To Clarify...

Poor Aby and Cory and everyone over at the Skulduggery Facebook page. They've been hit with a barrage of questions about the Requiem Ball and they've been so great about it, but I finally felt sorry for them and decided to clear up a few things here.

Let's see now, what kind of questions have they had to deal with...?

"Why is the Requiem Ball in London? Derek's from Ireland. The books are set in Ireland. HELLO??"

This is absolutely true. However, in Ireland we have the Theatre of Shadows. In London we have the Requiem Ball. That's just the way it is.

"The Facebook page has a competition to send them a picture of the mask we'd wear to the Ball! Do we have to make it or just design it?"

Either. If you win tickets you'll need to be wearing a mask — one you make or one you buy, it doesn't matter — but for the competition you just have to design it yourself. And the mask can be as simple or as ornate as you like — as practical or as bizarre. It can cover your whole face or part of your face. You can buy a mask and alter it. It's up to you. You don't even have to be artistic — you just need to be passionate. The deadline is August 10th and there's only one entry per person.

"How many tickets do we get if we win?"

Everyone who wins gets two tickets — but those under the age of 18 can get an extra ticket for a parent/guardian.

"I can't make it to London for the Ball! But can I enter anyway, just for the Event Pack?"

Yup. There'll be lots of you in this particular boat — not only in Ireland and the UK but also all around the world — so don't be afraid to enter.

"It's not fair that all the events are always in Ireland and the UK."

Actually, it's pretty fair when you think about it. Harper Collins UK publish me in Ireland and the UK, so naturally they can only organise events for their own territories. They've been wonderful, actually, in doing their best to include as many people as possible. I hate leaving anyone out, I'd love every competition to be open to everyone and for every country to have cool stuff happening, but that's up to the many publishers who release my books across the world — and there are close to 40 of them.

"How many individual tickets are there?"

Approximately 120.

"Would we have to make our own way there?"

Yep!

"Is there any age limit?"

No upper age limit, but anyone under 18 would need a parent or guardian to accompany them.


There will be other opportunities to win tickets — the Facebook mask competition is merely the first — and it's a pretty cool one.