Awards? I’ve won a few. And when I say “few”, I mean, obviously, “lots”. Each and every one of them is appreciated, and they make me glow for an hour or so after winning. And then the glow is soaked up, and the award is put somewhere, and it’s forgotten about, and I get back to the business of being a writer.
Bestsellers? I’ve had those, too. They make me smile. They make my publisher happy. Having a bestseller is not just about the book you’ve just released – it’s about the next book, too. It’s about your career. It’s a nod, and a thumbs up, and a look that says “Yep, you’re doing it right”. And then the book is put on the shelf with the others, and I get back to the business of being a writer.
Because it’s not about the awards or the bestseller list, and it’s not about the good reviews or the bad reviews. There are only two things that continue to drive me forward.
The first is the writing itself. Skulduggery Pleasant singlehandedly saved me from a life of working on the family farm. In the past, I’ve talked about my 10 years working in the fields and the glasshouses like it was the gulag, but hey, I’m a writer – we’re allowed to embellish. But writing was the one thing in my life that I was good at, the one thing I hadn’t messed up or squandered. To be a writer, a successful one, you essentially have to beat just about every odd going. I did that. I’m incredibly fortunate. I’m never going to take that for granted.
The second thing that drives me forward is the reader.
Skulduggery Pleasant was first published in 2007. We had a trade launch to booksellers in a 600-year old-crypt in London. Everyone was optimistic. I was cautious. People make predictions all the time in the book trade – but no one knows anything. Not really. My weird little story about the skeleton detective and his teenage partner could vanish overnight once it hit the shelves. I knew this. This was a thought that would not leave me alone. I might never get to write any other Skulduggery books...
But the ninth book in the series, and the eleventh overall, was published in August of this year. The predictions came true. People had found the book and latched onto the characters. My publisher worked hard and all the different departments were in synch... but even when everything works, there are some things not even they would dare predict. Nobody, for example, could have forecast the community of readers that has sprung up around it. Nobody could have forecast the friendships formed and the bonds forged by a shared love of characters that stirred first in my imagination, and then in imaginations across the world.
I have personally witnessed moments when two people, who have been best friends online for years, finally meet in person as they stand in a queue waiting to get their books signed. It’s astonishing. It’s like standing in an airport arrivals hall, watching friends and family be reunited after years apart. Again and again I have been told about lonely kids, lonely teenagers, finding friendship and understanding through the ever-darkening adventures of my skeleton detective.
Books bring people together, and social media, whilst at times scary and complicated, is a fantastic conduit for shared sensibilities and wonderful obsessions. Because of good timing, because of pure luck, the fan community around Skulduggery has flourished, and so I have seized the opportunity to do something special in return.
August 28th saw the Requiem Ball – an extravagant masked ball to launch the final book – being held in London; 150 readers won tickets to that same 600 year old crypt in which the first book was released to booksellers seven years ago. That was London’s treat.
The Theatre of Shadows is a treat for Dublin, for Ireland.
With immersive theatre and events starting to take off around the world, a role-playing game through the streets of Dublin, allowing the readers to step into the world of the books, seemed to me to be the most fitting way to end this journey.
We’ve been able to persuade some incredibly important people to let us use amazing historical sites to take the readers on an adventure like no other. On September 27th, 250 “Live Operative” readers – 50 of them competition winners – will be joining the fight against evil.
Thousands of Remote Operatives have already registered to participate in the online part of the event, and we're planning to put them through their paces as well. All the readers – Live and Remote – will have the chance to actually influence what happens in the Theatre of Shadows short story that I'm going to be writing on the day. Each of them will be receiving this story once the adventure is over, to have at home with them and add to their collections.
Skulduggery Pleasant changed my life. I've been astonished to discover that along the way it also changed the lives of countless people – some of whom I have met, some I have yet to meet, and some with whom I will never get the opportunity. Our lives have all been changed by an idea, by imagination, that most easily-dismissed of all attributes. But imagination is contagious. An idea can fire the imagination of others. It can free people, it can bring them together, and it can change the world. The Theatre of Shadows is my first step into demonstrating this on a large scale. It will not be my last.
