Darren Shan's Back! RUN!

Pinch, punch, first day of the month! And maybe we should all run for cover as look who's snuck back! Darren Shan, international best selling author of the Cirque Du Freak series, the Demonata Series and the Archibald Lox is back with Archibald Lox: Volume 2!

Now, quick backstory. Volume One of Archibald Lox was published as three separate ebooks back in April 2020 as some relief due to the start of the COVID-19 lockdown. These are (hang on, long title time): Archibald Lox and the Bridge Between Worlds, Archibald Lox and the Empress of Suanpan and Archibald Lox and the Vote of Alignment. These were put in a bind-up so you can read in one gulp (or, if you are curious to dip toe into this weird world-jumping fantasy, Archibald Lox and the Bridge Between Worlds is, I think, free!)

Now, Volume 2 will contain three new instalments which will be published individually then put together in one bindup. eBook 4 aka Archibald Lox and the Forgotten Crypt is out TODAY (!!!), ebook 5 aka Archibald Lox and the Slides of Bon Repell (possibly my fave title in this series) will be out on 3rd August 2021 and the sixth ebook aka Archibald Lox and the Rubicon Dictate is out 1st September 2021. 

So, this is gonna be a typical guest author post, I hear you ask. No, dear reader, it's not. It's a little different. Darren did an open call to his fans via his website and socials late May/early June for questions that he will answer on here. As you can imagine, I am excited and terrified to see what you all asked him and how he answered (I haven't read them at the time of writing this!). This is gonna be a deliciously dark mess, isn't it?

Before I hand you over to the Q&A, I just wanna thank Catherine from Catherine Ward PR for emailing and going "I have an idea you might like" and for Darren for being so up for this! And to you, the fans of Cirque du Freak, Demonata, Zom-B and Darren's other works, for going "Answer Me This, Darren!". And if you wanna check Darren out on social, you can find him on darrenshan.com or pop him a hello on either his Twitter (@darrenshan) or his Facebook (facebook.com/darrenshanverified/). 

Ok, we're going in. Deep breaths everyone!!!

Darren Shan Talks World-Building

SURPRISE! And you thought this was going to be another Self-Isolation read post!

No, I am thrilled to welcome Darren Shan, author of well known and well-scary series such as The Saga of Darren Shan (aka Cirque du Freak), its prequel series The Saga of Larten Crepsley, The Demonata, Zom-B and his new series, Archibald Lox.

This new series is a little different compared to Darren's other series as to how they are going to be released. There should, in theory, be at least three volumes and each volume will have three short novels in them. The first three novels (aka Volume 1) are out now due to Darren wanting to bring a bit of cheer due to the COVID-19.

The first story is Archibald Lox and the Bridge Between Worlds. In this, we meet Archibald Lox (or Archie), a young locksmith who, by accident, steps from one world to another, discovering a universe beyond our own called The Merge. In discovering these new worlds of wonder, Archibald is about to come face-to-face with hell jackals, rivers of blood and cold-blooded killers...

Plus, this is free! FREE! I will pop a link somewhere so you can rush further and treat yourself!

I am thrilled that Darren has found time to write this post, as I know he is very busy being a writing demon (he might be a demon. Are we sure he's human?), but as soon as PR person Catherine emailed about Darren, I emailed back going "CAN HE BE ON MY BLOG?!". I remember vividly reading Vampire Assistant, the second book in Cirque du Freak series, by accident while on work experience at Ottakars (a book shop chain that was bought by Waterstones) when I was in secondary school. I remember reading Demon Thief on the bus home from somewhere and gasping VERY LOUDLY at a scene in the middle of the book. And people find it weird that I say "I'm not a horror fan" but will recommend Darren and Lord Loss in the same breath!

So, before I hand it over to Darren, just want to say thank you to him for finding time to write. And a thank you to Catherine from Catherine Ward PR who emailed about Darren's new series and got us emailing back and forth. If you want to say hi to Darren, go to darrenshan.com or pop over to Twitter. He's @darrenshan, FYI.

And if you want Archibald Lox and the Bridge Between Worlds (and why not? It's free!), check out Amazon UK or Kobo UK. Now, over to Darren!!!