I've been beavering away on the new book. Wrote 51 pages over the course of the week, which I was very pleased about, especially since I've had so may distractions to deal with (on Thursday afternoon, for instance, I had to go look at tiles and floorboards for my extension -- not my idea of a good time, but it has to be done!!). Some fans have been commenting on how fast I write, and lamenting the fact that they can't write so many pages in that short a time. As I often point out on this blog, the important thing is quality, not quantity. Good writing isn't about competing with other writers in a race. It doesn't matter if you're the type of writer who can comfortably do half a page a day, one page a day, ten pages a day or twenty pages a day. Everyone has their own pace. It's important to only judge yourself by YOUR terms, not anyone else's. I think every writer knows their true potential. With me, 10 pages a day is a realistic target -- I know I can do that much, and if I write less, it's because I'm having a lazy day, so I try not to lie to myself and pretend it's for any other reason. In fact, I could probably push myself harder and write 15 pages a day, but I think it's important that we take time to enjoy life too, so I don't believe in working TOO hard!!! But if half a page or a page is YOUR realistic target, that's absolutely fine -- just make sure you hit it each time you sit down to write. Again, it's all about the quality -- better to write one good page a day than 20 bad pages!!!

Fans often write to me claiming to be my biggest fan. As I always say, I don't pick any favourites -- you're all tops in my eyes!! But there's no denying that some of you go a little further than others when it comes to substantiating your claims. And one such fan is Toni, who likes tattoos and has shown her dedication to all things Shan by having some tattoos based on designs on my books covers!! Her latest is taken from the old D B Shan web site (before I amalgamated the two sites). I don't recommend tattoos to anyone -- they're not something I've ever yearned to have done -- but I'd be lying through my back teeth if I didn't admit that this one looks cool as hell!!! For those who are wondering, the text is taken from my City books. It reads, Manan sua, manan Iluclla, manan quella -- which means, Do not steal, do not kill, do not be lazy. Dang good advice in my view!!! So, who's going to be the first to get the entire text of The Saga Of Darren Shan tattooed cross their back in micro-print?!?!?