GREETINGS!

Hi everyone, and welcome to the September issue of the Shanville Monthly. Now that summer is behind us, I'll be putting the holidays to one side and focusing on work for the next few months. I've had a bit of a lazy summer, so it's time to make up for that. Let's start with a quick round-up of the latest Darren Shan news, including articles about my only (probably) events of 2019, Hungarian vending machines, the Cirque Du Freak movie streaming on Netflix UK, and a whole lot more. Oh, and there's a disco-dancing Mr Crepsley too. Think I'm joking?!? Read on and you'll find I never joke about disco!!!

EDINBURGH BOOK FESTIVAL

I had a lovely time at the Edinburgh Book Festival last month. It's the 20th year in a row that I've appeared there, which is quite a remarkable achievement, even is I do say so myself! I remember, many moons ago, when I'd been invited back a few times, thinking I might make it to 10 in a row, but doubting that would actually happen -- I assumed there'd be a year or two where either they wouldn't invite me, or I wouldn't be able to go because of a prior commitment, or a flight would get cancelled and I'd end up not being able to get there. But, to my delighted surprise, I made it to 10 without any mishaps, and then started wondering if perhaps 20 in a row might be feasible. If I'd been a betting man, I wouldn't have wagered even a pound on it, because it seemed so unlikely -- yet, as you can see from the photo below, I made it! To celebrate the 20th anniversary of my first appearance there, I did some old readings, focusing on my first three books, Cirque Du Freak, The Vampire's Assistant and Tunnels Of Blood. I did two events on the same day. I started with a school event, playing to a packed house in the main theatre -- 750 excited kids from various schools. School events at external venues like this can be tricky -- sometimes groups cancel at the last minute because of travel gremlins, or the kids aren't allowed to stay on afterwards to get books signed -- but this one went nice and smoothly, and I spent a very busy hour and a half signing books once I'd got done talking.

After a short break, I returned in the evening for my public event. This was a smaller crowd, but pretty much everyone there was a hardcore Shanster. Some were seeing me in action for the first time, but others had come to events or signings on multiple occasions. Many were local, but a good number had come from far and wide, taking hours out of their day (or even longer) to make the trek to the Festival site. I did some old readings which went down a treat, even though I was a bit rusty and made a few mistakes, then spent almost two hours signing books and chatting with fans later, including one with the Twitter user name of Amity Lee, who you can see in the photo below -- ahe came dressed in honour of Mr Crepsley, she'd made an incredible Madam Octa, and she presented me with a beautiful piece of art -- but that didn't prevent her from getting strangled!!

HUNGARIAN VENDING MACHINES

FREAK ODDITY

There was a very nice article over on the Courageous Nerd blog recently, looking at my career and how it has impacted on a budding young author's decision to chase their own writing dream. It's #4 in a series of Writers' Spotlights, and is definitely worth a quick look -- it won't take up too much of your day. CLICK HERE.

A few follow-up articles were also published on the site, in which the blogger discusses how they would go about making a better TV or film adaptation of Cirque Du Freak, what actors might be suitable for certain roles, and more. To check out what they had to say, and to see if you agree or not, CLICK HERE.

NETFLIX

There was a review of the first Zom-B book over on the Wonderoes blog recently, by a reader called Danielle, and it's one that really caught my eye, because it dwells on the racism elements of the book and characters, and how I explored them in the story. It was a very risky move, starting a major series by focusing on a character who isn't very likeable, who at their best is a racist enabler, and who at their worst is an actual racist. I hoped that readers would trust me enough to go on B's journey regardless, that they'd accept that I wouldn't be doing this unless there was a very good reason, and I wouldn't lumber them in the long term with a main character that they could only hate. Without giving too much away, B's story is one of a search for redemption, which asks the question -- is it possible to atone for sins of the very highest order?

Being honest, a good number of readers found the racist elements a bit too much to stomach, and weren't prepared to travel with me beyond that first book. I believe we live in a world of greys, and I'm always fascinated with trying to get into the mindset of those who live towards the extreme edges of what the majority of us consider acceptable, moderate behaviour. Maybe I'm a blind-eyed optimist, but I think that where there is understanding and empathy, there is room for change, even among the most despicable of people. Maybe it's my Christian upbringing, or maybe it's just the amount of good, decent people I've met all around the world in the course of my travels, but I believe that most people who have done grievous wrongs DO have the capacity to change paths, to turn away from the darkness, to try and repent for their crimes. But that also requires US to give them the chance, and that can sometimes be the hardest part of any drive by a miscreant to right their wrongs. I understand why some readers were unprepared to give B the benefit of the doubt, and how they maybe felt uncomfortable at being asked to identify with her. But sometimes we have to step outside our comfort zone if we want to truly try and change this big, bad old world of ours, and while I'm genuinely sorry that Zom-B turned some readers away, I can't apologise, because I think it's a story that needed to be told, and that it raised issues that needed to be raised -- perhaps even more so now, in this world where the far right is thriving, than it was when I wrote the books.

Anyway, it's an interesting, well-written review that I highly recommend checking out -- and the writer was very careful not to reveal any spoilers, so you can read it regardless of whether or not you have read the book. CLICK HERE.

And that's it for September. The hilarious drawing of Mr Crepsley, abover, was sent to me by a fan with the user name of cirquedufrick. I had been talking in a post about Mr Crepsley and what he might have been up to in the 1970s -- it was a period that wasn't covered in Brothers To The Death, the fourth and final book of The Saga Of Larten Crepsley. I jokingly said that he loved flares and disco, and this picture was cirquedufrick's response. Once I'm done dancing beneath a disco ball, I'll be back here at the start of October with a roundup of all the latest news and updates. Until then, all my bloody 1970s best, Darren Shan. x x x

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

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