I wasn't planning to release the Archibald Lox Volume 2 omnibus edition until next spring, but quite a few fans grumbled about that over the last several months. They liked the autumn release of Volume 1 last year, they said, because it meant they could get it as a present for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Also, those who've been following the story in that format have waited patiently for a year -- if I didn't release Volume 2 until next spring, that would mean they'd have to wait 18 months in total between releases.

Now, while I'm often the first to tell people (especially my kids!) that you can't always get what you want... sometimes you CAN!!! Since I'm not publishing these books traditionally, I'm free to set my own rules, and... well... the Shansters have spoken, and the great and powerful Shan has listened!!! :-)

Long story short -- Archibald Lox Volume 2: The Kidnapped Prince went on sale on Monday, November 1st, as a hardback, paperback and eBook. The hardback and eBook are on sale through a variety of stores, but the paperback is only on sale through Amazon. I've kept prices down as much as possible, but because the hardback and paperback are print-on-demand, the physical editions have to be on the expensive side -- but hopefully Amazon and Books Depository will offer the hardback at a sizeable discount, as they have at various times with Volume 1. On the digital front, the eBook is a LOT cheaper than the physical editions, and it's also cheaper than if you were to buy the separate eBooks of books 4, 5 and 6 -- making this the most economical way to read the story by far! Here are all the direct links I've been able to pull together, offering as wide a choice af buying options as I can:

LINKS FOR THE EBOOK

Amazon: http://mybook.to/ArchieVol2omnibusEbook

Apple, Nook, Kobo: https://books2read.com/u/bwaOMy

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Darren_Shan_Archibald_Lox_Volume_2?id=Z8hGEAAAQBAJ

LINKS FOR THE HARDBACK

Amazon: http://mybook.to/ArchieVol2hardback

Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Archibald-Lox-2-Darren-Shan/9781910009154

Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/archibald-lox-volume-2/darren-shan/9781910009154

HIVE: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Darren-Shan/Archibald-Lox-Volume-2--The-Kidnapped-Prince/26662615

LINKS FOR THE PAPERBACK

Amazon USA: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JY7ZJMG

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09JY7ZJMG

Amazon CANADA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09JY7ZJMG

Amazon AUSTRALIA: https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/aw/d/B09JY7ZJMG

CIRQUE DU FREAK MANGA OMNIBUS - VOLUME 4

The fourth Volume of the Cirque Du Freak manga omnibus, which features books 7 and 8 of the series, goes on sale this month, on November 9th, with Volume 5 scheduled to go on sale on January 18th next year.

My author copies were sent to me last month. When they arrived, I had a quick look through a copy, and there's so much in there that's key to the entire second half of the series -- the first appearances of Vancha and Evanna... the return of some old faces from the first three books... not to mention the revelation of how Mr Crepsley picked up his infamous facial scar!!! The memories came flooding back as I was flicking through the pages -- happy, happy times.

You should be able to find Volume 4 of the manga omnibus in your local manga stockist (if you don't see it on the shelves, ask a member of staff to order in a copy for you), but if you prefer to buy online, here are a few links.

If you live in the USA, there are some direct links on the Yen Press site: CLICK HERE

If you live in the UK, this is the link for the book on AMAZON UK, and on WATERSTONES, and on WHSMITH.

If you prefer to buy the manga as eBooks, the volumes are also being republished digitally, NOT as omnibus editions, but as individual books, with Books 7 and 8 going on sale at the same time as the physical omnibus edition of Volume 4. You can buy them through COMIXOLOGY

CHILDREN IN READ

Children In Need is a massive annual event in the UK, a telethon that raises huge sums for charities. Some years ago, someone had the brilliant idea of creating a tie-in event for the book world, called Children In Read. Lots of authors donate signed books, which are auctioned off to the highest bidder, with all monies raised going to Children In Need.

This year I've donated a signed and dated copy of the Cirque Du Freak MANGA OMNIBUS, Volume 1, which collects the first two manga-adapted books of the series. The winning bidder can also ask me to scribble in a dedication, if they wish -- and I'll post it directly to them, no matter where in the world they live. You have until 9pm UK time on Friday, November 19th to bid -- the high bid at the start of the month stood at a fairly eye-watering £55, but since I haven't been touring in recent years, I've signed hardly any copies of the Cirque Du Freak manga omnibus, so the winner will be getting their hands on quite a rare signed Darren Shan item....

If you want to place a bid for the manga, CLICK HERE

And if you'd like to check out the main Children In Read site, where you can find all the other books that are up for auction -- lots of cool stuff in there, some of it ALMOST as cool as MY offering! -- CLICK HERE

I had lots of fun at my Octocon event last month -- my only live virtual public event of 2021. It's been a long time since I did an event like this one, and it reminded me how much I've missed that part of my life over the last several years, since easing up on my touring duties following the conclusion of my Zom-B series. Hopefully I'll get back out on the road again one day in the not too distant future -- let's all keep our fingers crossed!!

I started the event with a reading from the first Cirque Du Freak book, then answered LOADS of questions, many of which came from fans who were watching live. The time flew by -- I was genuinely shocked when the lovely chairperson, Janet, said it was time time wrap things up, as I thought we easily had another 10 or 15 minutes to go!!!

Although the event went out live, it was also recorded, and you can watch the entire event on the Octocon Twitch channel if you missed it first time round, by clicking here: CLICKING HERE

ARCHIBALD LOX eBOOKS

And here are direct links for the Volume 1 omnibus, The Missing Princess.

The Missing Princess on Amazon: CLICK HERE

The Missing Princess on Google Play: CLICK HERE

The Missing Princess on Apple, Kobo, B&N, etc: CLICK HERE

ARCHIBALD LOX PHYSICAL BOOKS

COMING OF AGE

A fan of my books called Aimee was reading Ghost Stadium by Tom Palmer recently, and spotted a reference to a certain freakily fabulous YA horror author. She nipped straight onto Twitter to let me know and to share a snap of the relevant page. I was well chuffed -- it's always lovely when a fellow author mentions my name in one of their books, but it doesn't happen too often -- the last time I can recall was when Rick Riordan included it in one of his Magnus Chase novels.

Many thanks to Aimee for bringing this to my attention, and to Tom of course for including the reference in the first place! If you're unfamiliar with his work, he's the author of LOADS of books for kids and teenagers. You can read a bit more about Ghost Stadium on his web site, where you can also easily find out more about Tom and his other works. CLICK HERE

we love asda, mummy

A Tweeter called Tog saw an article on LadBible entitled "Asda Shoppers Shocked By Super Creepy Halloween Decorations" and winkingly asked if I had any hand in it... CLICK HERE

The reason Tog thought of me was because of my Zom-B series, which featured a host of genderless, nightmarish, yet strangley sweet killer babies who looked a lot like the dolls in the photo attached to the article. They're seen in a dream scene in the first book, though it's a while before B (the narrator) realises that they're actually very much part of the real world, and not just figments of B's imagination. We learn more about them over the course of the series, and one of them -- a cheerful little chap called Holy Moly (because of a big hole in his head, of course!) -- becomes a major player, and in my opinion it's one of the cutest little beasts I've ever conjured up in any of my books.

If you haven't yet followed me through my undead Shananigans (see what I did there?!?) you can find out more about the series over my web site, in the appropriately titled Books section: CLICK HERE

And all together now -- "come with us to asda, mummy. we'll wander the aisles together forever and ever and..."

BOOKISH VENDING MACHINES

Vending machines are normally associated with snacks and drinks, but they can offer so much more. I remember when I travelled to Japan for the first time, nearly twenty years ago, and spotting vending machines that dispensed sushi, hot food, clothes, and lots, lots more. I thought to myself, "We've a lot of catching up to do in the West!" Nearly two decades later, we're still lagging far behind where the Japanese were then, but there's at least one school in the UK where they're tring to pull level...

Students in Holden Clough in the UK can win books in the school's Readers Of The Week scheme, a wonderful initiative to encourage reading, where those who are chosen get to pick a free book from the school's VERY stylish... book vending machine!! If YOUR school doesn't have one of these, the question really must be asked of those who run the place... WHY NOT?!? :-)

A bot called Ethan was one of the Readers Of The Week lst month, and he made a freakily fabulous choice, as you can see in the photo above!! 

BERNARD VISITS THE CIRQUE DU FREAK

There was a very sweet review recently of Cirque Du Freak by an author called Bernard Catam, who lives in the Philippines. I love it when any reader takes the time to write a review for one of my books, but it's always extra sweet if that person happens to be a fellow author, as I know from personal experience that when you spend your whole working day immersed in a world of words, it can take a lot to draw you into writing a review in your supposed free time!! I often mean to write reviews for books I really love, but only very rarely get around to actually doing it, so kudos to Bernard for being a more diligent reviewing author than me!! :-)

As Bernard says at the start of his review, this was his first time ever reading a book about vampires -- I must admit, that made me chuckle, as I immediately thought to myself, "Fresh blood!!!" What a creature of the night I am!!! To find out what Bernard made of his first foray into the world of vampires, CLICK HERE

[In case you're not able to -- or unwilling to -- access Facebook, I'm including the entire review below. But if you ARE able -- and willing -- to zip on over to Facebook, please read it there instead, so that Bernard can see the reach that his post is having.]

I've never read a vampire book in my life before this. I remember watching the movie adaptation when I was a very young kid, younger than Darren (the book protagonist), but hardly recall anything. All I know is that there are freaks, vampire, and a kid.

I bought a pre-loved mass paperback edition for only 60 pesos and started reading last month every lunch in my office. This is a quick book. Shorter chapters and quick-paced. The author naming the protagonist as himself or the other way around is so fitting. It felt like reading a diary of a 12-year-old boy about a 12-year-old boy.

It started slow and felt a little bit stretch in the Second Act which I actually enjoyed though so nevermind. I know one important plot point from the start because of the movie and also the sequel's title and that's what made me look for it all throughout the first two acts, kept asking myself the accuracy of what I have recalled.

But then, the Third Act came and ooohh, boy, I love everything in it. It made me love the characters more, specially Darren and her sister. I love the voice of the characters. It's funny and quirky but still dark at the same time. It made me reminisce how I used to tell stories among my classmates of extraordinary things I've done and witnessed (most of them weren't entirely true). You know, how kids exaggerate events sometimes just to look cool.

I found myself crying on a scene near the end over a middle-grade paranormal book. When Darren hits, it really hits. This was more like an introduction to the saga, just the beginning of Darren Shan's adventure into the supernatural and I love it. It left on a cliffhanger that will make you imagine everything that might happen on the next installments. Would want explore the vampire mythology more. Highly recommended.

OCTOBER COMPETITION WINNERS