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READERS SINK
THEIR TEETH INTO
DARREN!
Children's
author, Darren
O'Shaughnessy,
aka Darren Shan
is bombarded
with questions
by fifth and
sixth class
pupils at
Gaelscoil
O'Doghair who
seem to know as
much about the
books, its
characters and
plots as the
author himself.
They have read
the books
Cirque Du Freak
and The
Vampire's
Assistant
from cover to
cover -- and are
now dedicated
and loyal fans.
More to the
point, they are
thrilled that
more books are
in the pipeline.
The third in the
series,
Tunnels Of Blood
was published
last Monday; the
fourth,
Vampire Mountain
will appear next
May; and, Darren
Shan tells them,
he has already
written up to
book 10 in the
series, which he
plans to run to
20 books.
That is riches
indeed for young
readers eager to
find out the end
of the story.
But while Darren
Shan will talk
for hours about
the books and
writing them, he
most certainly
will not tell
the end of the
story. That is
something even
he doesn't know
yet, he
explains.
(actually, i
know how it
ends: it's all
the stuff in the
middle i'm still
working out! --
darren)
But is it true?
Is the book
really true?
Well, yes and
no. "It isn't
REALLY true. But
it could be true
-- but you won't
know that until
the end," he
says. And
somehow this is
acceptable and
adds even more
to his mystique.
For Darren Shan,
each book is
just like a
chapter in a
very long book,
and unfolds its
own story.
"There are
changes all the
time. New things
are happening,"
he points out.
But he does
reveal that
books four to
six will be more
fantasy than
horror, with
lots of
adventures. And
the main
character,
Darren, gets
himself a
girlfriend.
"Would you like
to see Darren
with a
girlfriend?" he
asks the class.
There is a
resounding
"Yes!"
For these young
readers, Darren
Shan can do no
wrong. Their
reviews say it
all. "It is not
like any other
books I read,"
writes Gary
Corbett of
The Vampire's
Assistant.
And Gerard Foley
recommends it
highly as "very
interesting. You
will not want to
put it down," he
says in his
review.
The children
also have very
definite
opinions of
Darren Shan
after his visit.
"He is really
funny," says
C"adlyadlyn N’
Mhurchœ. "He
likes to act out
the characters
in his books."
Carolyn Hayes
found the real
Darren quite
different from
the fictional
character. "He
is more daring
and more devious
in the books,"
she explains.
"In real life he
is very nice and
jolly." Shane
Collins, though,
believes the two
Darrens are
quite similar.
"Not in looks,"
he hastens to
add. "You
wouldn't really
take him for a
vampire. But
when he talks,
he sounds just
the very same as
in the books."
The questions
come in rapid
fire. Do you
believe in
vampires? Would
you like to be a
vampire? The
answers here are
more complex.
"The vampires I
write about are
not the sort of
vampires you get
in movies," says
Darren. "Why
should vampires
be evil? My
vampires are
quite different.
They have very,
very hard lives.
The vampires I
write about
could be real."
On he ploughs,
no question
ignored. Who is
his idol? Does
he like Harry
Potter? Why did
he start
writing? Darren
Shan answers all
the questions
with none of the
condescension
adults often
extend to
children. He
talks of
publishers,
agents, the
business of
writing, of
promotional
tours, and of
his posters of
Dracula. |
