GREETINGS!

Hi everyone, and welcome to the June issue of the Shanville Monthly! This is another exciting month for me, with some BIG Archibald Lox news items to share! For a start, there's the cover reveal for the 8th book... then the buying links for that book, which goes on sale later in June... there's a reminder that book 7 is NOW on sale... plus I'm absolutely delighted to announce that Archie will be getting his first translation, and that Volume 1 will be going on sale in Hungary in 2023!! For all this, and much, much more, read on...

ARCHIBALD LOX - BOOK 8

 The title for the 8th Archibald Lox book is... ARCHIBALD LOX AND THE PICK OF LOXES... and it goes on sale on Tuesday, June 28th.

That's the cover above -- isn't it a beauty?!? Kurtis (one of the series' "bad guys") is the cover star... the triangles are extremely significant, as there's a triangular shaped lock in the book which is a crucial part of the story... and the icy-white background ties in with the plot too!

As with all the other Archibald Lox books, the eBook will be on sale through a variety of stores -- there are direct buying links below, as well as the Goodreads link, in case you want to check out other readers' reviews, or even leave a review of your own once you've read it. There will also be a paperback edition, exclusive to Amazon stores worldwide -- please note, if you plan to buy a physical edition, I suggest waiting until November, when the omnibus edition, collcting books 7, 8 and 9 goes on sale, as this will provide much better value for money.

Amazon: http://mybook.to/archie8ebook

Apple, B&N, Kobo, etc: https://books2read.com/u/mqEg29

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Darren_Shan_Archibald_Lox_and_the_Pick_of_Loxes?id=cDZuEAAAQBAJ

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61117511-archibald-lox-and-the-pick-of-loxes

ARCHIBALD LOX - BOOK 7

The first review for Archibald Lox And The Sinkhole To Hell (book 7) came courtesy of The Word Cubby, and was extremely positive -- hopefully a good omen!!! While the reviewer noted that this is the "tamest of the series so far," she also correctly noted that it's merely the "lull before the storm" -- as carefully paced and relatively tension-free as book 7 is, books 8 and 9 are going to be action-packed and filled with dark, cunning, mind-blowing twists! The concluding line of the review put a BIG smile on my face -- "Cirque du Freak/The Saga of Darren Shan will always be my favorite Shan series, but Archibald Lox is certainly giving it a run for the title."

High praise indeed!!! You can read the full review by CLICKING HERE

Book 7 went on sale on Tuesday, May 31st. You can buy the ebook through a variety of stores, or the paperback through your local Amazon shop -- there are direct buying links below. (Please note, if you plan to buy a physical edition, I suggest waiting until November, when the omnibus edition, collcting books 7, 8 and 9 goes on sale, as this will provide much better value for money.)

Amazon: http://mybook.to/Archie7ebook

Apple, B&N, Kobo, etc: https://books2read.com/u/bWEPv1

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Darren_Shan_Archibald_Lox_and_the_Sinkhole_to_Hell?id=lrltEAAAQBAJ

Amazon paperback: http://mybook.to/Archie7paperback

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61039790-archibald-lox-and-the-sinkhole-to-hell

ARCHIBALD LOX IN HUNGARY

I'm thrilled to be able to announce that the rights to Archibald Lox have been bought by a publisher in Hungary, and a translated, Hungarian edition of Volume One is due to go on sale in May 2023. It's going to be released as a single volume -- The Missing Princess -- as I think this is the best way to present the story. It will go on sale as both an eBook and paperback. Pre-ordering, with discounts, should begin from July this year.

The publisher is in the process of building a website for the book, which will include a newsletter for fans who subscribe, which will treat them to short quotes from the book as it's translated. In the meantime, you can follow its progress on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bookaholickiado or their Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/_thebookaholic/

EPIGRAM RECOMMENDS

There was a nice article on Epigram (the University of Bristol student newspaper) a few months back, listing four recommended horror novels, books that are "bursting with fresh possibilities" for the genre.

When this popped up on my timeline, I assumed there would be a mention for Cirque Du Freak or The Demonata, but I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be Procession Of The Dead -- the very first book I ever published (albeit under a different title) in February 1999, a whole year before my career really kicked off with CDF. If you're unfamiliar with Procession Of The Dead, it's a strange concoction of a book, blending a gangster tale with a story of the fantastical. It can be read as a stand alone book, but is also the first of a trilogy of books set in the same city and featuring many of the same characters. It's a book that remains close to my heart, even all these years later -- some writers dismiss their early books, but I'm incredibly proud of this weird, genres-exploding baby, and so pleased that I was taking risks and trying to rewrite the rules even with my very first book out of the blocks!!

For more about the book, you can read the review on Epigram by CLICKING HERE

And if you want to buy a copy, you should be able to either order one through your local bookseller, or online through Amazon or any such similar seller.

LETTER TO IZZY

A girl called Izzy recently sent a letter to me, and was delighted when she received a handwritten reply, which you can see her holding in the photo above. I always reply to letters with handwritten letters of my own -- if you ever feel like writing to me, to get your own autographed Darren Shan letter, you can find the address here: https://darrenshan.com/contact

DARREN SHAN COMIC ART SALE!

As I explained in last month's newsletter, when I began making money from book sales in the early noughties, I decided to spend a good chunk of ot on art. The first art I collected -- and the art that went on to form the bulk of my collection -- was comic art, from comics and graphic novels which I'd loved reading as a child, teenager and adult. It was a brilliant time to be a collector -- the internet had made it easier than ever to track down pages from my favourites comics, but the market for such works was fairly small, so the prices were very reasonable. I picked up bargains galore, and quickly built up a, frankly, quite astonishing collection -- I've been to a few comic art galleries over the last couple of decades, and in truth, they tended to pale in comparison with what I had at home!!

BUT at least the galleries had their works up on display -- most of mine were stored away in folders, because I simply didn't have anywhere near enough wall space to hang them all. Over the last few years, as the prices for comic art have risesn and risen, my thoughts turned to my collection, and I asked myself a simple, honest question -- "Do I REALLY need so much of it?!?"

The answer was no, so I undertook the task of going through everything, with a view to whittling it down to a much more manageable size. I started with almost 350(!!!!) works, and by the end I had that down to just under 100.

The works I'm letting go are being sold by Heritage is the USA, and the first 72 of those are coming up for auction this month, from June 16th. Those are three of the pieces above, and you can find the rest of them by CLICKING HERE.

Being completely honest, almost all of these are going to go for BIG bucks!! The market is stronger than it's ever been (in large part, I think, thanks to the Marvel movies), and collectors are paying WAY more than they did back when I was in the game. So I'm not sharing the link in the hope of drumming up more bidders (although if any of you are seriously minted, and wish to join in the bidding, please feel free!!) -- I'm sharing it because the works on the Heritage page go a long way to answering a question that, like every other writer, I get asked all the time...

"Where do your ideas come from???"

Now, while there's never any simple, complete answer to that, I think every writer is in large part shaped by the works that they read. I often talk about writers and books that have influenced me (Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, The Secret Garden, The Machine Gunners), and you can check out a list of every book I've read since I was a teenager, and see the marks I've given them, over on GOODREADS. But I've also been hugely influenced by comics, starting with the likes of Eagle and 2000AD when I was a child and into my teens, and then more adult, challenging fare, when I began reading graphic novels and adult-orientated series, like Watchmen and Love & Rockets and Sandman.

When I glance through the 72 pages on sale in this auction, I see so much of my work in them. Alan Moore is a mountain of a writer, and much of my work strives to capture some of the wonders he weaved in Miracleman, V For Vendetta, Batman: The Killing Joke, and so many other titles. Dave McKean is one of my all-time favourite artists, and also a skilled story-teller, whose Cages mesmerised me, and whose Arkham Asylum (written by Grant Morrison) probably did more than any other comic to launch Batman in the darker directions that he's been taken ever since, and perhaps helped convince me that it was OK to explore the darkness through the medium of what is normally considered children's literature. The scope of Dave Sim's Cerebus astonished me -- 300 issues?!? -- and made me want to work on a broader, bigger scale -- I very likely wouldn't have launched myself at 10 and 12 book series without it.

Yeah... I look through these 72 thumbnails, and I see so many echoes of Darren Shan the writer in there. So I thought I'd share them with you guys, so that you can see me, where I've come from and where I'm hoping to go with my stories, too.

And, hey, if you DO decide to bid on any of the pieces... good luck!! You're gonna need it!!!! :-) :-) :-)

MAY COMPETITION WINNERS

And that's it for June. I hope you all enjoy the 7th and 8th Archibald Lox books if you're following the series -- and you won't have too long to wait for book 9, which goes on sale near the end of July, bringing the series to its close. I'll see you all back here at the start of July, for the annual birthday issue of the Shanville Monthly! 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.

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If you received an email with a link to this issue of the Shanville Monthly (or other updates on my site) it's because at some point in the past you subscribed to get updates from me. I don't share your details with any third parties, and do not hold them on any independent device -- everything on the subscription front is done through Google Feedburner, and you can read about their privacy policy by CLICKING HERE. (I might change to a different provider in the future -- if so, you will have the choice to opt in or opt out as you see fit.) If you're happy to continue receiving emails from me, you don't need to do anything, and you will continue to be sent updates whenever a new issue of the Shanville Monthly goes live. If, at any point, you wish to unsubscribe, there will always be an Unsubscribe link in any email notification that you receive from me, and you can simply click on that to have yourself removed from my mailing list.

GREETINGS!

Hi everyone, and welcome to the June issue of the Shanville Monthly! This is another exciting month for me, with some BIG Archibald Lox news items to share! For a start, there's the cover reveal for the 8th book... then the buying links for that book, which goes on sale later in June... there's a reminder that book 7 is NOW on sale... plus I'm absolutely delighted to announce that Archie will be getting his first translation, and that Volume 1 will be going on sale in Hungary in 2023!!

ARCHIBALD LOX - BOOK 8

 The title for the 8th Archibald Lox book is... ARCHIBALD LOX AND THE PICK OF LOXES... and it goes on sale on Tuesday, June 28th.

That's the cover above -- isn't it a beauty?!? For those who are wondering -- that's Kurtis on the cover... the triangles are extremely significant, as there's a triangular shaped lock in the book which is a crucial part of the story... and the icy-white background ties in with the plot too!

As with all the other Archibald Lox books, the eBook will be on sale through a variety of stores -- there are direct buying links below. There will also be a paperback edition, exclusive to Amazon stores worldwide -- please note, if you plan to buy a physical edition, I suggest waiting until November, when the omnibus edition, collcting books 7, 8 and 9 goes on sale, as this will provide much better value for money.

Amazon: http://mybook.to/archie8ebook

Apple, B&N, Kobo, etc: https://books2read.com/u/mqEg29

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Darren_Shan_Archibald_Lox_and_the_Pick_of_Loxes?id=cDZuEAAAQBAJ

ARCHIBALD LOX - BOOK 7

I'm delighted to reveal that the title for the 7th Archibald Lox book is... ARCHIBALD LOX AND THE SINKHOLE TO HELL

That's the cover above, and it will be going on sale on Tuesday, May 31st. For those who might be wondering -- that's Winston on the cover... the ornate gates are the entrance to Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, which features in the story... and the greenery is a cenote (or sinkhole) which, as the title suggests, plays a MAJOR part in the Volume 3 storyline. I must be honest -- despite the sensationalistic title, this is actually probably the most sedate book in the series. But don't worry -- books 8 and 9 (coming VERY soon!!!) are jam-packed with action, treachery, fighting, and maybe even the odd grisly death or two..Book 7 is the calm before the storm, and trust me, things are about to get VERY stormy indeed for Archie and his friends!!

As with all the other Archibald Lox books, the eBook will on sale through a variety of stores -- there are direct buying links below. There will also be a paperback edition, exclusive to Amazon stores worldwide -- please note, if you plan to buy a physical edition, I suggest waiting until November, when the omnibus edition, collcting books 7, 8 and 9 goes on sale, as this will provide much better value for money.

Amazon: http://mybook.to/Archie7ebook

Apple, B&N, Kobo, etc: https://books2read.com/u/bWEPv1

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Darren_Shan_Archibald_Lox_and_the_Sinkhole_to_Hell?id=lrltEAAAQBAJ

THE RETURN OF HAGUROSAN

I wrote a short story for the War Child anthology, "Kids' Night In," many years ago. There was a digital version on my website for several years, until the publishers Barrington Stoke, who produce books for children with dyslexia and other reading problems, asked me if I would help them turn it into a short book with pictures. When that was released, I removed the story from my site, not wanting to take away from sales of the physical book.

Last year, when checking on the Barrington Stoke web site, I saw that the book was out of print, so I restored the short story to my site, along with the Barrington Stoke version. The staff at Barrington Stoke spotted this and got in touch to politely ask if I would take it down again, as they were working on plans to reissue the book. Once I heard that, I was more than happy to comply, and removed it from my site immediately. But then, some months later, the staff informed me that they wouldn't be moving ahead with their plans to reprint the book, so... in short...

It's BACK!!!!

As before, I've included both versions of the story of my site -- the original version which appeard in Kid's Night In, and the reworked Barrington Stoke version. I think the Barrington Stoke version is the stronger of the two, so if you're only going to read one of them, I'd recommend that one -- but hey, if you want to read both, maybe you'll disagree with my prognosis!!

For the Barrington Stoke version, CLICK HERE

For the original version, CLICK HERE

The paperback edition released by Barrington Stoke is a truly beautiful little book, with a wonderful cover and fabulous drawings by Zack McLaughlin. Although it's out of print, you should be able to find cheap second hand copies through a site like Abebooks: https://www.abebooks.com/ or Alibris: https://www.alibris.com/

FACEBOOK TRIVIA GAME

A fan called Kayla contacted me recently, to say she felt very excited when I popped up as a question when she was playing the Facebook Trivia game! She sent me a screenshot of the question and possible answers -- I was impressed that they'd spelled my real name correctly!!! :-)

This reminded me of when my name popped up in a couple of British TV quiz shows some years back -- The Chase and Eggheads. I did a quick online search and found shots of them (though it took a while with the Eggheads one, because initially I thought the question had appeared on the show Pointless, and was searching for that instead!). The Eggheads question, by the way, was name the main vampire in the Twilight series.

If anyone else ever spots my name popping up in a quiz game or TV show, do please let me know -- it's nice, if always rather surreal, to see myself featured in such places.

GINGER NUTS OF HALLOWEEN

Ginger Nuts of Horror is a fabulous website for those whose tastes in fiction run a little bit... bloody!! Last Halloween they published an article about the lack of male lead characters in YA horror books, and to balance the books, they listed lots of horror books for older kids and teens which feature a boy in the leading role. Two of my lead characters, from two different series, got a shout out -- to find out which, CLICK HERE

While I wasn't aware specifically of the disappearing male lead character in YA horror books, I've long been aware that many publishers shortchange teenage boys, on the absurd basis that "teenage boys don't read books." This was a problem I faced back in 1997, which I was trying to find a publisher for Cirque Du Freak. One editor even told me, "We don't publish books for teenage boys, because teenage boys don't read." That attitude astonished and saddened me back then, and it's such a shame that this still seems to be the case more than two decades later. Sure, we all know that teenage boys are going through a time of great change in their lives, and books do have a lot to compete with if they're going to capture their attention -- but GOOD books, written with teenage boys in mind, CAN and DO succeed, IF publishers give them a chance, and actively and imaginatively promote them.

DARREN SHAN ART SALE!

More than twenty years ago, when I started making money from book sales, I was faced with a nice but rather puzzling problem -- what to do with it?!? I could have gone the safe, sensible route and invested in property or shares, but I felt that would be a bit boring. So instead I ploughed quite a lot of my earnings into... ART!!!

I've been quite a serious art collector for more than two decades now. I began by collecting comic art, from comics and graphic novels that I loved, but then branched out and began buying pieces by all different types of artists. Although I have a big house, my collection eventually outgrew my wall space, and last year I realised I really did have to trim things down.

I'm selling works through a variety of auction houses, but a lot of them are coming up for sale on May 10th, through a British auction site called Bellmans. There are major bargains to be found here (some from as little as £100!!!), as it includes pieces that I bought from the USA, from artists who are well known there, but who aren't well known in the UK. There are also plenty of pieces by modern British or European artists, again mostly going for far less than I paid for them.

If you're an art collector looking to snap up a Philippe Bertho, Dale Mathis, Dave Kinsey, or Marla Olmstead at a steal... or nab a lovely Alicia Dubnyckyj, Alexandre Nicolas or Jenny Pockley for far less than you'd normally pay... or if you just want to buy something that once belonged to Darren Shan...then this is the auction for you!! Even if you're not interested in bidding, but are curious to cast an eye over the kind of works that appealed to a budding "Master of YA Horror," you can browse the sale online and gain an insight into my mind and world which nobody except my family and friends has ever before been privy to!

My works are those listed as lot numbers 305 to 363 in the sale, and the link for the auction is here: https://mailchi.mp/bellmans.co.uk/selling-at-auction-4848729

You can also read a bit more from me on the Bellmans site, here: https://www.bellmans.co.uk/property-from-the-darren-shan-collection-10-may-2022

7 HORROR BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

The website Novel Suspects featured a post a while back entitled Seven Horror Books For Young Readers. The title pretty much tells the whole story, although I would note that these all seem to be more aimed at teenagers rather than pre-teens. Still, plenty of good recommendations here, leading off with probably the finest YA Horror novel ever written... Cirque Du Freak!!!!

Heh heh!! That blatant bit of shameless self-promotion WAS delivered with tongue firmly in cheek! While I always love praise of any kind when it's lavished on a book of mine, I'd never seriously dare suggest myself that one of my books was The Best of any sort. I'm a modest kind of guy, as any vampire of good standing should be.

And since I'm so modest, I also feel that it behooves me to point out that Novel Suspects is actually a site run by my American publishers, LittleBrown (part of the Hachette group), so, y'know, this isn't the most IMPARTIAL of lists... :-) :-) :-)

You can check out the full list by CLICKING HERE

T.S. HATHAWAY REVIEWS

A blogger called T.S. Hathaway recently reviewed all 12 books in my Saga Of Darren Shan / Cirque Du Freak series. I provided links for the first three in the April issue of my monthly online newsletter, and here are the reviews for books 4 to 9.

Book 4 review    Book 5 review    Book 6 review

Book 7 review    Book 8 review    Book 9 review

ST BENEDICT'S CVA

The students of Saint Benedict CVA in Derby (in the UK) have been studying Cirque Du Freak, and using it as a launch pad for some fun homework assignments.

The first, third and fourth photos, by Grace, Lara and Mazal respectively, show examples of the letter that Darren wrote to Mr Crepsley when stealing Madam Octa. (Some astute fans have asked me, from time to time, how Mr Crepsley knew what was in the letter, since it was revealed later in the series that he can't read. The answer, of course, is that he took it to Mr Tall, who read it out to him.)

The second photo, by Leen, is a cool recreation of the cemetery that features at the end of the book.

Excellent work, everyone -- A stars all round as far as I'm concerned!!!!

And that's it for May. I'm VERY excited about the upcoming releases, especially the Archibald Lox book, as it's the start of the series' final story arc, and it's always a special moment when I bring a multi-book series to an end. While I'm still deciding on the release dates for book 8 and 9, you won't have long to wait for them, and we should be bidding farewell to Archie and co around the same time that we'll be bidding farewell to summer in the Western hemisphere... I'll see you all back here at the start of June, 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.

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If you received an email with a link to this issue of the Shanville Monthly (or other updates on my site) it's because at some point in the past you subscribed to get updates from me. I don't share your details with any third parties, and do not hold them on any independent device -- everything on the subscription front is done through Google Feedburner, and you can read about their privacy policy by CLICKING HERE. (I might change to a different provider in the future -- if so, you will have the choice to opt in or opt out as you see fit.) If you're happy to continue receiving emails from me, you don't need to do anything, and you will continue to be sent updates whenever a new issue of the Shanville Monthly goes live. If, at any point, you wish to unsubscribe, there will always be an Unsubscribe link in any email notification that you receive from me, and you can simply click on that to have yourself removed from my mailing list.