Writer Darren,
wordy winner of
new award
IT'S been a
busy year for
Pallaskenry's
Darren
O'Shaughnessy,
the January
winner of the
first Limerick
Leader / Jurys
Hotel
Achiever-of
-the-Month
award.
Not only has
the local author
two successful
fantasy novels
under his belt,
he has been
offered $1m
advance from
Warner Brothers
for the movie
rights to his
children's
books, Cirque du
Freak and The
Vampire's
Assistant.
And that's
only the
beginning for
the 27-year-old
who has already
completed nine
books from his
children's
series.
For a man
whose is
influenced by
Stephen King,
and describes
his first book
as "a cross
between the
Exorcist and the
Godfather",
Darren is
extremely
affable, down to
earth and proud
of his Limerick
roots.
Born in
London, he moved
to Pallaskenry
with his
parents, Liam
and Breda, when
he was six years
old.
Darren was
always
interested in
writing, and his
talent was
nurtured by
Breda, a teacher
in Askeaton
National School
where he was a
pupil.
After his
Leaving Cert in
Copswood
College, he
studied English
in London and
worked for a
time in Irish
Multichannel.
"When I was a
teenager I
decided writing
was what I
really wanted to
do as a career,"
he said.
"I started
off with adult
books and the
children's book
started as a
sideline
originally."
His first
book, Ayuamarca,
was described by
critics as
"reminiscent of
the best of
Clive Barker and
Iain Banks".
Set in a
nameless city
built by the
Inca's,
Ayuamarca tells
the tale of a
young man who
wants to be a
gangster and
follows his
adventures.
That was
followed by
Hell's
Horizon's, a
detective story
with a slight
fantasy twist,
which hit the
bookshelves in
February.
Cirque du
Freak is
Darren's first
teen horror
book.
Writing under
the name Darren
Shan, the story
centres around
two boys called
Darren and Steve
who get tickets
to an illegal
freak show full
of magical
performers.
So was it
difficult to
shift from adult
fantasy /
science fiction
books to writing
for teenagers?
"It took a
while to get
used to writing
children's
books," he said.
"The children's
books aren't
like Postman Pat
or Goosebumps,
they're written
in a dark way
with adult
themes but also
written in a way
that children
can get access.
Parents have
given me a good
response and
teachers have
lost their
initial
reservations
when they've
read them."
Darren said
it was
"fantastic" that
Warner Brothers
bought the movie
rights to Cirque
du Freak and the
sequel, The
Vampire's
Assistant, for
$1m even before
they even came
out.
And he's
denied claims
that he's now a
millionaire.
"Not at all.
I've only
received a small
advance! The
book is causing
such a stir that
some
scriptwriters
are asking to
work on it for
less money than
they normally
get," he said.
Darren has
now been writing
full-time for
the past four
years.
"I always
hoped to be
successful and
sell lots of
books," he said.
"But the hype
began to build
about last June
when the
publishers
really began to
get interested.
It's not as if
it happened
overnight and
I'm always busy
nowadays. So
it's not as if I
have a chance to
sit back and
gloat!"
The first
nine of his
children's books
have now been
written leaving
him time to
concentrate on
publicity and
events in
schools and
libraries.
He wants to
write more than
20 books in
total for the
children's
series which he
expects will
keep him busy
for "the next 12
to 13 years."
Darren's
web-site can be
contacted at
www.darrenshan.ie
This is the
first in a new
series of
monthly awards
organised by the
Limerick Leader
and Jurys Hotel
to honour local
people working
in business,
culture and
sporting
communities.
It replaces
the Limerick
Leader / Jurys
Hotel Business
Person-of-the-Month
award. |
