But his
latest
adventure
is not
played
out
within
the
pages of
a book -
but
rather
on the
cover.
For
the
title
and plot
of his
latest
book,
the
sixth in
the
popular
Demonata
series,
has
remained
a
closely
guarded
secret
for the
past few
months -
and will
only be
revealed
at this
month's
Bath
Festival
of
Children's
Literature.
Speaking
to BBC
Radio
Bristol's
Richard
Lewis,
Darren
explained
why the
book was
being
kept
under
wraps
and how
difficult
it has
been.
"Book
five of
the
series
ended on
a
cliffhanger,
so part
of the
fun for
the fans
we
decided
would be
not to
reveal
anything
about
the new
book,
even the
title, "
he
explained.
"In
these
days of
the
internet
it's
quite
hard to
keep
something
like
that a
secret."
Darren,
who
admits
to being
able to,
"work
quite
fast and
push
myself,"
currently
manages
to
produce
two
books a
year,
published
in June
and
September,
and with
his next
book
being
one for
adults,
hopes to
increase
production
to
three.
Cirque
Du Freak
He
actually
started
out as a
writer
of books
for
adults,
but the
idea for
a
children's
book
produced
Cirque
Du
Freak,
which
received
rave
reviews,
and his
career
as a
children's
writer
took off
from
there.
"Writing
for kids
is a
very
different
discipline.
I think
lots of
people
think
it's
simpler
than
writing
for
adults,
that
because
books
are
shorter
it's
simpler
to
write, "
said
Darren.
"But,
it's
not.
It's a
totally
different
audience
and you
have to
tap into
their
reading
level,
find out
what's
going to
entertain
them,
what's
going to
excite
them.
"Children
generally
aren't
as
patient
as
adults,
they
want to
get
going
straight
away.
They
want
lots of
action,
lots of
twists,
lots of
turns
and
that's
what I
like
writing
anyway,
so for
me it's
the
perfect
mix."
Darren -
whose
real
surname
is
actually
O'Shaughnessy
- is one
of the
biggest
writers
of
horror
books in
the
country,
and was
even
labelled
by the
Evening
Standard
as
"Stephen
King for
kids," a
big
compliment
for a
big
Stephen
King
fan.
"Stephen
King has
been my
idol
since I
was ten
or 11
years
old, so,
I am
delighted
if
people
call me
that "
he told
Richard.
"He's
had a
huge
impact
on me. I
still
read his
books
today, I
think
he's
brilliant."
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