It has been a right rollercoaster of a November this year, with me zooming all over the country doing events. Back at the start of the month I took part in the Faclan Hebridean Book Festival which saw me jetting off to visit schools on the Isles of Lewis, Harris and Barra. I was there for three days in all and I’ll post some photos when I manage to wrestle them from my phone.

I was home one day before I had to rush off again, this time to the Lennoxlove festival in East Lothian. I was at the festival in 2010, too, when it was a bit of a wash-out, weather wise. This year, though, the sun was splitting the sky, and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. Lennoxlove House, where the festival takes place, is an absolutely stunning venue, and it even has its very own haunted piano. How many other book festivals can boast that?

I had three whole days to rest after that, and then it was off to the Imprint Festival in Ayrshire. I did two events at Imprint, one of which was broadcast live online to schools across Scotland. Knowing my luck I had a bit of broccoli between my teeth as the camera zoomed in one me, despite the fact that I’ve never eated broccoli, and almost certainly never will.

Here are some photos now from Imprint. Look. Here they come.

About to smash an unsuspecting child with my invisible hammer

 

Then showing off my equally invisible hula hoop

 

See how they mock me!

As if that wasn’t enough, I’m just back from two days in the North East of England as part of the Northern Children’s Book Festival. I ran six events in four schools over two days, and spoke to hundreds of kids and teens. A bird got into the last event and caused some comedy havoc, but aside from that little hiccup it was a great couple of days.

But now back to writing. I’m working on the final Invisible Fiends book at the minute – THE DARKEST CORNERS. It’s already available to pre-order through Amazon and other online type places which, considering it isn’t out until August next year, is just plain silly.

That said, it looks like someone has already pre-ordered a copy. Well done, whoever you are.

Utterly fab author, Gillian Philip, sent me a message on Twitter to say that her son, Jamie, was going to dress up as Mr Mumbles for Halloween. Jamie has been a fan of the Invisible Fiends series since he, his twin sister, Lucy, and the rest of their class came along to see me at the Get Moray Reading festival in Elgin. He knew exactly how he wanted his outfit to look, and so he put his mum to work…

And what a result. Check out the photos below. Jamie looks every bit as grotesque and hideous as I imagine Mr Mumbles does, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Shockingly, Jamie didn’t win the school fancy dress competition, but I think he deserves to, so I’m going to send him a signed copy of Doc Mortis as a consolation prize.

Jamie and his twin sister Lucy. Not looking much like twins, to be fair.

A truly horrifying close-up.

Let's see that nose in profile...

Top work Jamie. And, to a lesser extent, Jamie’s mum, Gillian. Without doubt the best Mr Mumbles costume I have seen, and the scowl is perfect, too.

If anyone else has photos of themselves dressed up as a character from Invisible Fiends, I’d love to see it. Send it along to barry@barryhutchison.com and I’ll put them up here on the site.

I’m not going to write a huge amount at the moment, because I’m hammering away at the final Invisible Fiends book which is due to be sent to my editor in a little over a month (ulp). I’ve spent more time plotting this book than I usually would, what with all the plot strands that need to be tied up, and the fact this is the EPIC, END OF THE WORLD CONCLUSION to the entire series.

If you’ve read the books you’ll be aware of the prologue that appears at the start of each of them. That prologue is taken from this final book. Everything has been building up to this finale, so the pressure is really on to make it as good as it can possibly be.

If you haven’t read the books then shame on you. Go buy the first one here, or here, or here. Or, even better, go out and get it from a bookshop. You know? Those places in danger of becoming extinct if you – YES, YOU – don’t start using them more often.

Anyway, the title of this post is Some Recent Events, and I haven’t mentioned any events yet. Allow me to remedy that now.

Over the last month or so I’ve been doing a few events, getting ready for two months of almost non-stop festivals, visits and workshops which starts on Thursday with this one right here.

On Saturday 17th of September I visited Stirling to take part in the Off the Page festival. The event saw me running a two-hour workshop in which I shared some of my writing tips and techniques with a group of local kids ranging from age 6 to age 15. Look, here are some pictures to prove it.

Hey look, I'm waving. Go me.

And now I'm not waving. Boo.

Later in the month I went to Kemnay in Aberdeenshire to speak at Alehousewells Primary School, before stopping by Elgin the next day for the Get Moray Reading Festival. I was doing two events at this festival, but their entire stock of Invisible Fiends books sold out at the first one. And no, before anyone suggests it, they didn’t just have three books for sale, they had loads of them. So there.

Right, back to work for me. Happy Sunday.

We’re into October, so I can finally allow myself to start getting excited about the BIG EVENT I’m taking part in later this month.

On Thursday, 20th October I’ll be teaming up with five other horror authors to bring you SCARE FEST 2 – a three-hour extravaganza of scares, shocks and screams. Who knows, there may even be a few laughs in there, too. As well as me, the event features me old mucker, Tommy Donbavand, plus Jon Mayhew, Curtis Jobling, Joseph Delaney and Philip Caveney.

The event takes place at The Civic in Crosby, Liverpool and it promises to be a really great night. There will be pyrotechnics. There will be music. There will be at least one story about urinating in a sink. You’d be a fool to miss it.

For more information on the event, and to find out how to book tickets, go visit the Sefton Arts site. Hopefully see some of you there, but if you can’t make it don’t worry, I’ll stick up photos here after it’s all done and dusted.

If any of you are around Stirling in Scotland this weekend, you might want to come along to my two-hour author talk and writing workshop combo as part of the Off the Page Festival. I’ll be talking about all things INVISIBLE FIENDS and taking questions, then spending an hour discussing writing techniques and how to create horrific horror characters.

The event is on Saturday 17th at the Tolbooth theatre, and starts at 10:30 am. Tickets cost just £3, which is a bloody bargain if I do say so myself. So if you’re around, come along and say hello. There will be an opportunity to have your books signed at the end.

For full details on the event, click here.

Did you know that 1 in 6 adults in the UK have the reading age of an 11-year-old? This is a problem that the National Literacy Trust is working hard to address, and yet the government this year announced that they would no longer be providing the trust with funding.

While the government appears not to care about the country’s literacy levels, the lovely people at the NLT still do, and they’re working hard to raise the money necessary to continue their important work. Step forward Jack Sallabank and Jim Sells.

Jack and Jim. Imagine the Theme to Superman here

To raise awareness of the “1 in 6″ issue, and to raise funds to help combat the problem, Jack and Jim are going to run. They’re going to run a lot. In fact, they’re going to run 6.1 marathons back to back, because they’re caring, dedicated guys. Or they’re frickin’ mental. Possibly a bit of both.

Along the way they’ll be stopping at schools to run some fun literacy-related events, and I’m honoured to have been asked to take part in the first event in Edinburgh on 3rd October. At first I thought they were going to ask me to do the running bit with them, but mercifully they didn’t. I’m guessing they didn’t want my death on their conscience.

You can find out all about the 1 in 6 run on this page. You can also keep track of how Jack and Jim are getting on over on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter. Most importantly of all, though, you can sponsor them via their JustGiving page and help them on their way towards their target.

Good luck, guys. I’ll be there cheering you on come the 3rd of October. While eating a cake.

Last night, I met a hero of mine. It was in a crypt below a church with the thunder of drums hanging heavy and ominous in the air. And a right cracking night it was, too.

You might not have heard of Neil Gaiman. At least, you might not have heard of him if you’re deaf and blind, and have spent the last 20 years living in a ditch. On the moon. Just in case this describes you, here’s a quick summary of his career. Much more detailed information can be found on Wikipedia. You can also read Neil’s blog.

Neil Gaiman is very busy man. He has written adult novels, children’s novels, graphic novels, short stories and picture books. He has also written movie screenplays and scripts for TV programmes, most notably BABYLON 5 and DOCTOR WHO, as well as his own original series, NEVERWHERE, for the BBC.

He has won several awards for his work, including the prestigious Carnegie Medal. In fact, his children’s novel, THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, was the first book ever to win both the Carnegie and the Newberry medal. And well deserved they were, too.

I’ve been a huge fan of Neil’s work since reading the collected editions of his SANDMAN comics back in the early 90s. Since then, I’ve read pretty much everything he has put out, and I’ve always admired the way he can jump between genres without any apparent difficulty. With a Neil Gaiman book, you never quite know what you’re going to get, but you can be pretty much assured that it’s going to be great.

And last night I listened to him talking in that crypt I mentioned in Edinburgh. And then I met him. But I’ll get back to that in a minute.

Me and Neil Gaiman. That's me on the right, looking like I've just excreted an owl.

First, let me set the scene. I’d driven for over 3 hours to get to Edinburgh for the event, which was being organised by the ever-excellent Edinburgh Bookshop. I had packed my hefty hardback copy of THE ABSOLUTE SANDMAN for him to sign, and secured it safely in the boot of the car before setting out.

The event started at 7:30pm, so at around 6:45pm I walked the length of Princes Street and arrived at the crypt. At which point, I realised I had left the book in the car, which was parked at the opposite end of Princes Street, behind Waverley Station. I was scared I would miss the start of the event if I ran back to get the book, but Cat, a friend of mine who works at the bookshop, had faith that I would make it back.

So, abandoning my bag with her, I began to race back through the packed streets, shouldering pensioners out of my way as I hurtled back towards Waverley Station. Half way there, I realised my car keys were in my bag, so I about-turned, ran back to the crypt, then tried again.

My plan was to run to the car, get the book, jump in a taxi and arrive with ten minutes to spare. Unfortunately, there were no taxis waiting at Waverley Station, and I had no choice but to run back along the street, lugging the enormous tome with me. It had started to rain by this point, and when I finally arrived back at the crypt, my hair was matted down over my face, my white shirt was semi-transparent, and I was breathing heavily.

At this point, Neil Gaiman walked in. His eyes briefly met mine, and for a moment I think he suspected I might be a dangerously obsessive fan, there to bludgeon him to death with his own book. Of course, I wouldn’t dream of doing something like that. That book cost a bloody fortune.

The event started soon after. Neil kicked off with a reading of CHIVALRY, a short story from his book, SMOKE AND MIRRORS, which had the audience laughing out loud. He then sat down for a Q&A with Vanessa from the bookshop and spoke about his career so far, from his early days as journalist through BATMAN and DOCTOR WHO, and right up to what he is working on at the moment.

If I could pick a career to use as a blueprint for my own, it would be Gaiman’s. He has deliberately avoided being pigeon-holed into any specific category. No-one really knows if he’s a horror writer or a fantasy writer or a science-fiction writer. He’s all of the above, and at the same time he’s none of them. In many way his work defies categorisation. He is a genre all to himself.

After the Q&A, I got the opportunity to meet him and have my books signed. At this point, things become difficult to recall in any great detail. I’ve met dozens of authors over the last few years and haven’t batted an eyelid, but here I was about to speak to Neil Gaiman and, I’ll be honest, I panicked. The conversation went a bit like this:

‘Hello,’ says Neil Gaiman.

‘Mumble-mumble-mumble,’ I reply.

Neil spots my Sandman book and nods approvingly.

‘I think I’ll use the silver pen on this,’ he says.

‘Pen. Yes,’ I say, a little too loudly.

‘What’s your name?’ asks Neil.

I hesitate. Christ. What is my name? I knew it a minute ago. Neil looks at me expectantly. I flash him an awkward smile. A bead of sweat trickles along the length of my nose. Name. Name! What the hell’s my-?

‘Just put…’ I begin. Name, name, come on man, think!

‘Yes?’

‘Just put…’

Neil has the pen poised over the page. I can hear people murmuring behind me, growing impatient. I decide just to tell him any name. I can always change mine by deed poll later to match what he writes.

‘Just put Barry,’ I blurt, then I laugh sharply when I realise I’ve given him the right one. He gets that look again like I might be about to kill him, but signs the book and draws a little picture to go with it. He then signs another book for my son, Kyle.

My signed Absolute Sandman Volume 1. In silver pen.

I had thought about mentioning my own books to him, but by this point I just want to get the hell out of there before he really starts becoming concerned for his personal safety. I’m about to flee when Cat turns up with a camera to take a photo of Neil and me, two authors together. Me and Neil Gaiman. Neil Gaiman and me.

Awkwardly, I sit down beside him. I somehow manage to fashion the strap of my bag into a garotte with which I almost strangle myself to death. Neil says something to me. I reply ‘YES,’ too loudly again, then grin like a maniac. The camera flashes, we shake hands, and then I finally let the poor people queuing behind me get their turn.

Cat leads me off to a corner of the room to recover. I stop short of hyperventilating into a brown paper bag, but only just. Cat asks if I gave him a copy of THE 13th HORSEMAN. I tell her I didn’t, and she immediately swings into action. She gets me to sign a copy of the book, which she then brings over to him and which – get this – he later takes home with him!

Neil Gaiman has a copy of my book. Neil Gaiman. My Book. Gaiman. Book. Gaiman-book. Gaimook. Gk.

Sorry, not quite sure why I wrote that. Let us never speak of it again.

It was only during the three hour drive home that I realised I’d made a mess of the little message I’d written to him inside the book. I thanked him for inspiring me to become an author myself. At least, that’s what I meant to write, but I’m pretty sure in my semi-coherent state I actually thanked him for ‘encouraging’ me to become an author, as if he himself had popped round my house back in the late 80s/early 90s and personally egged me on. After reading that, I’ll be surprised if he bothers going any further.

And that, I think, is why they say you should never meet your heroes. You’ll only end up making a dick of yourself if you do.

UPDATE: Neil himself has RT’d the link to this post on Twitter, and I’m now getting more traffic than I’ve seen in my entire life to date. Which is nice. On the off-chance that any of you new people are interested in finding out a little more about me, may I suggest you start with this post – An Open Letter to Me, Aged 10.

Well that’s it for another year. My appearances at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival are done and dusted.

This was my second year at the festival, and this year I was taking part in two events, instead of one. Yesterday I spoke to an audience of around 200 from four or five different schools. They’d all come to hear me talk about Invisible Fiends, but they got more than they bargained for when MY FEET EXPLODED as I stepped on stage.

OK, they didn’t quite explode, but they did go bang several times. Apparently whoever had been on stage before me was doing some sort of science display, and they’d accidentally left some explosive powder scattered around. It would’ve made for an impressive entrance, had I not instantly started crying the moment the bangs began. And then loudly soiled myself.

A couple of days prior to that, I took part in a horror panel event with Darren Shan and Alexander Gordon Smith. The tall and bearded Philip Ardagh was chairing the event, and it was great fun to bounce ideas and thoughts off one another up there on the stage. It was my first ever event in the main tent, too, which was nice.

Signing after the horror panel

Afterwards we had a joint signing, which I fully expected to be thoroughly depressing. Darren, of course, draws huge queues and has a very dedicated fan base, so both Gordon and I expected to be sitting twiddling our thumbs as everyone lined up to get Darren’s signature.

As luck would have it, though, we did get quite a lot of people looking to get their books signed, and we almost – almost – held our own with Darren. Of course, next day Darren was signing for several more hours after his two-hour Saga of Darren Shan event, but I’m not going to dwell on that. Much.

And someone made him a cake in the shape of a human head. No-one has ever made me a cake in the shape of a human head.

I was only in Edinburgh for three days, but I loved every minute of it. As well as the events and signings, I managed to get several thousand words of my new book written. That means there’s a chance – a slim one – that I might even finish it by the 1st of October deadline.

I’ve got some public events coming up soon, and I thought I’d best let you know about them. You know, in case you wanted to come or that. It’d be lovely if you could.

The first one, which I’m hugely excited about, is at this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival. If you remember, I was there last year, and it all seemed to go surprisingly well. So well, in fact, that I’ve been invited back. This year, though, it’s going to be even better, because I’m doing a panel event with children’s horror legends Alexander Gordon Smith and Darren Shan!

This is my first panel event, and I’m really looking forward to it. We’ll be talking (of course) about horror, from our own favourite scary stories to the stuff we’re writing today. The event is taking place on Saturday 20th August at 1.30pm. For more info, and to book tickets, click here.

Actually, the week before this event – on the 11th of August – I’ll be appearing at the Fringe By the Sea Festival in North Berwick, East Lothian, just a few miles away from where I was living at the start of the year. I’ll be on from 11am, and this will be your first chance to hear me reading from DOC MORTIS, the fourth Invisible Fiends book. For more information, and to book your tickets, click here.

Finally, I want to tell you about a HUGE event I’m doing on 20th October at Crosby Civic Hall on the outskirts of Liverpool. I’ll be appearing with four other top horror authors for a terrifying extravaganza of scares. There will be smoke, pyrotechnics, music… oh, and Tommy Donbavand, Curtis Jobling, Jon Mayhew and Joseph Delaney. And me, of course. It’s a three hour long event, and is almost a mini-festival of horror. Which is probably why it’s being billed as Scarefest!

OK, technically it’s being billed as Scarefest 2, because there was one on last year. But this one will be better. Trust me. Get booking your tickets now, because they’re going fast!

There are a few other chances to come hear me banging on about stuff between September and November. More on those sooooon.

Over on the latest Wordies podcast, myself and Tommy Donbavand discuss our experiences running events in schools and at festivals. We talk a bit about the bad ones, but I wanted to share some pictures from one of the good ones to balance the scales a bit.

The below was sent to me by the librarian at Torry Academy in Aberdeen. I visited the school recently and talked to 150 or so pupils. I had a great time, and it’s really good to hear that they seem to have enjoyed it, too.

Thanks to Jan at the school for sending these through.