After a bizarrely warm November, it's starting to get pretty cold indeed around these parts. Christmas decorations are everywhere. Shopping queues are getting longer. This morning I heard "Merry Christmas (The War is Over)" on the radio- the first Christmas song I've heard in 2011. And a few days ago I posted a TON of cards and letters to readers who had written to me- so it is OFFICIALLY close to Christmas. I can now safely announce it.
You may rejoice.
And the competition winners may ALSO rejoice, because the books I have to sign have finally arrived. I'll sign them all this weekend, have them ready to be picked up on Monday or Tuesday, and then hopefully you'll be getting your prizes over the next few weeks. It'd be cool if you could get them BEFORE Christmas, so that's what we're working towards.
There's still a lot of work going on in my house. I'm getting one of the rooms refurbished- COMPLETELY redesigning it- as well as the kitchen redone, and that's been going on since the start of October. Basically, it means a lot of noise and hassle and interruptions, so I haven't been able to focus on Book Seven, which I really would have liked to have started by now. But hey, I'm not worried. My house is going to RULE when it's all finished, because finally I'll have a proper place to store my toys.
A lot of you may not know this, but I love toys. I collect movie memorabilia and props and stuff, and also comic-book statues. To give you an idea of the kind of things I'm talking about, here are a few action figures...
... and a rather large Iron Man (I've put a book beside him to give you an idea of scale)...
Oh, and here's a 12 inch figure of Sweeny Todd about to give a 12 inch Ichabod Crane a very close shave...
Boy oh boy do I love toys...
As you can imagine, my place is full of equipment boxes right now, so I'm going to leave you with a picture of one of my cats- Pooper- doing what cats love best: clambering into cardboard boxes for no apparent reason.
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4,817 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 400 of 4817 Newer› Newest»I agree on the holding instrument front. I had to slice my finger RIGHT where I hold my trombone!
And the cut was dipping blood while I was in orchesrtra... I could not switch from bowing to plucking to bowing again. The bow kept brushing against the cut.
But my english teacher gave me a bandaid that was shaped like a piece of toast. It was the coolest way to cover an injury ever.
I sort of know your siblings names...
Peren, boy, 14
Something beginning with 'L' probably Lucy, girl
Something beginning with 'C', girl, 9
I think...
Hehe... Wrong except Peren. That was correct.
My little sisters are Carissa, who's 11, and Jaida, who's 9.
Have you seen 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit'?
Darn I was wrong...
Very wrong...
Incredibly wrong...
Which is hardly surprising cosidering I've never met you...
I wanna talk to you SO BAD!!!!! DX
*thinks of ways we could meet*
Derek, I require your service. You, being the all powerful Golden God, need to give us an oppertunity to meet.
Please, I'm literally on my knees BEGGING YOU to do this.
Hold a special SKYPE conference for people here.
Derek you can't understand how happy that would make me. You really don't. You can even make a spam SKYPE account to do this. I need to speak to these people, I AM WILLING TO STAY UP ALL NIGHT TO DO THIS.
*smiles, mostly to self* People begging on their knees to meet me? Excellent... I could get used to this...
Not just you, don't let your head inflate.
Bur seriously I think if we could meet we would be tighter than glue.
Or something...
Are you gonna write back or what?
Glue isn't tight, it's sticky.
But, either way, yes, I agree, we would make good friends.
I met my friend Emily because I screamed "Death Bringer!" on the first day of school then went on about how I was incredibly intelligent. She thought (and still thinks) I'm hilarious. XD
Closer than pages in a book?
An SP book of course.
What if the book's open? Then what?
Stop destroying my analogies. Closer than bark on a tree?
aawwwww
the cat is so cute :)
my birthday celebration is this weekend (my actual birthday is on wednesday, so i'm celebrating the weekend before because celebrating on a wednesday is just not done :P )
i'm going to this big science museum that i went to once in the 2nd grade and then we're going to see The Polar Express at the IMAX Dome (a HUGE round theater that works with the museum)
it's gonna be awesome
I really don't see what the big deal is with the cat.
Bark on a tree? What's the bark closer to? The tree? What if the bark falls off?
cats are awesome
My cat is ADORABLE. I should post a picture of her sometime.
*kicks Val V*
Uh...
You'd need a large crowbar to get us apart?
Cats can be adorable, this one is not.
Giant grasshopper. In my room.
No you wouldn't. I could throw you across the room, therefore making the crowbar unneeded.
I really do love to ruin things, don't I?
Don't like bugs.
You're so damn picky...
And I really doubt you cloud throw me across a room. Boxer and I had a fight yesterday and it was a tie. She is taller, stronger and has training, hence the nickname 'Boxer'.
New approach, we would go together like Skulduggery and Val.
I don't like bugs either. That's why I find Peren and Fletcher annoying.
Hey guys!
Hi ATB I kinda need to go now...
BYE!!!
Bye! Okay, Skulduggery and Val work. I won't argue, even though I've already thought of like 20 reasons to disagree...
Hi ATB!
Hey VAL!
Whatcha' dooooooooooooooooooin'?
(wow! had a sudden weird attack there!)
Val? I didn't frighten you away, did I?
Nooooooothin' much. Attempting to play cello with this cut in m hand. *glares at pencil* This is your fault.
But I'm playing the songs pretty well! I've played White Christmas, Carol of the Bells, Deck the Hall, Frosty the Snowman, Holly Jolly Christmas, Silver Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and a few others. *is in Christmas mode*
Hmm... What good Christmas movies do I like... The Nightmare Before Christmas, for sure... OH! I love Gremlins! :D
Awesome! I played piano, but can't practice because the piano in my dorm is completely out of tune. It sounds worse than... I don't know, nails on a chalkboard. Just horrid!
How long have you been playing cello?
the nightmare before christmas is amazing :D
i love all of tim burton's movies
Since fifth grade. I'm in seventh now. And I'm pretty good at it, to tell the truth. I can't sight read the notes as quick as some of the people in my orchestra, but I can play really well once I have the general idea of the notes.
Brb
Orchestra... Wow. That's awesome. I never got that far. Mine was just a hobby.
It seems there was a Tim Burton movie I didn't quite care for, but I can't recall it...
what was the movie about?
That's it. All I remember was that I think it was a Burton movie... Maybe. Maybe BeetleJuice. I think that's it. But at the same time, I'm not sure that's the one I'm thinking of, though I know I didn't care much for BeetleJuice. No his best, in my opinion.
if i had to pick a favorite i would pick Big Fish
it made me tear up and cry at the end
but i also love his stop motion movies like corpse bride and nightmare before christmas
I love almost every Tim Burton movie I see... Particularly The NIghtmare Before Christmas, Alice in Wonderland (Derek how can you not like it?!), The Corpse Bride, Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, maybe a few others. And Coraline isn't a Tim Burton movie, but I still love it.
In fact, I like The Nightmare Before Christmas so much that I was Sally a few years ago, and the day before Halloween I saw the Nightmare Before Christmas in the movie theatre with Amanda, and I was dressed as Sally and sat in the front row, then when the credits played at the end I stood up and danced right in front of the screen like a crazy person.
oh wow :)
i love big fish, nightmare before christmas, corpse bride, sweeney todd, alice in wonderland
basically all those
coraline should be a tim burton movie :P
Ugh... My fingers hurt from playing my instrument... BUT I SHALL CONTINUE.
So, I've never actually posted on here before or know if Derek even has the time to read these posts, but figured I would go ahead and post ^^;. I just wanted to say that I love reading your blog and your books are truly fantastic, being able to get immersed in them has definitely helped me get through some rough patches in my life. So thank you<3. I also realized that since you're Irish you probably have an epic Irish accent, so I've been having a blast imagining what that sounds like xD; don't know why that took so long to hit me.
Derek, you know how you said Christmas decorations are everywhere? Yesterday I went to my moj's friend's house and put up decorations... I wrapped lights around his fence, on the trees, lifted the really heavy boxes no one else could get (As I said, I'm a ninja, and am therefore very strong), and had to string a bunch of bells. NEVER AGREE TO STRING BELLS. IT IS NOT EASY. And the whole time Amanda kept texting me, but it was really cold outside so my hands were too numb to push the buttons on my phone, so I couldn't tell her to stop...
Hi Lieben, if you're still here! Derek does have an epic Irish accent... If you youtube him there's some interviews; that's how I heard his voice. I WANT AN IRISH ACCENT SO BADLY...
In fact, yesterday my mom was helping me think of a way to convince people I was born in Ireland, even though I was born in America... But she was saying that with my last name no one would ever believe it, because my name's italian...
hi everyone! *hugs*
and tim burton yay! The only movie of his that I didn't love was his version of alice in wonderland. Not that the animation wasn't beautiful...but it had so much potential, and just ended up kind of bleh.
Sounds exciting! Aww your cat is cute:D
I thought Alice in Wonderland was awesome... But it shouldn't have been so focused on Johnny Depp the whole time. I liked Alice, though. But that might be because I like to imitate her accent so much... I'm good at it, too.
Random thing to say:
My favourite animal is a white bengal tiger! They're so cool!
I did like the white queen, though it did appear that she was at least a little tipsy.
And favorite animal time yay! african pygmy hedgehog. that is all.
Valkyrie- I'm still here :D! Ahaha, that's so epic, now I'm definitely going to have to youtube him. Ah, I agree! I love those accents! I was in the UK over summer and even though I didn't get to go to Ireland, I did run into a guy who had an absolutely fantastic Irish accent. Could hardly understand a thing he said, but he was friendly and had red hair, so I was happy haha.
You could always tell them that your mom is Irish, but you have your dad's last name? Something like that would probably convince people xD.
I'm back!!!
The most common last name in Ireland is Murphy. I would recommend using that as your Irish last name.
Hello?
I'm over a quarter Irish in real life... *is very happy about it*
And it would be impossible to convince people my mom's Irish; she's half persian! Which would mean that I'm a quarter persian, but no one would ever guess because I'm so pale...
If I were to pretend to have an Irish last name, it would be Moore. Just like Amanda, who looks full-on Irish. Red hair and green eyes.
If you wanted to convince someone who actually IS Irish, go with Murphy.
SPARKY!!!
But Moore is an Irish last name too. It's really Irish. Amanda is Irish, after all, but she was born in America. That doesn't mean she doesn't have Irish ancestors... I do also, it's just not so obvious.
Hey ATB! Murphy is the most common last name, okay?
What's wrong with my Val and Skulduggery analogy?
Valkyrie, we should so ban together and make Derek something bada**(pardon my bad language stars). I thinking about it but I'm not creative at all, in anyway, shape or form. Thats actually a lie but I'm not good with presents.
I have decided that I am the world's worst shopper.
Well, Skulduggery's a skeleton, and over 400 years old, whereas Val is 12-16 and a living human. Besides, they are close in a way where they SAVE THE FREAKING WORLD TOGETHER. And they'd die for each other, and are both seriously insane... (I would point out the twist, but saying something about it would spoil it)
World's worst shopper, eh? How come?
PLEASE DON'T SPOIL IT!!! I'M ONLY ON FOUR!!!
... Ghastly & Tanith?
Roger & Jessica Rabbit?
Sally & Jack from A Nightmare Before Christmas?
Wesley & Buttercup from Princess Bride?
Val V, I was just supposed to be shoe shopping, but whenever I go shopping I end up having a major argument with the person I took...
Brb
My internet is being somewhat disagreeable... =.=
Oh, well. Hot cocoa time. If I have a clean mug... and some good- Ooo! Well water!
Sparky, what's with the odd pairings? Is it a game?
-Eric and Christine?
-Jack and Lilly?
-Chihiro and Haku?
-Kermit and Miss Piggy?
I might just make him a card or something, then post a picture of it... Just kidding. I'm making something epic. But I can't tell you what it is...
(Seriously, I can't; I have no clue yet...)
I wish I could send him a real card. And what does he mean "readers that wrote him"? I can't find an address anywhere so I can write him!
Have you seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit ATB?
*thinks for a second* Wait a minute...
Derek, did you get a letter that had a drawing of Skulduggery on the front, with a red background and the quote from each book cover on the front, then a drawing of the Hallow Men army on the back from America?
CAUSE THAT'S WHAT I SENT YOU A FEW MONTHS AGO.
*Hollow Men
@ATB- Yes I have, but it's been a long long while.
@Val- You sent him a letter? HOW? (other than the obvious steps)I've looked high and low for his address to send him a letter!
Well this is the third time I've watched it in 24 hours!
Well, I'm not sure if he got it or not, but this is the first address I found to send him letters a few years ago...
Derek Landy
C/O Author mail
Harper Collins Publishers
10 East 53rd, New York, NY 10022
I don't know how accurate it is, because I got it off ask.com or something, but it's worth a shot.
Thankyouthankyouthankyou!
@Sparky- O.O Obsessed?
Possibly...
Gtg
Bye!
Bye Sparky
I'm back! Neither of you are particularly chatty today are you?
Hello?
You both said bye to me right? Not blogland right?
MORTAL COIL CHRISTMAS TIME!!!
"Ah, there it is," Skulduggery said, and nodded.
"Sorry?"
"That, right there. That story you just told. That little excerpt from your life. That's the most annoying thing about Christmas. Everyone has these little stories about what Christmas means to them. You don't get that at any other time of the year. You don't get people telling you what Easter means to them, or St Patrick's Day. But everyone opens up at Christmas time."
"Wow," Valkyrie said. "I never noticed before, but you're a grouch."
"No, I'm not."
"You're a Grinch."
"I'm neither a Grinch nor a Grouch..."
Really?
I don't think Derek is a grinch or a grouch...
I took you half an hour to write that????
Here's another!
She held out her hands. "Present."
He looked at her. "You're not getting your present."
Valkyrie frowned. "What? Why not?"
"Because it was a Christmas present. It's not Christmas anymore."
"Of course it is. There's twelve whole days of Christmas."
"They don't count."
"Yes they do."
"The twelve days are merely to let people know when it's time to take down their tasteless decorations. It's St Stephen's Day today, and I didn't get you a St Stephen's Day present."
XD
Val V? PLEASE TALK TO ME!!!!!!!???!!???!?!??? vvvb ?
Not half an hour! I was watching part of a movie!
Wow that was spasticated...
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What movie?
if there is anyone here hi
and derek i would send you a christmas card but i have no idea where to send it to as you never told us and im constantly asking grrrrrr bad god bad anyway on a brighter note i love the cat and christmas our tree is already up and house mostly decorated now if olnly derek could give me the adress so i could send something or anyone else that know wher eto sned stufff to him
hi ppls merry christmas
*kicks someone off a cliff* *comes back, slightly irritated* *acts like a four-year-old*
I WANNA MEET DEEEEEERRRRREEEEEKKKKK!!! I HATE NOT BEING ABLE TO!!! AGH!!! *throws someone into a wall*
*realises that the 'someone' I threw into a wall was Sparky*
hey valkyrie how goes the holiday season
Hey Amelie :)
It's fine so far. My mumzy made like 5 batches of cookies earlier, and they taste really good...
yum maybe i should make cookies if we have the ingrediants hmmmmmm so what are you doing for christmas this year
*climbs out of wall* I really wish you would stop doing that...
*grabs Val V's hair and sets it on fire, casually*
I plan on spending Christmas here.
oh well i might be on christmas day for a little bit but we go out on christmas so
*wonders what Val V is going to do about the hair*
I'll wish everyone here a merry Christmas, then socialize with my family. I'll probably be here at three AM my time that day...
*tackles Sparky to the ground* Don't mess with my hair or I'll put you in a dress. A pink fluffy one.
Then stop throwing through walls fuzz- head.
*kicks Val V off*
The dress thing is NOT funny.
You really need to get your own SKYPE Val V.
Or you could add me, talk to me and then remove me.
My computer's probably too cruddy for Skype to even work.
Still worth a shot...
I'll be back in about 30 minutes... Don't go anywhere...
Okay!
Well, I'm back for like 10-15 minutes, because apparently, my family doesn't WANT me to take my shower.
I was going to take a shower, but it turns out Peren did, and used up the hot water. So now I'm waiting for it to heat up again, and my mom decided that SHE gets to take a shower, after I said I was going to about 2 minutes before. What the heck is wrong with my family?!
*crosses arms and gets really quiet* Grrr...
*smiles* My mom just walked in and said, "I'm excited that Derek-" She paused. "Yes, I'm excited that Derek Landy is sending you your stuff." She glanced at me. "I think I can say this on a first-name basis now. So I'm excited that Derek's sending you your stuff." We grinned at each other, and she left.
Hi?
*rofl's*
I like how my mom incourages my insane obsession like that. She knows it, too. She thinks it's fun.
Well, NOW I'm going to take a shower... So I'll be back...
Oh, okay...
BACK!
So quiet... Hmm... Where is--
*peers into the corner*
Oh. There's Canada.
*jumps out from behind Canada*
You missed me, da?
Er... Yes?
Grr... I need to go make a bandaid for my hand...
if anyone is here i have skype if anyone wants to add me
I don't have Skype...
ok i have to go now
Anyone here?
Not really. It's practically 1 in the morning, so I'm going to bed. Goodnight!
Night..
Hi, i'm back after having an unusually long lay in for me. Cant wait for christmas
anyone here?
is there NO ONE here? :-(
when will book seven come out?
in march
cheers
thats ok
Cant wait for christmas! i just wish it would hurry up and snow
anyone there?
Guess what I got at 10:30 on Thursday night.
Guess. I dare you.
You want a clue? Fine, some Words I'd associate with it are:Awesome, amazing, death, fantabulous, huzzah, 6,and Pie.(Well, Maybe not pie...)
Did you guess it? Of course you did. But in case you didn't, Im'a tell you anyway.
Brace yourselves, for on Thursday, I finally obtained...
Book 6.
Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer
And I am officially happy.
Unfortunately, I was unable to read it on Thursday, *Extremely-sad-face* So as soon as I was home from school yesterday, I read. And I stopped only to speak, or to eat, or to sleep.
I then awoke, and read some more.
I may be only 174 pages in, but I already feel the need to point at the Golden God, and shout at the top of my voice "GENIUS", Over and over again.
In other words, Its a great book.
*blinks*
That was definitely longer than I'd expected it to be, especially since I was trying not to use too many words/spaces/whatever. ^^
*shrugs, and buries her head in the 600 page, 23.5cm x 15.3cm x 4.4cm book, that is Skulduggery Pleasant, Death Bringer.*
P.S. I almost died with silent laughter at the dedication at the front of the book.
You are too clever, Mr.Landy. FAR too clever.
And I mean that in a good way. Kind of.
i like the death bringer, ive red it like 6 times.
Anyone on???
Hello?
I love your toys Derek they are so cool! And ur cats seem nice unlike mine :D
heyyyyy i dont have cats my mums allergic :(
My dad hates them but i love them :D How are you?
good and i dont really like cats im more of a dog/wolf lover! how r u??
Sorry so late commenting I have to go though. Bye Rim!
anyone here?
wow! Rim, nice pic - love the Hunger Games!!!!!!!!!
thx!! and did u like the ending to mockingjay?? i liked Gale best :)
'Ello everyone.
hey !!!
*sits down, slightly in shock* I almost just killed myself... Thank God I have fast reflexes...
how did u do that??
It's really dark in my bedroom, becauses the curtains are closed and the lights are off and it's only about 8:00 AM, so I got up to leave my room. Apparently, I left my cello case on the ground near the door. And the case is black, so I couldn't see it. I went to the door, but first my foot hit the cello case and I started falling head first into a wall - the wall is only about 14 inches away - but stuck out my arm and pushed it against the wall to prevent me from falling.
you should have manipulated the air!! but hope you recover from your shock soon!!
I think I've recovered from it now... And I'm the twelve-year-old Valkyrie, so I'm not very good at magic yet!
oh i should be the 13 year old Valkyrie. so i should be falling of a building right about now!!
And I should be jumping off the top of a musuem then, being chased by vampires.
lol! do u like caelan better than Fletcher? cus it sounds like you do
To be honest, I think Fletcher is really annoying and a little too obsessed with Valkyrie, but a Caelan is WAY too obsessed with Valkyrie. If Caelan would say something other than, "We're meant for each other..." and "I love you" all the time, maybe I'd like him better, but I don't really know. Fletcher's a porcupine, Caelan's a vampire, and they're both irritating.
DUUUUUUUUN-DUN........ DUUUUUUUUUUUN-DUN.... DUNDUNDUNDUNDUN
DUNDUNDUNDUNDUNDUNDUN,
DUNDUNDUNDUUUUUUUUUUUUN!
STALKER-NESSSSS!!!!!!!
NO! NOT ANOTHER STALKER! I HAVE TOO MANY ALREADY!
lol well said! but i think if i had to choose AMAZING hair or vampire id pick the hair.
Amazing hair? His hair is NOT amazing! Think of how much easier it would be to save the world if Fletcher didn't attract so much attention with his freaking hair!
dude, caelen is way too clingy, fletcher is just a pain :P date fletch's hair instead! xD
wow nice intro!! but a tad creepy!!
If Fletcher is clingy, which he is, then Caelan is like grab-and-strangle-till-they-love-me-y.
BACK.
well howdy there!!
gawd... i just disappeared 'cause my mum wanted to check her email -.-
DUDE, check YOUR email in YOUR time!!! -.- idiot parents...
YGM and do you have chavs in America??
Do we have what in America?
exactly!!!! sorry, people who chew gum, wear baseball caps, have their boxers showing and jelled spikey hair.
Yes, we have those.
Gotta go for a few hours... BYE!
byeeee!!!
Hey Derek!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMG i love your cat! It's so cute!
I have like two!
http://skulduggerypleasant400.blogspot.com/
Please check out my blog!
Here is a snipet of one of my fan fics! -
Arianne Graham was 7 years old and sitting playing with her dolly, Miss Molly, in the garden, when her mother, Lizzy Graham was killed. There were screams so she went to see what was happening. She had found her in her bedroom lying is a distorted shape with her eyes and mouth open. “Mummy? Mummy why are you on the floor?” she had asked. “Mummy?” Papa Ben had found her, crying over her, blonde hair stained with her mothers blood and her Miss Molly dolly tucked close to her chest. Papa Ben had taken Arianne to her bedroom and told her to play with Miss Molly, whilst he examined the crime scene for traces of magic.
There is more on the link above!
:)
Thanks
Anyone on ????
All by myself
Don't wanna be
All by myself
Anymore
All by myself
Don't wanna live
All by myself
Anymore
yeah im back on hi!!!
Just going to sit here for a wee bit!
ok!!
1st ?
2nd
1st!! oops I forgot to say 1st!! but i said it now
hey rim
Derek, I got the Christmas Card you sent me - I was amazed, I sent the letter to you during your Character Competition over 2 years ago..... Silly post. I'm still in Awe.
Thank you so much for 1) Finding the letter after 2 years, 2) Having the guts to read the letter which I now regard as ' Oh My days, Why did I write that, I sounded so Immature and demanding then - I dont even use that Character any more ' and 3) for sending a Christmas Card with a cute Robin on.
I hope you come to the North east of England so I can thank you in person - But please, Dont come on the day I go back to school like last time or in Newcastle, its an hour from my Town!!!! Thanks again Golden god!!!
i dedicate this page to Derek and his amazing cat!!!
yeah the amazing cat, could i have pooper and his box for christmas?
Haha! I so want pooper then i will have 3 cats! Then i will get more and i will be known as 'The Crazy Cat Author Lady', Well in my head anyway!
Please don't ask where I'm going with this because i havn't a clue!
sorry i went for a QUICK jog (dont ask i felt inspired)
hello anyone still here???
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