Welcome to the November issue of the Shanville Monthly! I had a busy but hugely enjoyable October. I was on the road for most of the month, promoting "Bec" in the UK and Ireland. You can read a bit more about that below, and a lot more about it if you check out my Blog. It was tiring, as all tours of this nature are, but meeting fans is, for me, the best thing about this job, so I got a great kick out of it too!!! I wasn't able to do much else during October, but lots of things have been happening in the world of Darren Shan, and you can read all about them below. There's news of the release of "Slawter" in America ... I list the date of my upcoming tour of the States ... you can read all about how my vampire books made a welcome return to the New York Times Top 10 ... there's a special Christmas competition ... and a whole lot more!!! But let's start with an update of that book I've been so busy promoting recently ...

"BEC" UPDATE

"Bec", the fourth book of "The Demonata", went on sale in the UK and Ireland in October, and I did a huge tour to promote it. I went to some new places, like Northern Ireland, Reading and Bluewater, and some more familiar places, like Picadilly, Stourbridge and Limerick. It was an action-packed tour, involving a lot of travel, lots of readings and answering questions, and signing multitudes of books!! I think I met more fans and signed more books on this tour than on any other!! Many thanks to everyone who came along and made it such a special month for me -- I know many of you travelled far, and went to great efforts, to make it to my events, and I truly do appreciate each and every one of you! My thanks also go out to all the booksellers, teachers and librarians who helped set up the events. And special thanks to all the HarperCollins crew, especially Geraldine, Mary, Emma and Catherine, without whom the tour would have been literally impossible!!!! There are too many highlights from the tour to list here, but if you go to my Blog you can read back over the month's entries and get a clearer picture of where I went and what I got up to. The link is: http://darrenshan.blogdrive.com/

"Bec" has been selling like hot cakes, and had gone to a second printing within the first week of release!!! Because so many high-profile books and annuals are released in October, it hasn't climbed as high up the charts as "Slawter" did, but it's performed admirably against some VERY strong competition (not least the last Lemony Snicket book, the new Terry Pratchett, and the latest "Tracey Beaker"!!!) It's highest position was #9 on the overall chart, but that included annuals (which I don't think it should, but hey-ho!!). In terms of actual books, it got to the #4 position, and after a month is still riding high at #6. In Ireland the book is currently #2 on the children's chart, held off the top spot only by that dratted Snicket book!!!

If you live in the UK and Ireland, you should be able to find "Bec" on the book shelves of a shop near you -- if you can't, raise holy hell and demand the shop orders it immediately!! Alternatively, if you prefer buying over the internet, it'salso available for sale on Amazon UK. The link is: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0007231318/shanville

AMERICA - "SLAWTER" ON SALE NOW!!!!!

"BEC" SPECIAL EDITION

There are still some copies of the special edition of "Bec" left, but they're selling fast, and with Christmas almost upon us, I think the remainder will probably be snapped up soon -- so if you want to buy one, my advice is to act NOW or maybe live to regret a lost opportunity!!! You can only buy the special edition through the HarperCollins web site. The link is:

https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/bec/

There are only 666 copies of the special edition, each signed and numbered in strong black ink by ME! Each book comes in a hard, protective box (known in the trade as a slipcase), which has been decorated with artwork from the front cover of the book. Each customer can buy a maximum of 3 copies. They cost just £20, which is only £7 more than the regular edition!!! (Though you will have to pay post & packaging on top of that.) I think, at that price, they're a sheer bargain! Once they sell out, no more will be made available. Unfortunately, because of legal reasons, the special edition is only available to fans living in the UK or Ireland. I know this might seem unfair to fans living elsewhere in the world, but there's nothing I can do about that -- international laws mean that book sellers are limited to where they can sell copies of their books.

"BEC" AUDIO CD

NEW DARREN SHAN STORE IS OPEN!!!

http://astore.amazon.co.uk/shanville

If anyone has any feedback or ideas on how to improve the store, I'd love to hear them!! You can post your comments in the Questions forum, or send me an email through the Contact page on www.darrenshan.com

NEW COVERS!

I've added the revised cover for the American edition of "Bec" to Secret Shanville -- and it's radically different to the first version!!!! I've also added the covers for the German editions of "Lord Loss" and "Demon Thief". To check them all out (and become a Secret Shanster if you haven't already), click here: http://www.darrenshan.com/secretgateway.html

AMERICA -  ANOTHER THREE WEEKS IN THE TOP 10!

In America, "Sons of Destiny", the final book in my "Cirque Du Freak" series, went on sale in September. It spent a healthy 4 weeks in the  New York Times Top 10 Children's Bestsellers Chart, peaking at #8. Then it slipped out of the top 10 -- only to return in October!!! It's been at the #8 spot on the chart for the last 3 weeks, making it 7 weeks in total -- so far!!! I guess maybe Halloween had a little something to do with its revival -- after all, what better book to read at that spooky time of year than one of mine?!? If you live in the States and haven't bought the book already, you should be able to find it in your local book shop -- if you don't see it on the shelves, you can always ask the people there to order it for you. Alternatively, you can order it online from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316156299/ref=pd_sim_b_1/102-4045036-7476946?ie=UTF8 or from Barnes & Noble at http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?z=y&pwb=1&ean=9780316156295

UPCOMING TV INTERVIEW

There will be a short interview with me in a special "spooky" edition of Reading Aloud, a book programme which appears on the Teachers' Televison channel in the UK. It's scheduled to air on 21st November (it's programme 4 of the third series), but when I checked on their web site, it didn't have the programme listed, so maybe the exact air-date has still to be decided. When it's made available, you will be able to access the programme via the web site, by clicking here: http://www.teachers.tv

I'll provide more info, and a direct link, once it becomes available. If you live in the UK and want to watch the show on TV, it's available on Sky Guide on channel 592, Telewest on 240, NTL on 803, KIT on 70, or HomeChoice on 845.

DEMON THIEF REVIEWS

I've added several new reviews of "Demon Thief", all from American reviewers, to my web site -- and they've all pretty much been very pleasingly positive!!! You can check the rave reviews out here: http://www.darrenshan.com/demons/reviews/demonthief/index.html

SECRET SHANVILLE -- CHRISTMAS COMPETITION!!!

Yes, little ones, you read right -- Christmas comes early in the world of Darren Shan!!! I was going to run a competition next month, to celebrate the fast-approaching yuletide, but then I thought about how hectic the postal system gets in December and I decided it would make things easier for everyone if I ran it now -- that should mean that the winners receive their prizes well in time for the big day!!! There are all sorts of prizes up for grabs, including an EXCLUSIVE (and I use that word in its strictest sense -- this is a true one-off!!) Darren Shan Tour T-shirt!!!! To read the rules and enter, click on the following link (and become a Shanster, if you haven't already -- only registered Shansters can enter the competition): http://www.darrenshan.com/secretgateway.html

IT'S A WRAP