GREETINGS!

Hi everyone, and welcome to the March issue of the Shanville Monthly. It's another exciting month here in Shanville -- Zom-B Mission goes on sale... I reveal the title of book 8 in the series... there are details of my upcoming March events in New York, and my first Canadian events in seven years(!!!) in Toronto and Ottawa (any fans planning to come to my Ottawa event, please note that the date has changed to Thursday March 27th)... I have new covers and exclusive interior art to share with you... there are competitions for fans in Canada and Norway... and more! With so much to share with you, I'm not going to waste any more time here, but instead let's kick things straight off with the revealing of that book 8 title...

ZOM-B 8

The title of the 8th book in the Zom-B series is... ZOM-B CLANS. The original working title was Zom-B Klan, but that didn't go down so well with my editors, so I was asked to have another think about it. I came up with Zom-B Clans, partly because it's a play on the word "klan" but also because the book does focus on different clans and how they interact -- I actually think this works better in the overall context of the book than the first title. It's a fast-paced, action-packed entry in the series, that also features one of the most brutal, shocking twists that I think I've ever come up with!!! But you're going to have to wait a while to learn more about that (July, to be more precise, when it goes on sale) because first up you have the following little beauty to deal with...

ZOM-B MISSION

Book 7 of my zombie series, Zom-B Mission, goes on sale on March 27th in the UK & Ireland, April 4th in Canada, and April 8th in the USA. It will also go on sale in Australia and New Zealand around the same time. The UK cover has now been revealed (thanks to everyone who participated in that last month) and you can see it above, along with the American cover. I think they're both beautifully eerie covers, each equally effective in its own unique way. I hope you guys like them too! For a little taste of what the book is like, here's the cover blurb from Amazon UK:

What has happened to the world since the dead took over? Where have the humans gone to hide? Who do the living most have to fear? B Smith is heading for unknown territory...

Leading a group of humans through London and out into zombie-infested suburbs sounds like suicide - but not for the undead! Even so, the horrors of the journey will be beyond anything B has yet seen ...

'Do not underestimate the dangers of this mission. Other zombies will not ignore you when they catch the scent of fresh brains. You will almost surely be called upon to fight. The city and countryside are full of angry, bitter people who are trying to execute as many of the undead as they can. They will not distinguish between a revitalised and a revived. Most do not know there is a difference. And most would not care.'

And here's what they have to say about it on the American Amazon site:

B Smith and the other Angels are relieved to finally receive their first mission -- to safely escort a group of human survivors from the zombie-infested streets of London to New Kirkham, a barricaded safe haven in the country. But after battling through crowds of undead monsters, B discovers that the survivors of the town don't necessarily represent the best of humanity. And when evil influences make their way to New Kirkham, unearthing demons from B's past, the humans will be forced to choose between being honorable and being safe.

Darren Shan continues his adventures of a teenage zombie trying to right the wrongs of a flawed human life, exploring the morality and ills of society through the lens of an apocalypse gone wrong -- and a terrifying hell on earth reigning

You should be able to buy Zom-B Mission in your local bookseller when it comes out -- if you don't see it on the shelves, do please ask a member of staff to locate or order a copy for you. Alternatively you can buy or download it online if you prefer.

In the UK you can buy the book on Amazon UK (currently at the incredible pre-sale price of just £3.49!!!) or download it in a variety of eFormats including Kindle (where it's currently on pre-sale at just £3.41!!!!).

In the USA you can buy the book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, or download it in a variety of eFormats including Kindle and Nook Book. It will also be available in audio format in the USA -- I recommend download it through the Ambling Books site, or you can get it on CD through Amazon.

ZOM-B MISSION ART ROUGHS

As usual, the fabulous Warren Pleece has produced a stunning set of illustrations to grace the insides of Zom-B Mission. Here are a couple of his early rough sketches from the first half of the book -- I always think it's nice to see these, to compare them with the finished product. I'll try to share another couple of roughs with you next month.

ZOM-B CIRCUS

As I revealed exlusively here last month, I'm releasing an extra Zom-B book in March. Called Zom-B Circus, it's not a full-length book -- it will be about half the size of a normal Zom-B book -- and it doesn't focus on B Smith (though she has a small but crucial part to play in it). Instead it focuses on a teacher from B's school who gets caught up in the madness when the zombies attack, and undergoes a most surprising and disturbing transformation. The book will be a stand-alone, though it also links in with B's story in certain ways, featuring appearances by some of the characters we have already met (or will meet soon) in the main series. It also gives us a chance to have another look at Mr Dowling and his merry crew in wild, kill-crazy action, to catch up on what they've been up to while they've been keeping low in the series...

The plan in the UK and Ireland is to sell Zom-B Circus as an eBook for £0.99 -- we're hoping to have that ready to go on sale in the UK and Ireland at the same time as the seventh book in the series, Zom-B Mission, on March 27th, but there's a chance we might not be able to make the deadline, so it might be some time in April before it goes live -- I'll confirm the exact date next month.

3/3/14 -- UPDATE -- Zom-B Circus has now popped up on the Amazon UK site as a pre-order, and the release date is listed as April 17th, so it looks as if that's the date we're tied into. If you want to be certain of getting it as soon as it goes on sale electronically, you can pre-order it by CLICKING HERE.

Zom-B Circus is also going to be produced in a physical format, i.e. as an actual book, but only as a giveaway -- it's due to be given away free with the magazine SFX in the UK & Ireland, in issue 248, which goes on sale on April 30th. SFX has a circulation of about 30,000 copies, so it will be quite a large print run, but I'd still recommend you reserve your copy of the magazine in advance, before copies of the book start popping up for inflated prices on eBay!!!

Zom-B Circus is also going to be given away for free through Easons stores in Ireland -- this will be at the same time as Zom-B Mission, which is going to be Easons' Childrens Book Of The Month in April. You will be given a copy of Zom-B Circus free at the counter when you buy a copy of Zom-B Mission. To the best of my knowledge this is going to be the case in every Easons store in Ireland, so please make sure you ask about the offer, and if they don't have a copy of Zom-B Circus in stock, hold onto your receipt and follow it up by contacting the main Easons online store.

Zom-B Circus is also going to be made available to readers in America, exclusively as an ebook, but not until later in the year -- I'll have an update about that in a later issue of the Shanville Monthly when it all gets confirmed.

SFX

http://www.sfx.co.uk/

AUDIO FREAKS

TURKISH BIRTH

I’m very pleased to see that Birth Of A Killer is now on sale in Turkey — it came as a nice surprise as I wasn’t aware that my Turkish publishers had finished publishing The Saga Of Darren Shan! I love the creepy cover for it too! If you live in Turkey and would like to buy a copy, you can do so by clicking here.

NORWEGIAN COLLECTIONS

In Norway, The Saga Of Darren Shan has been re-released in four collected volumes, under the title of Skrekkens Sirkus. Each volume contains three books in the series. You can find the rest of the covers by clicking here.

TAIWAN - ZOM-B CITY

IRISH TIMES

COMPETITIONS

To celebrate my upcoming visit to Canada, as well as the release of the Saga Of Darren Shan collections in Norway, I'm running TWO competitions this month, one for fans who live in Canada, the other for fans who live in Norway -- my apologies to fans who live anywhere else in the world, but don't worry, I'll be running another comp for the rest of you in the very near future!

CANADA COMPETITION: I have TEN sets of prizes to give away to fans who live in Canada, featuring signed copies of the following -- First prize, all 12 paperback books of The Saga Of Darren Shan/Cirque Du Freak; Second prize, all 4 books of The Saga of Larten Crepsley, 3 of which are trade paperbacks (i.e. large format) and 1 of which is mass market paperback (i.e. small format); Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Prizes, books 4, 5 and 6 of the Zom-B series, in hardcover; Seventh, Eighth and Ninth prizes, books 1, 2 and 4 of paperback editions of The Saga Of Larten Crepsley; Tenth prize, books 2 and 4 of paperback editions of The Saga Of Larten Crepsley.

NORWAY COMPETITION:  I have FIVE sets of prizes to give away to fans who live in Norway, featuring signed copies of the following -- First and Second prizes, all 4 volumes of Skrekkens Sirkus, which contain all 12 books in the series; Third, Fourth and Fifth prizes, Lord Loss in paperback, and Birth of a Killer and Ocean Of Blood in hardback.

1a) To enter the Canada competition, answer this question: "What is the name of the vampire who bloods Darren Shan?"

1b) To enter the Norway competition, answer this question: "Complete the title of Darren's vampire series in Norway: Skrekkens ------?"

2a) To enter the Canada competiition, send your entry to: [email protected]

2b) To enter the Norway competiition, send your entry to: [email protected]

3) Put your NAME in the SUBJECT BOX when you send your e-mail -- I will not accept your entry if you don't. And make sure you INCLUDE YOUR FULL POSTAL ADDRESS in the body of the e-mail, as well as the answer. This is so that I can easily send your prize to you if you win.

(4) Closing date is midnight, UK Time, Saturday, March 8th, 2014.

(5) The Canada competition is open to everybody living in Canada, unless you work for one of my publishers or are one of my relations. The Norway competition is open to everybody living in Norway, unless you work for one of my publishers or are one of my relations.

(6) You can only enter the competition ONCE. If you try to enter more than once, ALL of your entries will be disqualified.

(7) Only one entry per household -- if you send in more than one entry, ALL of your entries will be rejected. If more than one person in a house wants to enter, you'll need to make a joint entry.

(8) The draw for the winners will be made on or after Sunday, March 9th, 2014. It will be a completely random draw, made by Darren Shan personally (I use an online number generator to pick the winners). I will try to notify the winners by e-mail, and will post their names on the Shanville Message Board, in the April issue of the Shanville Monthly, and possibly on Twitter and Facebook too.

(9) 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.

(10) My decision will be final.

COMPETITION WINNERS

And that's it for March. I'm looking forward to my event in New York, and especially to getting back to Canada for the first time in seven years -- if you live in Canada, please do try to come and cheer me on, because it could be quite a while before I'm back again -- it's a long way from Limerick!!! And of course there's the release of Zom-B Mission to look forward to as well -- I'm curious to see what fans make of the new direction in which it starts to take us. I'll be back here at the start of April with all the latest news and updates. 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.