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Where did the
idea for
Cirque du Freak
come from?
It started
one day when I
was looking for
a Goosebumps
book. And I was
reminded of how
excited I
would've been by
Goosebumps
if I were
reading them and
I was 10 or 11
years old. At
the same time I
could see how
they lacked the
depths of
something like
say the
Secret Garden
or more literary
books. So I
thought it would
be nice if there
was a book out
there that
combined the two
- that had the
excitement of
the
Goosebumps
books but that
hit you on a
deeper level as
well. The idea
just started
spinning through
my thoughts and
gradually became
Cirque du
Freak. I
wasn't really
sure how it was
gonna turn out
because I hadn't
written this
sort of stuff
before.
In the
introduction the
narrator says,
'really life's
nasty, it's
cruel.'
Cirque du Freak
is clearly a
story with a
message - you're
not trying to
break it to
children gently,
are you?
No I think
it's good to
explore that.
Just last
Thursday the
phone rang when
I was at home;
my father had
been in an
accident at work
and cut off a
piece of his
finger. He was
OK, he got it
wrapped up but
that could
happen any time.
I think it's
good to have
children aware
of that. Most
books finish up
with a happy
ending, nobody
gets hurt, and
everything goes
back to the way
it was. But of
course real life
isn't like that.
So we should go
away and reflect
on it and maybe
be grateful for
what we have. We
tend to take our
parents for
granted,
especially when
we're young and
they're a bit of
a nuisance but
we've got to
tolerate them,
and hopefully
people will go
away from
reading
Cirque du Freak
and think, "Wow,
I'm lucky, I'd
better count my
blessings while
I've got them".
So of all
the freaks that
are in the
circus, which
was the most fun
to invent? Was
it Alexander
Rib, Rhamus
Twobellies,
Gertha Teeth,
the Twisting
Twins.?
I loved
developing all
of them. I
didn't want to
write about real
circus freaks; I
didn't want it
to be an
exploitative
thing. I wanted
to create
magical beings,
and so I was
trying to come
up with stuff
that was weird
and wonderful.
That was great
fun. Rhamus
Twobellies was
lots of fun. But
I also enjoyed
creating the
Wolf Man, who
gets his hand
sawn off and
sewn back on
again.
That was
gruesome. The
Cirque du Freak
is kind of
modelled on a
normal circus
but in a sense
it's pretty
radically
different as
well, isn't it?
What is so
special about
it?
It's a place
of magic.
Normally you
hear about a
freak show and
it's a horrible
place to go.
This has the
reputation of a
freak show,
everyone goes to
it expecting it
to be awful. And
it is terrifying
but in a magical
way. When people
come away
they're excited
about it,
they're not
coming away
thinking about
people locked up
in cages or
people being
mistreated. They
come out with a
real buzz, like
a terrifying
horror movie
that gives you a
real tingle.
Mr
Crepsley is
rather different
from the normal
idea that we
have of a
vampire. What is
so different
about him?
I wanted to
play with the
whole idea of
vampires. It
starts off with
Darren and Steve
who both have
their own ideas
about what
vampires are.
They think he's
a nasty creature
of the night,
they believe in
all the old
myths. I wanted
to explode that
a bit and have a
vampire who was
kind of human,
we don't really
know that much
about vampires
and it was a
debatable thing,
so I could
explore it even
more and
discover what
vampires are
really like and
how they live
their life.
Completely
different from
the old
tradition.
Darren is
persuaded to
stay in the
house to try and
rescue Steve
even though he
knows Steve is
guaranteed to
get him into
trouble. What
makes him stay
behind?
Well because
they are friends
and because he
likes Steve a
lot. Even if he
knows Steve is
wild, he wants
to be there to
help him and
also to find out
what was going
on. Because at
that stage
Darren doesn't
know why Steve
was staying.
Darren is a
very, very
curious
character. He's
got this inbred
curiosity and
he's always
eavesdropping on
people trying to
find out what's
going on. So
it's partly
friendship and
partly curiosity
as to what is
happening.
To what
extent would you
say the
characters are
based on real
people? Is the
Darren Shan of
the story you?
Well, it's
all true of
course! Yeah a
lot of me is in
Darren Shan.
There are bits
of me in Steve.
When I was a kid
I used to be
pretty wild,
everyone thought
I was going to
end up and be a
bad lot. So I
suppose part of
that was brought
out in Steve. I
took quite a lot
from real life
but I gave it a
twist to keep it
separate. It's
not
autobiographical
but there are
bits of me in
it.
Are you
afraid of
spiders?
I'm not
really afraid of
spiders, but I
have a dislike
for them.
Normally, if I
found a spider,
I would squish
it, since I've
written this if
I find spider I
pick it up and
guide it out. I
feel as if I
have a bond with
them. I'm
actually getting
closer to the
spiders. I'm
having a party
tonight and
there'll be a
few tarantulas
there for people
to hold.
Cirque
du Freak is
the first in the
series, isn't
it? How long
will this be?
Somewhere in
the region of
twenty-four,
twenty-five
books. A big
long series.
I've finished
the first eight,
so I'm writing
another nine
soon. I know the
overall arc of
the story but I
don't plan it
out book by book
until I actually
reach each
segment. I don't
like to work too
far ahead. If I
work this way
and I find stuff
in book eight I
can go back and
put it into book
two or three. If
I find new
characters I can
put in little
clues and
things.
I, for
one, am looking
forward to
hearing more
about it. You
got a great
review from J.K.
Rowling, the
creator of
Harry Potter.
That must be a
tough one to
live up to. Do
you think its
frightening to
be told that
from someone who
is so incredibly
successful?
It's very
nice, it's
wonderful to get
something like
that. I had a
child write to
me about
Cirque du Freak,
and it's great
to get any sort
of feed back
from anyone. But
to get to it
from J.K
Rowling, that's
pretty special.
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