A Year in Review

Ah, 2015. What a year you've been.

A lot of people would take this opportunity to compile a Best Of list... and I am no different. And so, without further ado...

Best New Horror: It Follows



Jaw-droppingly good. A wickedly smart throwback to horror movies from the 80s. Bliss.

Best New Addition to a Franchise From Far, Far Away: The Force Awakens



Good GOD I loved this. It has heart, soul, warmth and grit — a huge departure from the prequels and a wonderful continuation from the original trilogy. I couldn't have done it better myself.

(Well, I could have, but they didn't ask, so...)

Best TV Show: The Walking Dead



This was a close one, with Game of Thrones running a tight second, but its White Walker mayhem was matched by episode upon episode of zombie thrills. And unlike GoT, I didn't know where The Walking Dead was going to end up...

Creepiest Horror Seen on Blu-Ray: Sinister



Oh I love a good creepy horror, and this hit the spot.

Most Disappointing Horror:  The Babadook



I don't get it. I just don't.

Best New Addition to a Franchise Thought Long Dead: Fury Road



A car chase that lasts an entire movie. How awesome is that? Not as feminist as I'd been led to believe, but still a thousand times more awesome than most other movies.

Best YA novel: The Rest of Us Just Live Here, by Patrick Ness



Get this book. Read this book. Love this book.

I didn't get to see all the movies I wanted to, didn't get to watch all the TV I wanted to (Ash Vs The Evil Dead and Jessica Jones being top of my To Watch list), and definitely didn't get to read all the books I wanted to, but all in all 2015 was a good year.


Next year is going to be busy. I've got the second Demon Road book out at the very end of March and the third and final one out in September. But I've learned my lesson, oh yes. No more six month publication schedules for ME, boy howdy. A lot of things have suffered as a result  of this workload (that still isn't over, by the way) and I want to get back to a nice and healthy communication routine with you, my lovely Minions.

2016 is going to be FUN.

Desolation

I'm working hard. Writing fast. Deadline's looming. But while I work, other people have been working too, such as the awesome folks responsible for the covers...

And so, without further ado...

80,000 words and some HORROR

I have now crossed the 80,000 word mark in Desolation. You know what that means?

It's a proper book now.

Demon Road was a little over 121,000. I had wanted it to be 80,000, which is roughly the size of Dark Days. Obviously, that didn't happen. But I am DETERMINED that Desolation be of a  more manageable size. It'll probably end up somewhere around the 100,000 mark.

Writing a book can be a struggle. It's just so happened that in the writing of this one, every time I started to flow, and write LOTS, I had to go off on tour or do festivals or get interrupted for a multitude of reasons. It's very hard to build up any kind of rhythm when your writing schedule is kinda messed up.

But I'm flowing now. I want to get this latest draft off to my editor on Monday, because on Tuesday I'm off on holiday to Disneyworld and Universal Studios.

For Halloween.

Ooooooh this is gonna be my kind of holiday. By day, we go to Magic Kingdom, and go on rides and visit Harry Potter world and just have good, nice lovely fun...

But at night...

Universal Studios over Halloween has the most terrifying horror experiences on offer, and I will be going and subjecting my girlfriend to the ordeal. I'm going to tweet about it. I'm going to take videos. You may see me scream.

But it shall be a manly scream. A WAR CRY.

And then I'll run away and leave Laura to face this guy on her own.

Gonna be FUN.

Germany Dates

The writing of Desolation is coming along, slowly but surely... This six month schedule thing is a killer, and unfortunately the first casualty of that is the blog. The second casualty is Twitter. The third casualty is, I dunno... probably my sanity.

But ho! Being the professional that I am, I still have time to travel to Germany and meet YOU, my wonderful minions!

15th October, 7 PM: Burg Lichtspiele, in Ginsheim-Gustavsburg

Talk and signing.

16th October, 5 PM: Lierature cafe, Ettlingen

Talk and signing.

17th October, 1:30 PM: Frankfurt Book Fair

Talk and signing.

5 — 8:30 PM: The Midnight Hotel.

The Midnight Hotel is a fan event where I'll be chatting and signing, and there'll be a quiz and a fancy dress competition and, like, stuff happening... It's gonna be awesome. 

Demon Road Spoilers

It's out.

I'm on tour at the moment, hovering somewhere beyond exhaustion, and I have less than six hours of sleep ahead of me before I have to get up, so all I'll say is that I hope you like it, and the comment section for this post shall be for your Demon Road reactions.

If you're going to include spoilers, please warn people ahead of time, and don't spoil anything TOO badly. Let people discover what happens on their own.

And now... goodnight.

10 Days And Counting...

Waiting for your book to be released is always an interesting time for a writer. But behind all the excitement and the impatience and the work, there is one question — one ever-present question — that shouts louder than any of the others.

"Will they like this one?"

Because what if they don't? What if this book is the book where they finally realise you're not a writer? Or that your best work is behind you? What if the enthusiasm you have grown accustomed to finally runs out?

It's a possibility. I started my career with Skulduggery Pleasant, a series that ran for nine books with one spin-off and one short story collection. That's how I got my readers, and my readers have a genuine love for those characters and that world. That's what I'm used to. That love and enthusiasm is now what I expect whenever I release a book.

But Demon Road is different. Demon Road is new.

It doesn't have the advantage of being part of a long-running series. It's part of a trilogy, yes, but it's the FIRST part.

There is an unwritten rule in publishing. It's not a particularly nice rule, but it's an understandable one. This unwritten rule states that your second series will not reach the heights of the first series — at least not at first. Given time, it will gather its own fans and its own readers and it might even surpass the first, but upon its release it will flounder when compared to the heights previously scaled. My publishers told me about this rule years ago. I have had a lot of time to absorb it.

And I'm okay with it.

I think Demon Road is a good book. Of course I do, I wrote it. I think it will gather its own fans. A lot of these will be Skulduggery readers. Some won't be. Regardless, it was written to stand apart, to begin a new adventure, to introduce new characters and a new world, and it will rise or fall on its own merits.

This, to me, is the essence of writing. Each new book is a brand new lie, and each new lie brings an age-old truth. If a writer is lucky, he'll get multiple opportunities to tell these lies to an audience that is willing to give him the chance. Nobody wants to read a book they don't enjoy. Everyone wants the book they're reading to be the book that changes their life forever.

I've been very lucky in the past, and I reckon I'm ready for what's to come.

Extra London Date Added

On August 26th, just twelve short days away, we will be kicking off the tour with a NEW, special event in Waterstones in Hampstead. Apart from the fact that you'll be able to snag a copy of Demon Road a day ahead of its release (you'll even be able to snag one of the limited Platinum editions), and for a full TWO POUNDS off, we'll also have goodies to give out on the night, I'll be yammering on about writing or some such nonsense, and then I'll be signing whatever you want me to sign.

Reserve tickets in store or on www.waterstones.com/events.

This is IMPORTANT, and it applies to all of the signings and events — I will sign WHATEVER you bring. I don't care what the book is (so long as I've, y'know, actually written it) and I don't care how many are in your bag. If someone, at whatever signing you turn up to, tells you I'm only going to sign books you buy in their store, let me know and I'll sort it out. That rarely happens anymore, but some staff members are over-eager. Obviously time is sometimes an issue, so if the queue is long as I have to jet off to the next signing, we'll impose some limitations — but that's always a last resort.

Demon Road is coming...

Change to Galway Signing Time

As the subject header suggests, there has been a change to the start time for the signing in Galway on September 4th, changing it from 4:30 to 3:00, in an attempt to get to sign for everyone who can make it.

Forgotten Trail Winner

In June, I ran a competition to win the chance to appear as a character in a video game called Forgotten Trail. This is a game that, basically, teaches you maths while you have fun completing quests and solving puzzles, and the whole thing is steeped in Native American culture. The company that makes these games is run by Dr AnnMaria De Mars, who some of you will know as Ronda Rousey's mom.

I said the winner would be announced at the end of July but, because the entries kept coming, I kept it open another month. All in all, we had over 800 people entering — some more than once — and picking a winner was NOT easy.

But a winner I did pick. And here, to help me announce, is Ronda, her mom, her sister Maria, and lead artist Justin...

"And the winner is... Brinley Marrs!"

Congratulations Brinley! Your mom put your name forward and told me why she figured you should win, and I agreed! Hailey, your email has now been sent to AnnMaria and they will take it from there.

To everyone else who entered, commiserations — but if it's any consolation, please know that some of your entries made me grin...

Demon Road Teaser

Minions of the world, unite for the awesomeness...

The Platinum Edition

Every spare moment of the past week, I've been signing.

Whenever I need a break from the new book, whenever I need time to think something through, I've been going into the kitchen, sitting at the table, and pulling over another stack of pages to scribble my name upon. My dreams are now lagged by random sheets of paper, flying by on the breeze. They've become a constant in my life. They're always there, whenever I look around. When I have lunch, they're there. When I have dinner, they're there.

(I don't really have breakfast, which explains why they're not there then.)

(I mean, they ARE there. It's not like they AREN'T THERE at morning time. They are. Listen, if I DID have breakfast, which I don't, they would be there for breakfast as well. But I don't, so... so why are we even arguing about this?)

How many sheets of paper have I signed, you ask? 3000, I answer.

Why am I doing this, you ask? Because these sheets of paper will be collected from my home, shipped back to the UK, and placed into 3000 very special editions of my new book.

Ladies and gentlemen, i present to you the Limited Platinum Edition of Demon Road, available EXCLUSIVELY when you preorder at Waterstones.

Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful?

It's taken a HUGE amount of work to get a cover this strong, and while we have the regular gold cover to reflect my Golden God status, I reckoned Waterstones should have a Platinum Edition for the sterling work they've done in supporting me.

(Sterling! Get it? Sterling and platinum! Haw!)

(Yes, I realise that sterling is silver and platinum is a metal, but they're both ROUGHLY the same colour, and if you could just let me have this one without pointing out how none of this makes any sense, I'd be ever so grateful.)

You can pre-order here, if you so wish: https://www.waterstones.com/book/demon-road-signed-edition/derek-landy/9780008160500

UK and Ireland Tour

At last! The tour dates! I'll also be in Germany in October, but for now, these are the places I'll be appearing, and if you're lucky enough to be close, you can bring along both Demon Road AND Skulduggery Pleasant books for me to scrawl in.

AUGUST

WED 26: Waterstones, Hampstead, 7 PM talk and signing.

Tickets available in store or on www.waterstones.com/events


THUR 27: WHS Guildford, 4 PM signing.

FRI 28: Waterstones, Bluewater, 10:30 AM signing.

Waterstones, Birmingham, 7 PM talk and signing.

Tickets available in store or on www.waterstones.com/events 

SAT 29: Waterstones, Durham, 1 PM signing.

Seven Stories, Newcastle, 6 PM talk and signing.

Tickets will be available on www.sevenstories.org.uk

SUN 30: Edinburgh Festival, 1:30 PM talk and signing.

Tickets £4.50, available on https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/derek-landy-demon-road

MON 31: Waterstones, York,  12 PM  signing.

Waterstones, Manchester, 6:30 PM talk and signing.

Tickets available in store or on www.waterstones.com/events 

SEPTEMBER

TUE 1: Newham Bookshop, Stratford Picture House, 4 PM signing.

THU 3: Easons, O'Connell Street, 5 PM

Watch out for ticketing information and further details on www.easons.com

FRI 4: Dubray Books, Galway, 3:00 PM signing.

SAT 5: Easons, Cork, 12 PM signing.

TUE 8: Pavillion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire, 5 PM talk and signing.

Tickets available on www.paviliontheatre.ie