• Issue 150 - January 2013

    01 January 2013

    GREETINGS!

     

    *15/jan/2013 -- please note, I have updated the USA Tour section with the most up-to-date details.

     

    Happy New Year, everyone, and welcome to the first 2013 issue of the Shanville Monthly!!! This is also the 150th issue of the Shanville Monthly, which is a lovely number to reach! And it's important that you remember that number if you want to enter one of the Shanville Monthly competitions that you will find nearer the end of this edition!!!! I was busy in December, editing the remaining books of my Zom-B series -- I like to give myself lots of time to work on a series, and while I finished writing the first drafts of all 12 books last year, I am still editing like crazy, trying to make each book as good as I can. Anyway, I wrapped up my latest round of editing just in time to enjoy a nice Christmas break. I've a bit more work to do in January, before heading off on tour. But before that, let's catch up with all the latest news, including the release of Zom-B Undergound, some incredible competitions being run by my UK publisher (only open to UK and Irish fans, I'm afraid, but there are other comps that I'm running this month which are open to fans everywhere), updated tour details for the UK and USA, and lots, lots more!!!

     

     

    ZOM-B UNDERGROUND

     

    Zom-B Underground, the second book in the series, goes on sale in the UK and Ireland on January 3rd, and on sale in the USA on January 2nd -- not a bad way to start 2013!!! It also goes on sale in Canada on January 18th, and I think in Australia and New Zealand in January too, but I'm not sure of the precise date, so don't quote me!

     

    Without giving too much away, I can reveal that the book takes place in an undergound complex, where a group of unusual teenagers are being held captive. Where book 1 gave us zombies mostly of the normal, expected variety, this book takes us into new, fresh territories, as I start to put a real Shan-stamp on things! The book has already received its first reviews, which you can check out, along with LOADS of reviews for the first book, by CLICKING HERE.

     

    As usual, I have written some author notes about the writing of the book, giving you a look behind the scenes. You can get the Inside Scoop, and pick up lots of facts to amaze and thrill your friends, by CLICKING HERE.

     

    Zom-B Underground should be available in all good book shops in Ireland, the UK and USA from the start of January (if you don't see it on the shelves of your local store, please ask a member of staff to order it in), along with most other places that sell books (e.g. Tesco, ASDA, etc.). Or you can buy it online or download it onto an eReader through a number of sites. If you live in the UK/Ireland and want to buy it through any of the major chain stores, CLICK HERE. If you like in the USA, and want to order it through Amazon, you can CLICK HERE.

     

    I'm also pleased to reveal a third and final cool image from inside the book by the wonderful Warren Pleece.

     

     

     

    ZOM-B MICROSITE COMPETITIONS

     

    UK and Ireland fans -- don't forget to bookmark and keep checking out the Zom-B UK site. Run by my publishers, Simon & Schuster, it will feature exclusive downloads, competitions and more over the course of the series. At the moment there are two AMAZING competition running:

     

    1) The first is an incredible opportunity to appear as a drawn character in one of the Zom-B books, by Warren Pleece!!!

     

    2) The second offers you the chance to design the official trailer for book 3, Zom-B City!!!

     

    Full details can be found on the site, co click here quick: Zom-B UK site

     

     

    12 DAYS OF ZOM-B!

     

    If you live in the UK or Ireland, and like to read books on an eReader, and have not yet read Zom-B, then act quickly -- the book is ON SALE on Amazon Kindle as part of their 12 Days Of Christmas promotion, until January 7th, at the bargain price of just £2.99!!!! To download it immediately, CLICK HERE.

     

     

    A HUNGARIAN LADY

     

    In case you missed my addition last month, Lady of the Shades went on sale in Hungary on December 3rd. It features a stunning, brooding cover, and I'm sure the translation will be top-notch, as all the other translations of my books into Hungarian have been!! Lady of the Shades has had a great reaction from fans and critics in the UK, Ireland and Australia, so I hope you guys like it too!!

     

     

     

    A GERMAN LADY

     

    Lady Of The Shades is going to be released in a German translation in April 2013, under the title of Die Toten, Die Ich Rief. Sadly, the German publishers of my Demonata series decided to stop before all of the books had been released. Hopefully, if the new book does well, it will enable us to get the rest of my demon series published over there, so please go out and buy the book if you live in Germany, and try to drum up as much support for it as you can. I will be adding the cover to my site in the near future.



     

    ZOM-B AUDIO IN UK AND USA

     

    UK and Ireland fans - if you like audio books, I have GREAT news! My Zom-B books are going to be released as audio books, starting on January 28th 2013, when Zom-B and Zom-B Underground will both be available to download. They will be made available on audio CD a bit later in the year (April 1st and May 6th respectively), with more to hopefully follow. And the voice of B Smith will be…

     

    ZAWE ASHTON!!!!!

     

    Yes, that’s THE Zawe Ashton who plays Vod in hit Channel 4 TV show “Fresh Meat”!! You can check out Zawe’s IMDB page here: http://uk.imdb.com/name/nm1534698/ And you can follow Zawe on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/zaweashton

     

    I’m VERY excited about this—I can’t wait to hear how Zawe has interpreted B’s voice!!

     

    American fans — don’t forget that Zom-B is ALREADY available in audio format in the USA, read by EMMA GALVIN. You can have a listen to a sample chapter and buy it here: http://www.theaudiobookstore.com/darren-shan/zom-b-unabridged_b009k8tr5c.aspx Or, if you’d rather buy it through Amazon, you can do so here: http://www.amazon.com/Zom-B/dp/B009RFFIRO?tag=vglnk-c24-20

     

     

    UK MANGA

     

    The Saga Of Darren Shan was adapted into a manga in Japan several years ago, and has been translated and published in lots of countries around the world since then. The UK schedule hit a snag (it's a long story) and stalled at volume 7. I'm absolutely delighted (and relieved!) to be able to announce that everything has now been sorted out, and that the remaining volumes are finally going to be released in the UK and Ireland. Volume 8: Allies of the Night, hit shelves in the UK and Ireland last month (December 6th), and Volume 9: Killers of the Dawn goes on sale on January 3rd. The rest will be released as follows:

     

    Volume 10:The Lake Of Souls goes on sale on January 31st 2013.

     

    Volume 11:Lord of the Shadows goes on sale on March 28th 2013.

     

    Volume 12:Sons Of Destiny goes on sale on June 6th 2013.

     

    The manga probably won't be as widely accessible as my books, but your local bookseller should be able to order in copies for you if you ask for them. Or you can order by clicking on the Amazon UK links above. I absolutely LOVE the manga adaptation -- it is extremely faithful to the books, yet also works in its own right, tweaking the story where it needs to, in order to make it work visually.

     

    American fans -- all 12 volumes are on sale already in the States. As in the UK, they probably aren't as widely available as my books, so if you don't see them on the shelves of your local bookseller, either ask the staff to order them for you, or you can get them on Amazon. This is the link to Volume One, and you can find the rest from there.

     


    TOP PICKS

     

    December traditionally brings lots of Best Of The Year lists, where critics pick their favourite books from the last twelve months. This year I was delighted to see Zom-B mentioned on LOTS of lists!!! Here are links to some of the sites which highlighted it as one of the Top Picks of 2012:

     

    THE TELEGRAPH.

     

    NEWSTALK.

     

    BOOKZONE.

     

    ITUNES.

     

    MR RIPLEYS.

     

    YELLOW BRICK READS.

     

    SERIOUS INSANITY.

     

     

    TEENREADS BOOK OF THE YEAR

     

    If you agree with the critics above, and thought that Zom-B was one of the best books of 2012, then please vote for it in the TeenReads Book Of The Year Award by CLICKING HERE. Also, Brothers To The Death came out in 2012, so if that was one of your faves, you can add that to the list too. Just saying... :-)

     


    MY PICK OF THE YEAR

     

    I was asked by the Daily Mail newspaper in the UK to recommend my favourite new book from 2012. If you want to find out what I went for, CLICK HERE.

     

     

    NEW COVERS

     

    I have added new covers to my site from the following countries: Canada, the Czech Republic, Japan, the Netherlands and Norway. You can have a look at them, along with every other official Darren Shan cover that there has ever been, by CLICKING HERE.

     

     

    JANUARY TOUR - UK AND SCOTLAND

     

    I will be doing a tour in Scotland to support the release of Zom-B Underground in January, with a London signing thrown in for good measure. Here is all the info that I currently have to hand -- I will update the TBC details here as soon as they are confirmed, so please keep checking back.

     

    If you can't make it to any of the events listed below, please note that the tour will include an online, interactive event, open to schools all around Scotland. The project is called Authors Live, and is run by the ever-brilliant team of The Scottish Book Trust. It will be during school time, so you will need to get your teacher to register for it. Once they do, you and all of your classmates will be able to watch the event live on Thursday, January 24th at 11.00am. You will even be able to submit questions, although as questions will be coming from schools all over the country, I will only be able to answer a small sections of them. To learn more about the event and to register for it, CLICK HERE.

     

    school event is for invited schools only. A public event is open to anyone who wishes to attend, but tickets normally need to be reserved in advance -- you should always contact the organiser in advance. A public signing is open to anyone who turns up -- there are no limits on numbers. Please note, I am always happy to sign as many of my books as fans wish to bring along from home or buy on the day.

     

    19th January, Saturday

    12.00pm -- lunch with the winners of the Zom-B Feast competition.

    3.30pm -- public signing, Waterstones Finchley Road O2, Unit 5, O2 Centre, London NW3 6LU.

    21st January, Monday

    10.00am -- schools event, Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh.

    1.15-1.30 pm -- live radio interview on the Book Cafe show on BBC Scotland. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0079gb9

    6.30pm -- public event, Waterstones Aberdeen. Please contact store to book tickets.

    22nd January, Tuesday

    9.30am -- school event, Robert Gordon's School, Aberdeen.

    1.45pm -- schools event, Steps Theatre, Dundee. This event is being arranged by Waterstones Dundee, so please contact store if you are interested in coming or bringing a group.

    4.30pm -- public signing, Waterstones Dundee.

    23rd January, Wednesday

    10.00am -- schools event, Mitchell Library, Glasgow.

    1.15pm -- schools event, Mearns Castle High School, Newton Mearns, Glasgow.

    4.00pm -- public signing, Waterstones East Kilbride.

    24th January, Thursday

    11.00am -- live, online, streamed schools event -- see above. To learn more about the event and to register for it, CLICK HERE.

    1.30pm -- schools event, Hutchesons Grammar School, Glasgow.

    6.00pm -- public event, Warerstones Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. Please contact store to book tickets.

     

     

    JANUARY/FEBRUARY TOUR - USA

     

    And my touring doesn't stop there! I am flying out to the USA near the end of January for my first American tour in over 2 years!!! I did a one-off event in New York in October, but this will be a full-on, two-week tour that will take in several areas. Please come and see me if you can -- and tell everyone you know to come too!!!!

     

    26th January, Saturday

    09.30-10.30a.m. -- signing at the ALA Midwinter Conference, LBYR Booth #2702, Seattle Convention Center, Seattle, WA.

    27th January, Sunday

    3.00pm -- public event, University Place Library, 3609 Market Place W,. Suite 100, University Place, Seattle, WA 98466. http://www.piercecountylibrary.org/files/library/up-author-darren.pdf

    28th January, Monday

    10.00am -- school event, Garfield High School, Seattle WA.

    2.00pm -- school event, Nathan Hale High School, Seattle WA.

    5.00pm PST/ 7.00pm CST/ 8.00pm EST -- public online event, BookTalk Nation. http://booktalknation.com/index.html See entry below for more information.

    7.00pm -- public event, Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park, Seattle, WA 98155. http://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/zom-b-underground-darren-shan

    29th January, Tuesday

    5.00pm PST/ 7.00pm CST/ 8.00pm EST -- Live At The Lounge video chat. See entry below for more information. You will be able to join in live on the day by CLICKING HERE.

    30th January, Wednesday

    8.40am -- school event i, Coppell MS West School, 200 S. Denton Tap Road, Coppell, TX.

    9.45am -- school event ii, Coppell MS West School, 200 S. Denton Tap Road, Coppell, TX.

    1.00pm -- schools event, Coppell High School, 185 West Parkway Blvd, Coppell, TX.

    7.00pm -- public event, Barnes & Noble Frisco, Stonebriar Center Mall, Frisco, TX 75034. http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/78605

    31st January, Thursday

    9.15am -- school event, Harby Junior High School, Alvin, TX.

    12.45pm -- school event, Nolan Ryan Junior School, Pearland, TX.

    1st February, Friday

    9.15am -- school event, Hill Country Middle School, Austin, TX.

    2.00pm -- school event, O. Henry Middle School, Austin, TX.

    7.00pm -- public event, BookPeople, 603 N. Lamar, Austin, TX 78703. http://www.bookpeople.com/event/darren-shan-zom-b-underground

    2nd February, Saturday

    11.00am -- public signing, Main Exchange, Fort Hood military base, TX.

    3rd February, Sunday

    5.00pm -- public event, Barnes & Noble El Cerrito, 6050 El Cerrito Plaza, El Cerrito, CA 94530. http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/78604

    4th February, Monday

    9.00am -- school event i, Petaluma High School, Petaluma, CA.

    12.30pm -- school event ii, Petaluma High School, Petaluma, CA.

    1.30pm -- school event, Cherry Valley School, Petaluma, CA.

    7.00pm -- public event, Copperfield's Books Montgomery Village, 775 Village Court, Santa Rosa, CA. http://copperfieldsbooks.com/event/darren-shan

    5th February, Tuesday

    10.00am -- school event, Crocker Middle School, Hillsborough, CA.

    12.45pm -- school event, Burlingame Intermediate School, Burlingame, CA.

    7.00pm -- public event, Books Inc, 1375 Burlingame Ave, Burlingame, CA 94010. http://www.booksinc.net/event/darren-shan-books-inc-burlingame-0

    6th February, Wednesday

    8.46am -- school event, Ramona Middle School, Chino, CA.

    2.00pm -- school event, The Wesley School, North Hollywood, CA.

    6.00pm -- public event, Mrs Nelson's Toy And Book Shop, 1030 Bonita Avenue, La Verne, CA 91750.

    7th February, Thursday

    11.15am -- school event, Blair Middle & High School, CA.

    7.00pm -- public event, Los Angeles Public Library, 630 W. 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071.

    8th February, Friday

    9.00am -- school event, Ruth Musser Middle School, Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

    7.30pm -- public event, Mysterious Galaxy, 2810 Artesia Blvd, Redondo Beach, CA 90278. http://www.mystgalaxy.com/Event/Darren-Shan-Signs-RB-020813

     

     

    BOOKTALK NATION

     

    As part of my tour of the USA, I am doing two live, online events, which anyone in the country is welcome to participate in. The first is for BookTalk Nation. This will be a live, half-hour phone interview with me, that will start at 5.00pm PST /7.00pm CST/ 8.00pm EST, Monday, January 28th. You will be able to submit questions in advance, or during the talk, and I will do my best to answer as many as the interviewer is able to put my way. You will also be able to order signed copies of some of my books, plus you can ask to have the books personalized by me if you wish. (You do this by using the box with "Enter recipient name," to enter the name that you want inscribed in the book.) This is the BookTalk Nation page for my event, and to order the books: http://booktalknation.com/book.html?author_id=38 And you can learn more about BookTalk Nation by CLICKING HERE. Do please join in the fun on the day -- the more the merrier!!!

     


    LIVE AT THE LOUNGE

     

    In my second live online event, you will be able to see as well as hear me -- whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, only you can judge!!!! I am doing a Live At The Lounge event at 5.00pm PST/ 7.00pm CST/ 8.00pm EST, Tuesday, January 29th. This is an online, live, interactive, video event, which will be open to fans all across the country. You can read more about Live At The Lounge by CLICKING HERE. And you will be able to join in live on the day by CLICKING HERE. So, if you are not able to make it to one of my American events in the flesh, you can get the second best thing and catch me in action online!

     

     

    COMPETITIONS!!!

     

    I'm running 3 new competition this month (see below), but first, the winners of the December Shanville Monthly competitions, in the order that they were drawn, were:

     

    T-Shirt comp:

    Rory Craig, Ireland.
    Ayrton McGurgan, Northern Ireland.
    Charlotte Howd, England.
    Chloe Keogh, Ireland.
    Amanda Budrius, USA.
    Kate Hawkins, USA.
    James Morris, Wales.
    Antonio Guzman, USA.
    Senyee Lee, Ireland.
    Kelly McGarrity, UK.

    City Book comp:
    Karel Kohout, Czech Republic.
    Kirsty Cash, England.
    Hannah McIntyre, England.
    Line Kristin Dahlstroen, Norway.
    Ayesha Grimm, England.
    William Gardner, USA.
    Joanne Small, England.
    David Pearson, England.
    Ian Redington, England.
    Jake McNicholas, England.
    Ellyn O’Lone, Northern Ireland.
    Gavin Walsh, Ireland.
    Giorgia Vecchio, Australia.
    Heidi Hollister, England.
    Jamie-Lee Turner, England.
    Gyorgy David Moldova, Hungary.
    Sarah Murphy, USA.
    Eirinn Quinnell, England.
    Riddhima Rao, New Zealand.
    Jacqueline Sanchez, USA.

     

    As I said above, I'm running three great competitions this month, the first for fans in the UK and Ireland, the second for fans in the USA, the third for fans anywhere else in the world.

     

    In the UK/Ireland competition, you have a chance of winning one of fifteen signed copies of the UK manga edition of Allies Of The Night!

     

    In the USA competition, you have a chance to win one of fifteen signed copies of the American hardback edition of Zom-B Underground.

     

    In the Rest of the World competition, you have a chance to win one of fiteen signed copies of the UK paperback edition of Brothers To The Death!

     

    Please make sure you read all of the guidelines before entering -- incorrectly submitted entries will be eliminated from the competition.

     

    1) Answer this question: "Including this issue, how many issues of the Shanville Monthly have there been?"

     

    2a) If you live in the UK or Ireland, and want to enter the UK/Ireland comp, send your entry to: [email protected]

     

    2b) If you live in the USA, and want to enter the USA comp, send your entry to: [email protected]

     

    2c) If you live anywhere in the world outside of Ireland, the UK and USA, and want to enter the Rest Of The World comp, send your entry to: [email protected]

     

    3) You can only enter one of the competitions, and you can only enter ONCE. If you try to enter more than once, ALL of your entries will be disqualified.

     

    (4) Put your NAME in the SUBJECT BOX when you send your e-mail. I will not accept your entry if you don't. And make sure you INCLUDE YOUR FULL POSTAL ADDRESS in the body of the e-mail, as well as the answer. This is so that I can easily send your prize to you if you win.

     

    (5) Closing date is midnight, UK Time, Wednesday, January 9th, 2013.

     

    (6) This competition is open to everybody, unless you work for one of my publishers or are one of my relations.

     

    (7) Only one entry per household -- if you send in more than one entry, ALL of your entries will be rejected. If more than one person in a house wants to enter, you'll need to make a joint entry.

     

    (8) The draw for the winners will be made on or after Thursday, January 10th, 2013. It will be a completely random draw, made by Darren Shan personally (I use an online number generator to pick the winners). I will try to notify the winners by e-mail, and will post their names on the Shanville Message Board, in the February issue of the Shanville Monthly, and possibly on Twitter and Facebook too.

     

    (9) Information submitted by entrants WILL NOT be shared by me with any other individual or company. I'll keep your details on my PC, then delete the info once the competition ends.

     

    (10) My decision will be final.

     

     

    YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO DREAM!

     

    I wrote a guest blog for the Easons site in Ireland in December, about how you're never too old to give up your dreams of being a writer. It's gone down quite well with readers (especially those of a more advanced age!), so if you want to check it out, CLICK HERE.

     

     

    IT'S A WRAP

     

    And that's it for January. I get to spend the first couple of weeks of the month at home, and then I hit the road in Scotland and the USA (with a date in London to kick it all off -- details still TBC at time of writing). I'm really excited to be returning to the States on tour, especially as I'm hitting the West Coast and Texas for the first time in AGES!!! And of course it's always a joy to return to Scotland!! If you can come to see me at any of my events or signings, please do -- I always appreciate it, and will give you as much of my time as I can, and sign books until my hand drops off! At the end of my American tour, I'm going to celebrate my stag do (bachelor party) in Las Vegas, which will hopefully be a lot of wild fun!!! Then I'll enjoy a working break at home, before touring in the UK again in March (details to follow next month) and then getting married and heading off on honeymoon!!! Phew -- I'm exhausted just typing all of that -- imagine how wiped I'm going to be by the time I draw breath again in mid May!!!!!! Anyway, I'll be doing my best to keep the Shanville Monthly coming out on schedule at the start of every month, so I'll see you all here at the start of February with the next edition 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.