1st book in the Landy and Friends series

Product Information

Can you tell us something about Landy or yourself that even most loyal fans may not know? Every time I start a new book I always have a vision of it - I think in images rather than words – but am always afraid that I might not be good enough to translate the vision into good illustrations.

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.With Skulduggery Pleasant gone all the hope lies with Valkyrie, and with the world’s weight heavily on her shoulder she must stop the evil forces with or without Skulduggery aid and change the fate of the earth. 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. 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. 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.

Fender – we meet Landy’s friend who lives near the beach. The story is based around a beach clean-up and how Fender and Dan rescue a seal pup. 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! 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. 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. 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. In this first novel, the two heroes are caught up in a battle intended to stopping evil forces from stealing Stephanie uncle most treasured possession- the Sceptre of the Ancients.

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. In the debut novel of the series, we meet Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton. He may lose his skull again and again, and he is more than he appears to be. In fact, the current skull he is got is a prize from a poker match that he won. Pleasant might be long dead but is a magician who escaped the grave so that he could remain and save the world from evil. After I released the YouTube video of Landy last year on my Landy and Friends channel – and discovered how much fun it was, I created the Fender film, which came out in June. Skullduggery Pleasant is a fantasy novel series written by bestselling Irish author Derek Landy. The books are themed on the adventures of a skeleton detective, named Skulduggery Pleasant and a teenage girl named Valkyrie Cain/Stephanie Edgley together with other friends. Which five words best describe your new book? Colourful, warm-hearted, informative, diverse and fun.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. 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 the Year, but would like to extend an invitation to Oprah to pop around one day for tea, in thanks for selecting his book for the Oprah’s Book Club Kids Reading List.