A VERY talented fan called Lucy set about designing sets based on a few of the places described in my book, Lord Loss, for her Final project for a degree in TV/film set design at the University of South Wales. She created a 1:50 model set complex, supported by detailed technical drawings, visual sketches, etc. You can see a few photos of her amazing work above. The first is an overview, the second a closeup of Dervish's study and the bell tower, while the third shows where the chess match in the book's finale is played. You can't see all of the details -- for instance, the row of windows in the study are “stained glass,” hand painted by Lucy, then photogrpahed and printed onto acetate, and they depict a boy turning into a werewolf -- but they'll give you an idea of just how much thought and hard work she put into it. And were her efforts appreciated by her tutors and peers?!? Well, I think the fact that Lucy got a FIRST suggest that yes, indeed, they were!!!!  Well done, Lucy, and all the best with everything in the future.

Hands up if you know what the term "Character Aesthetics" refers to??? I didn't until I Googled it as I was writing this post, but I was aware of the phenomenon before I knew what it was called. Basically, character aesthetics refers to a group of photos which captures the aesthetics, or general attributes, of a certain character. For instance, if you wanted to do a character aesthetic for Mr Tiny from my Cirque Du Freak books, you might include photos of a watch, a heart, a pair of yellow boots, etc. For Evanna you might include photos of ropes, a witch, toads, and so on. Get the picture? Good!

NICE FINISH!

It's hard for a reviewer of the final book of a long series not to give the game away with too many spoilers. But the reviewer for The Fireside Table managed to recently write a glowing and interesting review of Zom-B Goddess, without revealing too much. Good job!! CLICK HERE to read it.

I often tell fans who haven't started Zom-B yet that it's a series that gets better and better as it goes along. More than any of my other series, it's a grower. Where the early books of The Saga and The Demonata featured stand-alone story arcs, Zom-B is all about the big build, and the first few books could be considered frustrating in their lack of answers and self-sufficiency. I took the risky strategy with this series of making it all about the big picture, basically saying to readers, "Look, I know I'm not giving you all that you want with the early books, but trust me, the story will come good if you keep going." I lost quite a few readers because of my approach -- they didn't like the politics and limited zombie action of the first book, or the way the tone and pace shifted wildly with books 2 and 3 -- but those who stuck with it ended up loving the ride. Most of the best reviews I've ever received have been of the last few Zom-B books -- and this new review is testament to that.

FIT FOR A PRINCE

There was a cool new review for Blood Beast by a fan over on Goodreads recently. For those who haven't read it, it marks the halfway point for The Demonata and, as the reviewer notes, it finishes on one hell of a cliffhanger! In fact, now that I mull it over, I think this might be my best ever cliffhanger ending. I've certainly featured a lot of them over the years, but do any of the others quite match up to this one? I think not. But hey, if you disagree with me, do please let me know by replying with your own fave.  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show?id=1118782596

To tie in with my birthday and the release of the Zom-B Fugitive paperback in the UK, I'm running another exclusive Shanville Monthly competition -- with some VERY special prizes up for grabs!

First prize will be a signed and dated copy of the UK paperback edition of Zom-B Fugitive -- I plan to sign it on the date of its publication. But as rare and valuable as that is, it's not the main part of the prize! Because I'm also offering a signed set of 12 Zom-B postcards, each one of which features a cover from the paperback series. But as cool as that is, it's still not the main prize!! Because in addition to the above, the winner will also get a signed Zom-B mouse mat. And this is no ordinary mouse mat -- it's one that I had created for my own personal use when the first Zom-B book was released back in 2013, and I used it every day when I was on my computer in Ireland up until the start of this year, when I switched to a new mouse mat. (Which features the cover of An Other Place if you're curious.) This is a piece of Darren Shan working history -- I've used this mat extensively (as the winner will see by the build-up of sweat and dirt on it!) as I've written new books, edited the whole Zom-B series, replied to emails, composed Facebook and Twitter posts, surfed the web, etc. etc. Short of me chopping off my right hand and sending it to you, this is almost certainly the closest you're ever going to get to owning an actual part of my writing process!

Second prize will be a signed and dated copy of the UK paperback edition of Zom-B Fugitive -- again, I plan to sign it on the date of its publication -- plus a signed set of 12 Zom-B postcards, each one of which features a cover from the paperback series.

Third prize will also be a signed and dated copy of the UK paperback edition of Zom-B Fugitive, plus a signed set of 12 Zom-B postcards, each one of which features a cover from the paperback series.

1) Answer this question: "What birthday am I celebrating this month? i.e. what age will I turn on July 2nd?"

2) 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, Tuesday, July 11th, 2017.

(5) This competition is open to everybody, everywhere in the world, 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 Wednesday, July 12th, 2017. 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 in the Shanville Monthly, and on Facebook too.

(9) Information submitted by entrants WILL NOT be shared by me with any other individual or company.

(10) My decision will be final.