Writing Year in Review

What a year that was...

2014 saw the final part of my EPIC nine-book series reaching the shelves, and there was much rejoicing. It was a bit of a scramble to get it written in time, as it generally is, but this book achieved everything I wanted it to achieve, and so I remain immensely proud of it. The ninth book, and the events that transpire within it, had been a secret I'd been keeping for seven years, and it was such a relief to get it out there. Sure, I didn't tie up every last plot thread — in some cases I just ran out of time, in others I decided to be mean and simply not resolve stuff — but it was a fitting send-off, I think.

The publication saw another astonishing Tom Percival cover, plus a very limited black edition which, as it turned out, was an extraordinarily clever bit of marketing by yours truly. It meant that the excitement that first morning was ELECTRIC as everyone rushed to search through each shop. That wasn't my original intent — I just wanted a cool black book — but to follow the tweets that morning as each copy got snapped up... that was awesome.

The reaction to the book was exactly what I wanted, also. True, there was some confusion over the chapters that ended mid-sentence, but all in all, readers understood what I was doing. And then to catch you all out right at the end....

... glorious...

The Dying of the Light got me back touring, of course, and we fit in the Requiem Ball and the Theatre of Shadows, and I once again visited New Zealand and Australia and met loads of enthusiastic readers. If ever my ego was in need of a boost...

And then I got home, and got to work on the NEW book.

Magically Pleasant

Christmas is coming...

My Christmas tree is up, the Nightmare Before Christmas decorations hang happily beside the boys from South Park, there are presents... Every time you turn on the MTV Christmas channel you're treated to "All I Want For Christmas" by Mariah Carey...

Soon it will be time for "Love Actually" to appear on TV. I do love "Love Actually", actually.

And to help you, my Minions, prepare for this holiday season, we at Skulduggery Towers have made for you a Christmas card that you can send out into the digital world. Because we're nice like that.

http://skulduggerypleasant.co.uk/ecard/

How To Write Books Good, Part 3

Beginning the book:

• Sit down at desk.
• Open Word document.
• Look at blank page.
• Become anxious.
• Decide that the problem is the font.
• Change font.
• Be much happier.
• Look at blank page.
• Make cup of tea/coffee.
• Drink tea/coffee while looking at blank page.
• Do not check Twitter/email/Facebook/Tumblr.
• Check them a little.
• Take a break.
• Sit back down.
• Write something.
• Change font.
• Be much happier.
• Take out phone in case someone wants to ring you. 
• Do not play Angry Birds.
• Do not play it.
• Play it a little.
• Put phone away.
• Delete what you have written.
• Write something else.
• Read back over it.
• Shrug. Decide to fix it in the rewrite. 
• Congratulations! You've started the book!