• Issue 292 - November 2024

    05 November 2024

    GREETINGS!

     

    Hi everyone, and welcome to the November issue of the Shanville Monthly! Halloween has passed, and we're facing into the long, dark days of winter (unless of course you live on the other side of the world to me, in which case it's hellooooOOOO sunshine!!). I'll try to brighten up the long nights for you as best I can with lots of jolly news and updates, such as the wonderful bunch that I've packed into the current issue of the newsletter -- new Cirque Du Freak cover in the UK! New Archibald Lox book in Iran! The Cirque Du Freak movie streamng on MAX in the USA! A 75 minutes-long video interview with the wonderful Katie Shox! A new Cirque Du Freak fanzine! And lots more! Le'ts kick winter off with a freaky BANG!!!!

     

     

    NEW UK COVER REVEAL!

     

     

    Here it is, folks -- the FULL COVER REVEAL for the 25th anniversay edition of Cirque Du Freak!!!

     

    January 2025 will see the 25th anniversary of the first ever release of Cirque Du Freak in the UK. To mark the magnificent occasion, my British publishers, HarperCollins, are reissuing the book with a brand new cover -- and here it is!!!

     

    The new cover art is by a very talented artist called Artem Chebokha. I've written a brand new INTRODUCTION which will appear at the start of the book, talking about how the idea for the book first came to me and discussing some of my memories from the early years after its release. And the release date will be January 2nd, 2025. So, nice and early in the month -- if you get any book vouchers as Christmas presents, you might want to hang on to them for a week or two!!!!

     

    I think they've done a fabulous job with the cover, and I hope you all love it as much as I do!! If you do, please share it as widely as you can, with anyone you think might be interested in it. This is the second coming of Cirque Du Freak, so let's try and help it land with as big a splash as possible!!!!!

     

     

    ARCHIE 2 IN IRAN

     

     

    Great news for my fans in IRAN!! After publishing the first Archibald Lox book last year, the publisher, Vida, has confirmed that they plan to publish Book 2 soon -- the exact date is yet to be confirmed -- and here's the cover for it, which I absolutely ADORE!!!

     

    I'm so pleased this is happening. The publishing industry in Iran has been having a very hard time of things in recent years, and it isn't easy for a publisher to bring out a new book, even in a small print run. But the first print run of Book 1 has sold out, so as well as releasing book 2, Vida are planning to issue a second printing of the first book as well, which is amazing news!!!

     

    Oh, and I need to mention that these are OFFICIAL versions. All of my other books (with the exception of the first two Zom-B books) were published illegally in Iran and I was never paid a penny for any of them, even though many sold in very high numbers there back in the days before the country's current struggles. But Vida agreed a deal with me for the first three Archibald Lox books, and these have been published with my blessing and full support.

     

    I'll let you all know once the release date for book 2 is confirmed -- I think there might also be a special limited time deal for those who order it early on, so I'll keep you in the loop on that front too!

     

     

    CDF ON MAX!

     

     

    If you live in the USA, and have access to MAX, you're going to have a freakily fabulous start to the month, because the Cirque Du Freak movie is streaming on MAX now!! Yay -- or boo -- depending on your opinion of the movie!!!!

     

    For a list of everything else that is new on MAX this month, click here: CLICK HERE

     

    And if you don't live in the USA, but want to watch the movie, you can either buy a copy of the DVD or Blu-Ray on a site like Amazon, or buy or rent it through one of your local streaming services -- I recommend searching on JUSTWATCH to find out your options: https://www.justwatch.com/

     

     

    KATIE SHOX INTERVIEW

     

     

    I had a LONG video chat with vlogger KATIE O'SHAUGHNESSY recently. When I get asked to do something like this, I usually have to consider it for a bit of time, but in this instance I couldn't say no -- she's a Limerick lady, and her surname is the same as my real surname, so it was pretty much a done deal as soon as I opened her email to me!!!

     

    We chatted for well over an hour, about my books, writing, the horror field in general, and lots, lots more. The time truly flew by for me when we were talking -- it felt like twenty minutes -- which is always a good sign. I don't do an awful lot of interviews these days, but even if I was doing loads, I think that this would be the standout video that you wouldn't want to miss!!

     

    Katie also starts with an absolutely beautiful intro to the video, which is a MUST-SEE, even if if you don't want to stick around to listen to ME waffling on for more than an hour!!! You can check it out by CLICKING HERE

     

     

    CDF FANZINE - 2024

     

     

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    It’s back!! The annual Cirque Du Freak fanzine!! Created BY Shan fans FOR Shan fans!! 34 pages of AMAZING art and short stories!! FREE to download NOW!! Please show your fellow Shansters your support, while FREAKING UP your day at the same time!! https://t.co/IEQwuAyAbK

     

     

    NOT TOO SCARY!

     

     

    With Halloween just behind us, this is the perfect time to share this list of horror books that aren't TOO scary, for the younger horror fans out there -- or for those who are grown up but just big scaredy cats!!!

     

    The list appears on SCREEN RANT, who included Cirque Du Freak in the #7 spot, and had some very nice things to say about it. I also absolutely LOVE the picture they created to go with the list -- my book nestled next to books by Stephen King and Ray Bradbury, two of my all-time favourite authors, who were (and are) huge influences on me. If you'd told me thirty years ago that a book of mine would be keeping company with such heavyweights, I'd have thought you were patronising me!!!!

     

    To read what the compilers of the list said, and to check out every other book that made the cut, CLICK HERE

     

     

    OLD ICE CREAM

     

     

    A fan called JODIE emailed me quite a while back, asking if I recalled writing a recipe for Bailey's Ice Cream in the distant past -- she had a vague memory of it, and wanted to find the recipe again, as she used to make it and loved the ice cream when she did! But I couldn't really recall, so I wasn't able to help her.

     

    Fast forward to the last month, and Jodie got in touch again -- she'd found a copy of the recipe on an old device of hers (it used to be on my American publisher's web site), and shared it with me. This was a real blast from the past -- and it's also got me thinking it might be time that I made a batch of this for myself again!!

     

     

    IN COMMON

     

     

    In Common is an independent, not for profit community, arts, culture and society website, based in Southampton. Last month, in the run up to Halloween, they put together a list of recommended horror books, grouped around different monsters -- so there's a werewolves section, a witches section, etc.

     

    No prizes for guessing the title of one of the books that made it into their VAMPIRES section!!! But if you want to see what else made the list -- and it's a really interesting list, with plenty of books that are new to me -- and pick up some good spooky reads, CLICK HERE

     

     

    DENBIGH HIGH

     

     

    Look what was Book Of The Week at DENBIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY one of the weeks last month!!

     

    I love it when teachers and librarians highlight my books this way. Back in 1997, when every publisher in the UK rejected the early draft of Cirque Du Freak, one of the reasons cited was that it would inspire fury among educators, who would call for it to be banned. When the book came out in 2000, not only did this prove NOT to be the case, but teachers and librarians became some of the earliest champions of the book, recommending it to their students and helping it become a word-of-mouth success. They saw what the publishing experts didn't -- that despite its grisly trappings, it was a positive, uplifting story about the importance of friendship and the courage it sometimes takes to do the right thing and put others' futures ahead of your own. So, whenever I see a post like this one from the staff at Denbigh High School, it tends to remind me who the TRUE experts are when it comes to the world of children's books and what kids will or will not want to read. Publishers, book sellers, reviewers, authors... we all play second fiddle to these guys!!!! Respect!!!!!!!

     

     

    HALLOWEEN LIBRARY DISPLAYS

     

     

    The run-up to Halloween is the perfect time of year for Darren Shan books, and some schools and libraries across the world used the occasion to recommend my books to their students, which fills my heart with freakish pride and joy.

     

    The first photo is of a display in CHALFONTS COMMUNITY COLLEGE in the UK, where my books share a special Halloween section with other cool horrific books.

     

    The next is from HYMERS COLLEGE LRC, where they created a gorgeous display of my Saga Of Darren Shan (Cirque Du Freak) books.

     

    The final photo comes from TAJIMI LIBRARY in Japan, where the librarians are trying to promote the English language copies of my books. In an ideal world, there'd be a library in England pushing the Japanese language editions of the same books, but I haven't seen any evidence of that... YET!!!!

     

     

    FREAKY HOARDERS

     

     

    A fan called JAMIE got in touch with me recently to say the following: "I’m watching hoarder videos while cleaning (because, that’s what we do) and in this video, at the 39:55 mark, I saw something that made me cry! I read my copies to shreds! And it makes me sad that they likely never cracked open these books."

     

    To find out what brought tears to the sharp-eyed Jamie's eyes, CLICK HERE and fast-forward to near the end of the 39 minutes mark -- unless, of course, you love watching hoarder videos too, in which case feel free to watch the whole thing!!!

     

    I never worry too much about books that get moved on. Life changes for us all, and I like to think that books that get thrown away are simply undergoing a state of migration, and will hopefully fine lovely new homes with owners who will enjoy them all over again. But hey, as you all know from reading my books, I *AM* a starry-eyed optimist...

     

     

    AI SONG

     

    Darren Dash

     

    For an interesting AI song which was put together by a fan of my books called Dustin, CLICK HERE. I haven't listened to a lot of AI-generated music, and in all honesty it's not something that appeals to me an awful lot -- I prefer my music, like my books and movies, to come from real people. But this is certainly fascinating, a nice little marker of how far technology has come in the 25 years since the book was first released. If I'd mooted the idea of a computer making a song like this back in the year 2000, it would have been science fiction. Today, it's all too real and not the least bit mind-blowing to most folks, just something that most of us take for granted now. We live in amazing times -- whether we like the technology or not! Thanks, Dustin, for taking the time to make this and share it with us.
     
    For more about AI and whether or not it's a good thing for the human race, you might want to check out my latest Darren Dash book for adults, Father Of The Future, which tackles that very theme full-on. Available as a low-cost eBook through your store of choice (Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Kobo, B&N, etc.), or as a physical hardback or paperback edition through Amazon stores worldwide.

     

     

    COMPETITION WINNERS

     

     

    When I drew the winners of my October competition, it threw up a statistical anomaly that I can't recall ever having run into before over the course of the twenty-five years that I've been running competitions!! First up, the two lucky winners were, in the order drawn...

     

    REBECCA PROENZA, from the USA.

    REBEKAH FARMER, from the UK.

     

    See what I'm talking about?!? TWO Rebecca's!!!! OK, they spell the name differently, but still!! There were more than 400 entries, so the odds against the two winners having the same first name must be astronomical!! Could it truly have been mere coincidence... or might FATHER, that super-computer from the future, have jerry-rigged the draw in order to let us know that he's keeping a very close eye on things here in the past?!?

     

    Thanks to everyone who took part, and better luck next time to those who didn't win on this occasion.

     

     

    IT'S A WRAP!

     

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    And that's it for November. The photo above is of myself and Mrs Shan in the outfits we wore to the Halloween party at our children’s school -- for the last few years we’ve constructed and run a small scare zone -- terrifying fun!!!! I'll hopefully see you back here at the start of December for the run-up to Christmas. 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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