AUTHOR Derek Landy has been signing copies of his new book in the North-East.

The best-selling writer autographed copies of Demon Road, at Waterstones in Durham on Saturday.

The 40-year-old Irish author was behind the global phenomenon Skulduggery Pleasant, which has sold more than five million copies in 36 languages.

Demon Road is his new supernatural thriller, aimed at young adults, and is the first in a trilogy with the second and third instalments following in six month intervals to satisfy his fans.

Mr Landy said: “I was brought up on thrillers. At first, it was the Universal and Hammer movies, played in black and white and glorious technicolour on my TV screen when I was a kid.

“Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. The Fly. The Wolfman. Once bitten, I was ravenous, much like the zombies in Dawn of the Dead that I first watched on late night TV.

“I was ravenous, and so I devoured. Demon Road was born out of this lifelong love and incorporates elements from slasher movies, Stephen King novels, modern urban legends and that classic sub-genre: the killer car.”