This year is the fiftieth anniversary of Doctor Who. To celebrate, Puffin Books asked eleven different authors to take a Doctor and write a story. When I was asked, I said I'd only do it if I could write for the tenth or eleventh incarnation. Puffin gave me Ten. I was a happy bunny.
It was such a joy to write this character. As you all know, I've been a fan of the show since I was a kid, and David Tennant holds joint top-spot with Matt Smith as my favourite Doctor. In my opinion, it was Tennant's era when the Doctor's love of dialogue really came out— that quick-fire patter that he does so well — and it was an absolute pleasure to channel that.
The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage will be released as an e-book on October 23rd (my birthday! Skulduggery's deathday!) and then it, along with the other stories, will be collected into a PHYSICAL book which will be out near the end of November.
There will be a video released in a week or two where I talk more about it, but in the meantime, here's a link to a snippet (which explains where the somewhat old-fashioned title comes from...)
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/interactive/2013/oct/01/doctor-who-mystery-haunted-cottage-derek-landy-extract
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4,966 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 2401 – 2600 of 4966 Newer› Newest»☂I've never been able to stand ABBA.☂
☂Hi Zaf!☂
It's 1 to David Tennant here (1 to ten)
I gtg Night everyone!!!
☂True, Kam!☂
☂And in cinemas and stuff.☂
And now i go get ready may not return until 1:30 my time
☂Bye, Misti!☂
Or if they were glow in the dark.
☂And bye Zaf!☂
☂Wait, but they're glowing black, so you WOULDN'T be able to see with them, would you?☂
☂I mean for the previous one. Glow in the dark is better.☂
Night/bye people who just left?
It's true, I'll have to depart for a bit in an hour, but only for an hour, so it shouldn't be too long
Hmmm...
How can something glow black?
My tummy ain't happy!!! I forced myself to eat!!! BLEUGH!!
HI Zaf
And now Bye!
It's time for me to sleep! Night everyone!
(Hello everyone! I'm not really sure what's going on, but I thought I'd hop on here for a little bit while I do some other stuff on my computer. How have you all been?
☂Maybe if it's really light outside...☂
☂GOOD JOB, DEATH!☂
☂☂hugs Death☂☂
☂Soon your tummy (or rather your head) will get that it can't boss you around. What did you eat?☂
☂Hi, Anni!☂
☂We're just talking right now.☂
Bye Misti :)
Hi Death :) *waves*
Might Mistiiii *hugs*
(Ugh, I hate tummy-aches. That's why I don't like Mexican food.)
(Bye Misti!)
Ay yo Anni- last time I saw you, uh..
I fink you were drunk
Hello Annika, I don't believe we've met. *shakes hand*
☂One time I had explosive diarrhea and vomit right in the middle of the train station...☂
☂☂sighs☂☂
*shakes Sykamere's hand*
Hello, Syk, if I may call you Syk? It is a pleasure to meet you as well.
*prepares for her overly dramatic introduction*
It's Moroccan food you have to watch out for. I went to Morocco a few weeks ago. The food was terrible :(
It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Allow me to introduce myself. By day, I am Annika Barnosky, teen blogger and writer. By night, I am Doctor Precocious, monster hunter extraordinaire, accompanied by my indispensable butler, Aubrey, and our creepy black van. I am an Energy-Thrower, a daring adventurer, a skilled monster-hunter, of course, and, though I have no home of my own, I have a semi-permanent residency at the Midnight Hotel. I also play poker with a variety of high-profile personages.
And don't listen to Adra. I don't know what she means by 'drunk.' I was not 'drunk,' merely fortified.
Yes, you may call me Syk.
Sep has something against it so she calls me Kam.
@Ember: *laughs*
We have such good inventions nowadays. :P
Ah, my mum said once - imagine if gas heating was invented nowadays, and somebofy said, I know! How about we pump this poisonous has into people's houses to warm them up? If something goes wrong, it could be really damgerous and harmful, but never mind that!
Health and saftey would never allow it. XD
Ah, the rockclimbing instructor was telling this story I was only half listening to about people not being able to climb ladders because it was too dangerous, and apparently you needed a technician to change a lightbulb for you. XD
#ChaseForBookNine
*waves Annika off*
I know no one listens to me. But that doesn't mean that I still can't be heard
Ember that sounds terrible..
Of all the places, Ember, that is the worst.
Monster-hunting is cool.
A short intro on myself:
I am a necromancer, I like burning stuff, exploding things and chillies. I am also a ninja.
Hey Annika! Fours Misti!
It's quite simple, how something can glow black. You're just not intelligent enough to comprehend it. :)
*nods confidentally, because I'm totally intelligent enough to comprehend it, of course I am*
#ChaseForBookNine
☂I'm scared of stairs and ladders because I am strange.☂
☂I CALL YOU KAM BECAUSE SYK (in my head) SOUNDS LIKE SICK.☂
☂And I can't get the voice in my head to pronounce it "Psych"☂
☂So I either think "Sicko" or "Psycho".☂
☂I also call you Kam because one of my friends is called Cameron and I call him Cam.☂
It's a contradiction though, like cold fire.
☂Something can definitely glow black!☂
☂...Can light be black?☂
Well, the color black 'absorbs' light, and white bounces it off, which is why you should never wear black in the summertime. And light is originally white, but it made up of a whole spectrum, not including black, because black is the absence of light. So I suppose for something to glow black it would have to be SO black and SO dark that it absorbed SO MUCH LIGHT that it basically spreads darkness. That's what a black glow would be. Darkness.
☂But cold fire is technically a thing...☂
☂Technically...☂
*confidently
@Syk: Explosions are cool. :)
Fire is cool. :)
NINJAS ARE VERY COOL (particularly the aeroplane variety).
Chillies, despite sounding like they should be chilly, are hot. :)
#ChaseForBookNine
I think of it a Syke
Kinda
But which is sometimes psyche pronounced "cy-key) like the psychological term kinda that would take a long time to get into
☂Anyone who arrives now will find us in a deep, psychological discussion about toes glowing black and will think we are all mad, which is quite right too.☂
That's like saying light can be dark, or shadows can be bright. It is a PARADOX.
☂Also, I am not SEP, I am EMBER.☂
☂☂screams battle cry☂☂
☂I used to get people to call me Sep, but that was 11 months ago.☂
Although it isn't technically black... Blacklights?
I imagined the Sceptre of the Ancients would glow black.
An eclipse?
@Annika: But when things are that black and dark, they're just black holes . . . yeah?
#ChaseForBookNine
☂☂wiggles fingers in the air☂☂
☂PARADOX☂
However, fire CAN be cold, or rather, so hot that it feels cold, and then you take you hand out and go "Oh my, my flesh seems to have melted from my bones."
I have to go eat lunch now so brb.
☂Are black holes actually black? And how does that time-sucking thing actually work? And why don't scientists just create black holes so that they can travel forward in time?☂
And yes, it does say that the jewels in the Scepter of the Ancients glow black.
☂XD☂
☂"Oh my, my flesh seems to have melted form my bones?"☂
☂That's awesome.☂
☂SEE☂
☂...☂
@Syk: I like the paradox idea. :)
Hmm. Maybe I should work glowing black toes into my story I want to write but can't necause it's a few random pieves of string that I have no clue how to knit together.
Brb, lunch.
#ChaseForBookNine
Okay, black holes are uncontrollable. A little one could turn into a big one very quickly, so it's much to dangerous to work with. It's like making a whirlpool in the Space-Time continuum.
Actually, Black holes suck in light. There's literally nothing once you cross the event horizon. They don't emit anything, except the biggest freaking gravitational pull like, ever
But we haven't gotten close enough to figure it out
But the concept of a tiny black hole in a jewel in the Scepter seems far-fetched, even for Skulduggery Pleasant . . .
Well, no- that's absurd. It would have sucked our planet up.
☂I'm pretty sure that black holes can do something to time... or if you go near it time is slower or something...☂
☂I don't think there's a black hole in the Scepter.☂
That's not a black hole, that's a high-functioning wormhole, do your research.
☂Sherlock reference?☂
☂And also, I'm confused.☂
I think it is- like I said- black holes suck up everything. They're like tears in the fabric of our universe- or I you will, holes in the fabric, to be poetic
☂Oh yeah. I see what you mean. Yeah, that's right.☂
☂WHY ARE WE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION?☂
Yes, that was a Sherlock reference.
I DON"T KNOW.
Because I like flexing my knowledgeable skills of physics to people
Hello everyone :)
Hey-yo, Syk, s'up dawg.
(Writing that sentence gave me a migraine.)
Wb, Syk
Just ate lunch. Everyone tells me I eat really fast.
*raises eyebrows*
That's quite alright, Syk.
*pats his shoulder*
I eat fast too.
Uh...
*raises eyebrows back*
Hi Adra :)
I got these olives a couple of days ago and they have these red chillies stuck inside them but I don' know where they've gone...
☂Well I'm going to leave now, and come back later <3☂
I thought those little red chillies were called pimentos.
Oh, bye Ember!
Bye Sep :)
Here fot a few thiugh i cant ro ZafTC i'm in 1516 and no i dont wat visitors im waiting on Niccolò to change
I don't know what they're called, but they are AWESOME!
Oh, life without Ember . . .
*strolls out onto dirty sidewalk under gray sky while rain pours down and cars honk and stray dogs growl at little old ladies and my socks don't match*
Goodbye Mycroft-
I have low culinary skills sometimes, it appears as if it is, indeed, one of those times
☂Love you guys! I'm just leaving cos I have to do Math.☂
*catches up to Annika and walks with he8
I just did some maths earlier.
I'm just sad I got to go soon I really don't wanna dance much but apparently i have no choice :/
*yawn* How are you today, Adra? I myself have been doing well. Only got one pile of intestines tangled in my tires.
*Shadow walks to dog and snaps its neck*
Stupid dog.
*her*
Uh... That's not too terribly bad, I think? *has no idea how to answer to that*
Zombie intestines, if that makes you feel better. I despise zombies. Never met a zombie I liked. Well, except one.
*smiles*
But he had an ice cream truck, so I decided to let him go in exchange for a strawberry shortcake bar.
...hang on a second.
*runs over to Syk and hits him* You killed that dog!
*stops and looks at Syk*
Was it a demondog? A hellhound?
*narrows eyes*
A cerberus?
Sorry but I really don't like dogs. And in case you didn't notice, it was threatening the old ladies.
Now i gtg be back by about 1:30
Bye Zaf!
Oh you chivalrous person-
It was a dog, and unless it was physically attacking them- which it wasn't- you had no right to kill it! Maybe the ladies were trespassing into its grounds! Maybe it was protecting its home
Or maybe it was just mean.
*draw collapsable halberd*
Maybe the little old ladies are actually HARPIES!
*puts it back*
No . . . no . . . that's ridiculous . . .
*glares at him* No, I don't think that was the case
Hmmm... They could be witches.
Well in any case I suppose I should bury it. Does anyone have a shovel?
I've got a theory
It could be bunnies
bunnies aren't just cute like anybody supposes!
They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses!
And what's with all the carrots!
What do they need such good eyesight for anyway!
Bunnies!
Bunnies it must be bunnies!
*doesn't say anything but stares at the dog*
*snaps fingers*
In my van! Aubrey, go get it!
*face falls when she remembers Aubrey's missing*
I mean . . . I'll go get it. I dig a lot of graves in my profession.
You must be right...
*looks around for a bunny*
I don't like dogs. :)
#ChaseForBookNine
Annika, it must be the red-eyed ones.
Hi Star :)
See Adra, she agrees with me!
But what about that one?
*points at bunny with blood dripping from its mouth*
That one looks suspicious.
*unfolds collapsable halberd*
My point was, an animal shouldn't be killed because of an assumption. If they are, then who is the actual animal?
*Draws sword, steps forward and decapitates the bunny*
*Picks it up by the legs*
We should roast it.
I suppose you're right Adra.
@Syk: It must be because our names begin with S. :) *nods like that makes total sense*
@Annika: Nooo, maybe it's just dying from lung cancer!
#ChaseForBookNine
I can't afford to be nice to animals. If I were nice to animals, how could I be a monster hunter?
... You just killed that rabbit
Because not everything is a monster.
Let's cook us a bunny!
*taps symbol on the side of the van. It flattens and swirls into a shiny black barbecue.*
Well then I put it out of it's misery. Although if it does have lung cancer we probably shouldn't eat it...
@Adra: We're animals too. Why does everyone (Disturbed included, and I adore Disturbed) act like being an animal is a bad thing? Humans are a species of animal.
I have the urge to say what I was saying yesterday in rockclimbing and nobody understood. Might say it.
#ChaseForBookNine
Look Adra, killing the dog was a mistake, I admit that, but at least this bunny will go to some use.
(I'm sorry, I have to go to do homework. But I'll be back before long. Feel free to play with my van in my absence; it does a lot of fabulous things. But if you scratch the paint, oooooooh you're in trouble.)
Ugh. I could have fixed him!
Star- I know. I wanted to add that in but couldn't see where
@Syk: But how do you know it wants to be put out of its misery? It might still want to live, despite everything. How can we tell? We can't. If we end its life, we're playing God.
(Sorry. I'm used to trying to persuade people at school not to kill insects.)
#ChaseForBookNine
((Regarding the previous discussion about black holes, and the effect someone mentioned they might possibly have on time, the theory is that as a result of the immense gravitational pull and mass of the black hole, if a craft were able to angle their trajectory as they approached it in precisely the correct manner so it ended up in orbit around the black hole, they would essentially slow down time. When the craft returned to its planet of origin, years would have passed, while the people on the craft will only have aged several minutes. Of course, that is but one theory, and it has not yet been tested.))
#ChaseForBook9
:( Fours, Annika!
@Adra: :)
#ChaseForBookNine
Bye Annika :)
I should probably put my sword back then...
*Sheathes sword*
Adra, before you say anything, this bunny's death was purposeful.
(Niccolo, didn't they do something similar to that in Ender's Game?)
Bye Annika-
And for what? What did that accomplish?
@Niccolò: Ooh, it autocorrected your name to have an accent. :)
. . . What I meant to say is - that's very interesting. :) *adds to thoughts about things*
#ChaseForBookNine
If we remove the cancer it should still be edible.
*Examines bunny*
((I am unaware of what Ender's Game is, although that they may have used that theory is certainly possible. It has a fair amount of scientific merit.))
#ChaseForBook9
((Similar to the twin-theory... Ah, that isn't what I was called, but if there were two twins and one were to travel and warp speed and return, the one who stayed on earth would have aged))
The theory sounds cool Niccolo, but has anyone ever seen a black hole and lived to tell the tale?
If could have already gone through metastatic, I wouldn't count on it
(Sorry!!! I majorly poofed!!! I are half a chicken sandwich for lunch then had a sausage... Which... That didn't last long. I was sick after and I don't want to eat again.))
*metastatis
((Certainly not, Sykamere. As I said, it is untested. All other obstacles aside, accurately calculating the exact trajectory a craft would have to use to land in the black hole's orbit instead of being pulled in would be incredibly difficult, and likely require some trial and error. However, it is possible to land in the orbit of a black hole, difficult as it may be, so the theory is still plausible.))
#ChaseForBook9
Well we're still not entirely sure if it actually had cancer or not so we should check first.
*Dissects bunny*
@Death: Yay for not starving to death! :)
Can you drink?
@Syk: That's why it's called a theory. :)
#ChaseForBookNine
Of course it isn't plausible as well... Black holes are unstable things. Either you're pulled in or you get close enough to tell the tale- however, unless scientist are completely sure, I don't think they would send humans out there. Rather, pods or something
((I am glad to hear you've eaten, Death, and I urge you to continue to do so, despite the fact that you feel sick.))
#ChaseForBook9
*covers her eyes* Syk, no, can you not just leave it be?
Maybe we should try it Niccolo. At least then we can see if your theory is correct or not.
All in favour of going shout aye!
All those who oppose whimper nay.
AYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#ChaseForBookNine
I am a scientist Adra, curiosity is a major weakness of mine.
Well, if you mean actually manage to blast yourselves off earth and get to a black hole- the nearest being several light years away- without dying first, be our guest
And I'm a doctor- always have been. I probably have a more extensive vocabulary regarding cancer than you do, so I don't know what you're trying to achieve
(I can drink but I never have drank a lot. I'm lucky if I drink two glasses a day... Which really sound bad now,..))
Niccolo, you can take us to the future where technology is more advanced so maybe we could get to a black hole...
*pauses*
This isn't a good idea... One knows what happened in the past, but the future?
Well then you take a look at it and tell me.
((I currently reside in the past- that is why all of my comments are in parenthesis- so I cannot take you to the future. Also, I feel I should point out, the theory is not mine. I merely believe there is some sense in it.
If you can drink, by all means, do so. Be careful not to force too much down all at once, but eating and drinking small things and gradually building up to larger things would likely be helpful for you.))
#ChaseForBook9
@Death: Well, you die of thirst before you die of hunger, so that's good. :)
I never used to drink much when I was real little. My mum took me to the doctors and all. For the past as long as I can remember, I've bene forced to have a drink with every meal (even breakfast, when I have cereal full of milk and I don't NEED a drink), so now I automatically have a drink with every meal and yeah. :)
I would recommend drinking, then, if you can't eat. :/
Also - like Ember said, don't focus on it. If you don't think of it as being a thing, eating might be easier.
#ChaseForBookNine
What do you want from it, Syk?
True, it may be risky. But attempting to go into orbit around a black hole is about as risky so it doesn't really matter does it?
Sorry I'm distant, holding two conversations at once.
Diving into a black hole would be exactly the kind of thing my character Hunter would do, so yeah . . . In roleplay, I'm for it. :) As both of us. I mean, we're both for it. It's sort of an or between us, not an and.
#ChaseForBookNine
Oh well.
Star, you actually shouldn't drink too soon before or after a meal anyway. It has bad affects on your stomach.
Ahh Star , I've missed your RP
Also- sorry, but I'll be gone for about an hour in some change, so.. Msd?
@Syk: -_- Wonderful.
IT'S ALL BEEN A LIE
AND I'LL NEVER COME TO KNOW WHY
Never mind. My stomach has lived all my life, it will probably live with it for the rest of it. You can't eat bread easily without drinking something anyway, it dries your mouth out.
#ChaseForBookNine
Uh... Just drank... My tummy is making evil sounds...))
Well even if we can't go into orbit around a black hole I still want to go to space. Maybe we can skydive like in the red bull ad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti2Lm4hb2ZY
@Adra: I've missed my roleplay too. :(
And - okay.
Actually, I have to go in just under half an hour. :/
We're going conkering. They have 668 altogether from last week, so why we need to go again is beyond me, but I like conkering. :)
IT'S SO SAD THAT ALL THE HORSE CHESTNUT TREES ARE DYING.
. . . I was eventually going to lead that round to saying that I'll try and roleplay today, but I gave up on the leading round. XD
#ChaseForBookNine
I have far more information about cancer than any of you could hope to know, thank you very much.
Hi Mycroft :)
☂Good job, Death!☂
☂You don't have to eat right away, although I think you should drink just a drop of water when you're ready.☂
☂ENDER'S GAME WAS LIKE MY FAVE BOOK TWO YEARS AGO!!!☂
☂Hi again, Kam!☂
((I'm afraid I must go now. My apologies. Farewell.))
#ChaseForBook9
Death, you should try taking regular sips of water instead of attempting to drink a lot of it in one go.
@Ember: Okay. :/
#ChaseForBookNine
Bye Niccolo. *Waves*
It was just a few mouthfulls....
*Hugs Ember* ))
I meant about angiogenesis. Endostatin. I'm studying this stuff, Ember
AHHHH msd
☂Actually, I agree with Kam.☂
☂And a few mouthfuls leads to more, which leads to you having one proper meal, which will lead to you eating properly again.☂
FUCJ
☂My mom had it.☂
☂I know a fair amount.☂
☂Besides, that was Mycroft :p☂
☂I never really studied the exact thing, and I forgot most of what I knew. Mom knew lots, though.☂
Adraaa, you must dedddd.
:( Fours, Niccolò!
#ChaseForBookNine
Right back at you, Adra. Never trust me. *Grins smugly*
BYE NICCOLÒ!!!!
☂Can you drink a sip every half an hour, Deathy? Or a couple every hour?☂
☂Who commented that?☂
☂Who commented that?☂
@Ember; Somebody?
#ChaseForBookNine
*nods*
An excellent deduction, Miss Inkbright.
Er, that was me. The internet glitched and scrambled the comments then cut off a few seconds later.
But I'm back now so yeah.
My dad disconnected the router :(
Well, bye anyway. I'm going to go play Darksiders 2 or something...
Okay, what I was going to say before my iPod died was that I drank some more water.
That and I now have a BMI of 16. It literally took me five years to gain two kilogram and took fifty hours to take it back off. I'm going to be twenty before I'm back to 48kg!!
I'm back?
Oh hey... No one is here.
IM QUEEN OF THE WORLD
☂I CANNOT PUT REGULAR EARPHONES IN BECAUSE I AM STUPID☂
☂DX☂
☂I hsve to kinda stick them in frontways so they stick out, which is stupid.☂
*pats Ember's shoulder reassuringly*
Oh my God. Sherlock is amazing!!!
☂MITHRIA YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES☂
☂☂high-fives Mith☂☂
☂HOW FAR DID YOU GET TELL ME EVERYTHING☂
☂My English homework is to write a news article about "the fiery destruction of a church apparently caused by arson."☂
☂YESSSSSS.☂
I still can't put it into words... I saw season 1 and... They are all so amazing! Sherlock and John and Mycroft and Lestrade and Moriarty and Mrs Hudson and... *screams* I love it!!
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