent one! I hope you all enjoy Zom-B Angels when it comes out -- we're starting to get to the heart of the story, and it's gonna be fast and furious from this point on. As Al Jolson once put it, "You ain't seen nothing yet!!!" I'll be back here at the start of July for the birthday issue of the Shanville Monthly -- I'll be running a special competition to celebrate, so don't miss it! Until then, all my bloody best, Darren Shan. x x x

Follow Darren Shan on Facebook and Twitter. He also has a (very rarely updated!) YouTube page.

Issue 155 - June 2013

Shanville Monthly Archive