1st book in the Landy and Friends series

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The characters presented in this novel are fantastic. First of all, Skulduggery is the very smart guy who will do everything under his magical capabilities to save those close to him. Also, Stephanie is a strong 12-year-old who manages to withstand all the challenges that the world has to offer despite her world being turned upside down. Lastly is Tanith Low, a brilliant fighter. The plot is tight despite the novel mostly focused on action. Did you ever intend to create a series? I always saw it as a series of books as the stories are endless really, but I am actually going to stop writing for a bit now and concentrate on the educational side of my work.

So Skulduggery and Stephanie begin a quest to find the Sceptre, battle the vampire, the undead and the minions of the evil guys as well as to prove the existence of the Faceless Ones and the Ancients Ones. Did your early memories of South Africa have any influence on your books? Yes, Africa is in my blood. My Zulu nanny with her warm, relaxed nature was a wonderfully creative person who helped inspire my own creativity. My mother Ruth Keech was a poet, so writing was something thatwas always going on around me. When I was 14 I read The Lost World of the Kalahari by Laurence van der Post, whichmade me want to go exploring Africa in a Land Rover, but sadly, I have never had the time to do it – I guess I did it vicariously by writing about Dan and Fender travellingin Africa! The author Landy was first contracted to write a trilogy, with a promise that any further books would highly depend on how the books sold in the market. The success of these novels led to the extension of the deal to a total of six novels in 2011. What do you think most readers will take away from reading Fender Goes to Africa? I hope a feel of Africa. Why do you think non-fiction books are an important part of a child’s home library? Life itself is so amazing and interesting and it is so important for children to find out about all the wonderful things it offers.Please tell me about the commissions that you do for people who want a portrait of themselves with their Land Rover. People send me images of themselves, or their children, with their own Land Rover and I illustrate them in the Landybook animated-style. Sometimes I can also create a painting of their child with Landy or Fender, so they feel a part of the books. I have not been taking on commissions in the last year, as I have been so busy with the Fender animation, the new book and my educational work, but come the autumn I will start again. Her book 'Jojo's Wire Car' was published in June 2014, by Random House Struik Publishers in South Africa. What has been the best reaction from a reader, so far? The people who run the Ethiopian Wolf absolutely love whatI have done and feel it will help promote the wonderful work they do.

With every evil out there aimed at killing both Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie, the two must undertake whatever it takes to stay alive and find the Sceptre, the only weapon capable of banishing the terrible evil from the face of the earth. In Dark Days, Skulduggery Pleasant is wandering on the other side of the portal. He is accompanied by some evil gods. Can the already dead mage survive this ordeal? He doesn’t like to brag about all the awards he’s won, such as the Irish Book of the Decade, or the Red House in the UK, or all the other awards that he humbly displays on his mantelpiece. He is also far too modest to mention things like the first book being a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of t Derek Landy is an Irish writer and screenwriter. In addition to the bestselling children's/YA series of Skulduggery Pleasant books, a supernatural mystery series starring Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton detective, and Valkyrie Cain, a young female magician, he has written two screenplays that have been made into films: the IFTA award winning "Dead Bodies" and the IFTA nominated "Boy Eats Girl". Landy himself was nominated for an IFTA for Best Script.

What do you love about writing stories for children? It is the initial thinking of the story in imagery that I find wonderful – you can take it wherever you want to go. When I write, I am not just writing for children, but for the grown-ups who read to children. I want people to identify with my characters and for my books to trigger lots of conversation between children and adults, especially at bedtime. Fender Goes to Africa Dan and Fender go on their big adventure, travelling from Cairo to Cape Town. They have lots of adventures along the way … and even meet Jojo who gives Dan a present! (Jojo is the main character in Veronica’s book ‘ Jojo’s Wire Car‘) What is your favourite children’s book? The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge has always been my most favourite children’s book and I loved the Magic Faraway Tree books by Enid Blyton.

Landy at the Factory is an exciting story of Landy’s birthday treat – an invitation to visit the real Defender Factory in Solihull. In 2011 the author announced in a video blog that even though the first of Skulduggery Pleasant series, a second series of the Skulduggery series would commence with the publication of Resurrection in June 2017. Tell us about the animation stuff? I’ve always hoped that someone might ask if they could do an animation of my books but, not one for hanging around, I thought with a little help I could do something myself. I did some research and found the Engine House in Cornwall and worked closely with them to create simple animations. I then found Fionn Crowe from Sharksbay Films and together we made the short film.There are eight books in the series so far. The seventh book is a special edition about Landy visiting the Defender Factory in Solihull. Veronica Lamond is the author and illustrator of the well-loved and highly successful Landy and Friends books. However, to defeat it, Pleasant will require the aid of a new partner, a twelve-year-old teenage girl named Stephanie. Which five words best describe your new book? Colourful, warm-hearted, informative, diverse and fun.