GOTTA WRITE - mid/2004

interviewer: Denise Fletcher

Now sit back, my young vampire lovers, and read about a young man from Limerick, Ireland.

         Although he is Irish, Darren O'Shaughnessy was
born on July 2, 1972 in St. Thomas' Hospital, London, directly
across the river from the Houses of Parliament in
Westminister. He lived in Southeast London, near the
Elephant and Castle. He started school at the early
age of three in English Martyr's. At the age of six,
he moved to Limerick in Ireland, with his parents and
younger brother, and has lived there ever since.
He went to primary school in Askeaton, where his
mother was a teacher, then to secondary school at
Copsewood College in Pallaskenry. Later, he went back
to London to study Sociology and English at Roehampton
College. He worked for a cable TV company in Limerick
for a few years, before setting up as a full-time
writer.

         Shan bought his first typewriter when he was 14 and
never looked back, writing short stories, comic strips
and making false starts on several uncompleted books.
He enjoyed his first taste of literary success when he
was 15, as a runner-up in a TV script-writing
competition for RTE in Ireland, with a dark comedy
script called "A Day in the Morgue." He admits to
being morbid even then.

         At age 17, he finished his first novel, "Mute
Pursuit," which was a futuristic cross between "The
Terminator" and Stephen King's "The Dark Tower."
Although the novel was never published, Shan loved the
experience, but still felt he needed to move away from
the short story format. Between college and his job,
he wrote a book a year in various genres. When he
began writing full-time, he was able to complete five
to six books a year. Currently, though, he's down to
two or three. Promoting his novels eats up a lot of
his free time.

         What was growing up in Ireland like?

          Quite lonely, actually. I lived in the countryside,
so seeing my friends after school or during holidays
was quite hard. I used to spend a lot of my time by
myself, making up stories, playing games with
make-believe buddies, daydreaming about being all
sorts of different people when I grew up."

         He's not complaining. He actually enjoyed spending
time by himself.

         "But it was quite solitary, and still is. That's one
of the downsides to being a writer - you have to spend
huge chunks of time working by yourself, in isolation.
But, hey, if you don't enjoy that, or can't handle the
loneliness, you simply find another career. Me, I get
on fine with it. Though every so often I do need to
take a break from the PC and go spend some quality
time with family and friends," he said.

         What does his family think about his novels?

         "I have a 'very' large family. Some of them have read
all my books - some haven't. Two of my most dedicated
fans are probably my Grandad and Mother - they read
every last word and let me know 'exactly' what they
think about them."

        In a recent online article, Shan stated that Vincent
Price's "Theater of Blood" movie led to his hunger for
horror books, comics and movies. What was it about
horror that grabbed his attention and never let go?
"I loved being scared and grossed-out! I'm actually
not that much of a horror buff any more - I saw so
many horror flicks and read so many books, I guess I
got a little tired of the genre. I still enjoy a
really good horror film or book as much as ever - but
I don't devour them anymore," said Shan.

          What inspired him to write the series was his goal to
write a childrens book.

          "But I never quite found the right story or tone of
voice until 'Cirque Du Freak.' " I also wanted to write
a vampire book - but I didn't want to simply repeat
the stale old Dracula formula. I was waiting for a
fresh idea to strike me. Then, one day, I thought
about what life would be like if an ordinary kid
encountered a vampire, and through a series of
misadventures, ended up having to reluctantly become
his assistant and travel around the world with him. As
soon as the thought hit me, I was off like a greyhound
after a hare! I began writing the book a couple of
days later - and haven't stopped yet!"

         Shan was not interested in the "gross factor" or
writing what is on the edge of being acceptable.
Instead, he has a message he's trying to get across to
his readers through the series.

         If he tried to write the series when he was a teenager
or even in his 20s, it would have been a lot bloodier
and gruesome, he confessed.

         "What I wanted readers to feel - even more than fright
or repulsion - was sadness and compassion. Darren, the
main character, has a very hard life. He has to leave
his home, family and friends; people close to him die
and he is betrayed by close allies. I wanted readers
to share that, partly so that they could realize just
how good their own lives are in comparison.

         "A story like Darren's will maybe get readers to say,
Hey, hang on a minute, I'm actually one of the lucky
ones.' For those who aren't having things so good
right now, who've maybe moved home, don't have many
friends, or have lost someone close to them, the books
show that no matter how bad your life is, there's
always a way forward. Things can and do improve. You
just have to hang in there, ride with the blows,
battle hard, and eventually you will overcome whatever
obstacles that have been set in your path."

         Many of the same characters in the series do continue
from one book to the next, but several die during the
course of the storyline. Not just minor, secondary
characters are lost, he added, some of the "biggies"
have died.

         "It's one of the things which makes these books
different from other series. I write them as if they
really happened, and I apply the rules of real-life to
the stories. As I say in book 1, real life is hard,
and the good guys often don't win. Readers never know,
from one book to the next, who is going to live or
die. I think that adds an edge to them and makes them
much more exciting than other series where the heroes
always march through unscratched," he said.
Some of the challenges his characters face are: being
buried alive, having to battle a savage wolf man;
running into a band of purple-skinned blood-suckers
who always kill when they feed; murderous bears;
cannibalistic, blue-robed creatures known as Little
People; and betrayal by friends.

         Shan believes the secret to writing good horror, or
any genre for that matter, is always the same.
"If you write about interesting, imaginative, engaging
characters, readers will enjoy your books," he said.
Shan started the path toward publication writing adult
books and admits to having had several manuscripts
turned down by many publishers before one was
published.

         "Then with 'Cirque Du Freak' my agent and I sent it
out to 20 publishers in the UK - and they all turned
it down! Hard to believe, now that the books are on
sale in 27 countries around the world, having sold, at
last count, five million or so copies, but true!  He
added that almost every writer gets rejected when they
start out - including Tolkien, Stephen King and J.K.
Rowling. "It's something you learn to accept and deal
with and it makes you all the stronger in the long
run."

         Shans first efforts at writing began with "loads" of
stories and books when he was a teenager and in his
early 20s. He admits that most of them "stink." He had
had some very good ideas, though.

         "But as I said, characters are what matter the most,
and it took me quite a while to learn how to develop
characters that readers would care about. Every writer
has to go through the process. Writing is something
you learn how to do, it's not a skill you're born
with. Yes, some people are naturally more imaginative
and inventive than others, but I don't think any
writer has ever written anything of worth without
putting in years of good, hard, honest sweat!"

         Shan has written a few books which he intends to bring
out once this series ends, but they are shrouded in
secrecy at the moment.

         Typical feedback from his readers has been "Is this
really a true story?" and "Can you turn me into a
vampire?" He simply smiles.

         With five million books sold, his devoted following is
his best form of promotion. Still, an author has to
actively participate in the process.

         "My publishers do lots of work promoting the novels.
It's not easy getting a book into a store, and then
getting people to buy it. A lot of people on the
Little, Brown staff have had to work very hard over a
long period of time to make the series as successful
as it is. I chip in by touring, answering questions
like these, and by making myself accessible through my
website."

         Speaking of his website, he actually created it. One
would ask when he even has time with a totally
impressive U.S. tour ahead of him.

         "Not long after the first book came out in the U.K., I
borrowed a Create Your Own Web Site in 24 Hours' book
and set to work on putting Shanville (the name of my
site) together. I knew absolutely nothing about the
web at the time. I'd only went online a month or two
earlier, but I wanted to give it a crack. I actually
had the site redesigned by a professional last year,
but I'm still the controller. I update it and keep it
ticking over."

         Even though it eats up a lot of his time, he enjoys
working on his site. Since he was a fan before he was
a professional writer, the fan in him thinks it's cool
to maintain the site.

         Now for the questions most fans ask their favorite
authors: Does he have a daily writing schedule and
does he write in a quiet room or have music blasting?
"When working on a first draft of a book, I do 10
pages a day, five days a week. I write on a PC, in my
office. Up until this year I was living with my
parents, and wrote in my bedroom, where my PC was. I
wrote with music playing softly in the background,
normally rock or indie pop," he said.

Asked if he writes the books or his characters dictate
to him, he replied, "It's a combined effort. I set
things in motion, and guide it along, but there always
comes a point where the characters start to take over.
At that stage I just hang on tight and go along for
the ride, hoping it all works out for the best in the
end."

http://gottawritenetwork.com/darrenshan.html