BIO
I was born in
London in 1972,
directly
opposite Big Ben
and the Houses
of Parliament. I
lived in London
until the age of
6, and started
school aged 3 (I
was such a wild
child, no
pre-school
facility would
have me!!). I
came from a
largely working
class Irish
family, though
my mother was a
primary school
teacher. In
London I lived
in a block of
council-owned
apartments.
I loved the
switch to
Ireland: we
moved into my
great-grandfather's
cottage (he
lived with us
until his death
10 years later),
out in the
countryside, and
I relished the
freedom and
dark, spooky
nights (the
countryside's
far eerier than
the city!).
Irish TV was
very primitive
in those days (2
channels, which
only aired for
less than twelve
hours each
day!), so I had
to read lots of
books to pass
the time. I read
every sort I
could find, but
I especially
liked horror
stories.
I was always
interested in
horror, both
books and
movies, and
loved giving
myself
nightmares. Many
of the books I
write now are
rooted in
delightfully
chilling
childhood scare
sessions, when
I'd keep myself
awake at night,
imagining
horrible
scenarios in
which vampires
and other
assorted
creatures would
surround my
little cottage
and lay siege!
I live in
Ireland, and
have been
fascinated with
vampires since I
was six years
old. I write
full-time, and I
still love
giving myself
nightmares.....
INTERVIEW
January 9,
2002
Kidsreads.com
writer Serena
Burns recently
had the chance
to talk with
author Darren
Shan about what
makes him
shiver---and
about the
similarities
between him and
his main
character.
KRC: Where
did the main
characters of
CIRQUE DU FREAK
come from? Why
have a character
with the same
name as your
own? Are you
actually a
blood-sucking
freak? Do you
have a sister
Annie we should
be worried
about?
DS:
Actually, my
real name's
Darren
O'Shaughnessy. I
changed it for
this series
because I write
adult books
under my real
name, and I
didn't want to
confuse readers
by publishing
adult and teen
fictions under
the same name.
Darren in the
book is an
idealized
version of
myself---he's
much braver,
tougher and
nobler than I
am!! I don't
have a younger
sister, but I do
have a brother 5
years younger
than me, on whom
the character of
Annie is
based!!! Other
characters are
combinations of
people I know,
or else just
completely drawn
from imagination
(unless, of
course, this is
really a true
story ... heh
heh!!!!!!)
KRC: Why have
a freak show as
central to the
story? Have you
ever been to
one? I'm scared
of clowns...are
you?
DS:
The freak show
was an
intriguing and
different way of
entering the
vampire world
which is central
to the series.
When you start
reading CIRQUE
DU FREAK, it
seems to be a
book about
circus freaks,
and unless
you've heard in
advance what
it's about, the
revelation that
Mr. Crepsley is
a vampire should
come as a
genuine shock.
No, in "real
life" I haven't
been to a freak
show, and no,
I'm not scared
of clowns!
KRC: Mr.
Crepsley is very
scary, but all
in all, the
vampires
themselves seem
to be good. What
ideas about good
guys vs. bad
guys do you want
your readers to
come away with?
DS:
In my books, I
want people
to be
unsure about my
characters'
intentions for
long periods of
time -- thus,
it's not until
book 3, TUNNELS
OF BLOOD, that
we learn for
definite whether
Mr. Crepsley is
truly good or
evil, and in
later books some
good characters
turn out to be
bad, and vice
versa. I think
this keeps
readers on their
toes!! Another
aim, which
becomes evident
the further the
series
progresses, is
to explore the
very nature of
good and evil,
and to question
how we determine
one from the
other.
KRC: There
are literally
hundreds of
movies and books
about vampires.
What is it about
the vampire
story that makes
it so timeless?
DS:
I don't know!
There's just
something
incredibly
creepy, yet
alluring, about
vampires.
They've been
going strong in
fiction for more
than a hundred
years now, and
even though
they're the most
over-used
monsters around,
people's
interest in them
still hasn't
diminished.
KRC: Darren
is now a
half-vampire.
Will he ever
become a
full-vampire?
What kind of
abilities and
super-powers
does he have now
and what sort of
powers do
full-vampires
have?
DS:
Darren is much
stronger than
humans, can run
faster and live
much longer. If
he ever becomes
a full vampire
(and I'm not
saying if he
does or
doesn't!!),
he'll be even
stronger and
faster, capable
of moving at a
super-fast speed
called
"flitting", able
to communicate
telepathically
with other
vampires -- but
sunlight will
kill him!
KRC: How do
you feel about
BUFFY THE
VAMPIRE SLAYER?
DS:
I've never
watched it!!!!
KRC: What was
the last book
you read that
gave you a good
scare?
DS:
I haven't read
many horror
books recently.
SALEM'S LOT by
Stephen King, is
one of my
all-time
favourites.
KRC: Did you
have a
particular
teacher or
relative who
encouraged you
to write? What
advice would you
give to aspiring
young adult
writers?
DS:
My mother's a
teacher, and she
was instrumental
to my learning
to read and
write. My best
piece of advice
is also the
simplest: KEEP
WRITING!!! The
more you write,
the better you
get. If you
stick with it,
you will
eventually work
your up to the
point where
you're good
enough to be
published. It
takes a lot of
time and hard
work -- and you
must be prepared
to be rejected
when you start
submitting
stories and
books -- but
that's ALL it
takes.
KRC: If we
looked at your
nightstand, what
books would we
find there?
DS:
A lot of crime
fiction at the
moment,
especially the
books of James
Ellroy. I've
also just
started to read
the
HIS DARK
MATERIALS
trilogy by
Philip Pullman.
KRC: What
projects are you
working on right
now?
DS:
I'll be editing
books 7 to 10 of
the Saga Of
Darren Shan over
the next few
weeks, then
starting work on
book 11 -- I
like to work far
ahead of
publication
schedules, so
there aren't
long delays
between the
books coming
out!!
KRC: What
five books would
you give as
Christmas
presents?
DS:
5 books I'd give
as Christmas
presents: THE
SECRET GARDEN by
Frances Hodgson
Burnett;
REBECCA'S WORLD
by Terry Nation;
SOMETHING WICKED
THIS WAY COMES
by Ray Bradbury;
THE CHOCOLATE
WAR by Robert
Cormier; THE
MACHINE GUNNERS
by Robert
Westall. (I
haven't included
any of the
Harry Potter
books, because
everybody
probably has
them already!!!)
--- By Serena
Burns
WRITING HORROR -
FORBIDDEN TREATS
by Darren Shan
I remember
somehow catching
the hammy
Vincent Price
film, "Theater
Of Blood," when
I was 6 years
old. It's the
one where he
plays a
lambasted
Shakespearean
actor who sets
out to silence
his critics with
artistic
murderous
licence. In one
scene he feeds a
critic the
mashed-up
remains of his
beloved poodles,
on which the
poor man duly
chokes. I was
blown away! This
was
story-telling as
I'd never
experienced it,
and even at that
tender age,
while other kids
were glued to
nice, safe,
anodyne stuff, I
knew I wanted
more!!!
That thirst for
"more" has never
left me. As a
child and
teenager I
sought out all
the horror that
I could, be it
in movies, books
or comics. I
craved
creepiness. If
nightmares were
the result - all
the better! Over
the years, I
moved on and
found other
loves (horror is
fun, but it can
be limiting),
though nothing
ever had the
same effect on
me as those old
Hammer movies,
or Stephen
King's early
novels, or the
short stories of
Edgar Allan Poe.
When I came to
write Cirque Du
Freak, I had
only one mandate
in mind: I was
going to write
the sort of book
that I'd have
loved to read as
an 11/12 year
old. It didn't
matter that, as
a
twentysomething,
I wasn't as
stoked-up by
horror as I'd
once been. I
wasn't writing
for twenty year
olds: I was
writing for
kids, and for
the kid I'd once
been - and I was
determined to
treat them to
the sort of
gruesome
helter-skelter
ride I believed
they deserved.
Cirque Du Freak
isn't a
reckless,
irresponsible
book. Although
it's about
vampires and
circus freaks, I
wasn't
interested in
sickening
readers or
pushing back the
boundaries of
what is
acceptable. It
explores such
themes as
friendship, the
im-portance of
family, and the
need to make
personal
sacrifices for
the good of
oth-ers. But,
like "Theater Of
Blood," it
certainly isn't
for the
squeamish! While
there are no
poodles in the
book, there are
vampires and
poisonous
tarantulas; a
savage Wolf Man
and a Snake Boy;
one character
winds up in a
coma, whilst
another gets
buried alive.
It's a book
designed to play
on a reader's
emotions. There
are out-and-out
scary scenes
("boo! moments"
as I like to
call them), but
also darker,
less bombastic
scenes, which
will linger in
your mind for
days (and
nights!) to
come.
That, for me, is
the secret of
good horror: the
subtle menace
between the
sudden bursts of
action and
violence. Cirque
Du Freak is
designed not
just to thrill
you, but to set
your nerves on
edge. It's
sometimes
shocking, but
also
thought-pro-voking.
Because that's
where I believe
the greatest
horrors lie: not
in having
something leap
at you out of
the darkness,
but in staring
into the shadows
of the night and
brooding about
what lurks
within...waiting...staring
back...
© Darren Shan. 9
November 2005. |
