I’m delighted to announce that the Japanese publishers, Shogakukan, have bought Procession of the Dead and will be publishing it in the near future.

Capac Raimi arrives in the City full of ambition. He intends to make a name for himself in his Uncle Theo’s protection business. And, as he always knew he would, Capac turns out to be good at it. He loves the seedy side of the City and he has no compunction in using any dirty tricks to climb the gangster ladder. Capac’s ultimate aim is to work directly for the Cardinal, the City’s godfather. The Cardinal is the City and the City is the Cardinal. But when Capac finally gets his wish, things start to unravel.
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What made you decide to go from writing books for children to adult novels?I actually started out writing for adults. I wrote lots of adult books which were never published, and my first book to see print was Procession of the Dead (known at that time as Ayuamarca). So it’s not a case of turning from children’s books to adult book, but rather returning to them.
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There’s yet another amazingly cool Procession of the Dead competition on the go, in which you can win a trip to Spain during their Day of the Dead festival!!! This one is being run by Sci-Fi London, in conjunction with my publisher, HarperCollins. I can’t find terms and conditions on the site, though I imagine it’s only open to over 18s. For more info and to enter, click here: SCI-FI LONDON COMPETITION

A fan has created a short, fun quiz about Procession of the Dead. If you want to test yourself, to find out how much you remember about the book, click here: http://web.tickle.com/net/caq/quiz.html?id=13472003

I’m pleased to say I gave it a go and scored 100% — phew!!!!

ACCLAIMED author DB Shan talks about his career and offers some useful advice to prospective novelists on the best way to go about completing that all-important first work…
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There’s another Procession of the Dead competition, and in this one you can win £800 to spend on a suit!!! I like it!!! The comp is being run by Mansized. Click here: http://www.mansized.co.uk/win/competition.phtml/34

You have to become a member of the Mansized site before you can enter, but for the chance to win an £800 suit, I think it’s definitely worth joining!!! The competition is open to people in the UK and Ireland, aged 18 or over. I can’t find a closing date for it.

Tiscali are running a great competition, in which you can win an iPod touch, along with a copy of my D B Shan book, Procession of the Dead. All you have to do is answer a very easy question. Unfortunately it’s limited to people aged 18 or 0ver, who live in the UK (on the age limit, you can maybe ask an older person to enter on your behalf if you’re under 18 — but please note that Procession of the Dead is NOT a children’s book). Closing date is May 7th. Click on the following link to read the rules, answer the question and enter:

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/competitions/db-shan.html

IT’S true that you can’t tell a book by it’s cover. Actually, scrub that. Most of the time you can do just that. If the picture on the dust jacket happens to show a gorgeous gal kitted out in suspenders, sprawled over a four-poster and brandishing a family-sized jar of peanut butter… Well, you don’t have to glance at the title to know you aren’t about to snuggle down with Little Women.
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Something nasty in the City

DB Shan is the not very well disguised alias of prolific award-winning children’s author Darren Shan – but you wouldn’t want your kids reading this.

Bringing his dark side well to the fore he revels in this strangely magical and mysterious but compelling and well-disguised horror story.
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