Here are some facts about Derek Landy, the author of the Skulduggery Pleasant series.
- Derek Landy was born on 23rd October 1974 in Lusk, Ireland.
- He went to Drogheda Grammar School.
- The first Skulduggery Pleasant book, Skulduggery Pleasant, was published in 2007. It won the Red House Children’s Book Award.
- Skulduggery Pleasant was titled Scepter of the Ancients in the US. The US publishers were worried that readers would be confused by the book and the series having the same name.
- In addition to writing the Skulduggery Pleasant books, Derek Landy has also written several screenplays. His screenplays Dead Bodies and Boy Eats Girls have both been turned into films.
- Derek has had several pets – a German Shepherd, two Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and various cats.
- Although he writes about supernatural subjects in his books, he doesn’t believe in the supernatural.
- He always wanted to be a writer.
- He loved comics as a child and he still reads them now.
- Derek Landy taught Kenpo Karate before he became a full-time writer. He also used to work on a farm.
- Derek gets up at about 11 am. He has lunch and then starts to write in the afternoon. He continues to write until he falls asleep at about 3 or 4 am.
- He likes the TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Lost and Heroes.
- The Skulduggery Pleasant series is nine books long: Skulduggery Pleasant, Playing With Fire, The Faceless Ones, Mortal Coil, Death Bringer, Kingdom of the Wicked, The Last Stand of a Dead Man (due out in August 2013), and a ninth book (due out in 2014). Landy has also written two Skulduggery Pleasant novellas: The End of the World and Tanith Low and the Maleficent Seven.
Check out the official Skulduggery Pleasant site by clicking here, or learn more about other famous children’s authors.