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CONJURING UP
VAMPIRES IN A
PALLASKENRY HOME
It's not every
successful
author who does
a world book
launch in a
small community
school, but that
is part of what
makes
Pallaskenry's
Darren
O'Shaughnessy so
down to earth.
The talented
writer, in his
late 20s,
launched
Vampire Mountain,
book four in The
Saga Of Darren
Shan, in
Gaelscoil
O'Doghair,
Newcastlewest,
much to the
delight of the
awestruck
children. He had
already been at
the school to
promote his
third book in
the vampire
series,
Tunnels Of Blood,
last year. "I
was there last
November and I
really enjoyed
it, so I decided
to go back there
to do the
launch," he
said.
No stranger to
success and all
the attention it
brings with it,
Darren has now
been writing
full-time for
the past five
years and was 26
when he had his
first book
published. "I
went for an
agent, but it
was difficult to
get an adult
book published
even with an
agent," he says.
Ten books have
now been written
as part of his
series of
children's
books, of which
he hopes there
will be 20 in
total. Not only
has he signed a
lucrative
$1million deal
with Warner
Brothers for the
movie rights to
his children's
books, Cirque
Du Freak and
The Vampire's
Assistant,
but the first in
that series,
Cirque Du Freak,
released in the
US in April, has
just entered the
top 10
bestsellers in
America. This is
something Darren
describes as
"very exciting".
For a man who is
influenced by
Stephen King,
and describes
his first adult
book as "a cross
between The
Exorcist and The
Godfather,"
Darren is
extremely
affable, down to
earth and proud
of his Limerick
roots. His dad
works for a
plant hire firm
and his mother
teaches in
Askeaton
National School.
And what do they
think of their
son's success?
"They love it;
they think it's
really great,"
he grins.
Darren was
always
interested in
writing, and his
talent was
nurtured by mum
Breda, a teacher
in Askeaton
National School,
where he was a
pupil. He
attended the
local Salesian
College before
studying
sociology and
English in
London, and then
worked for a
time in Irish
Multichannel.
But he had
always known he
would be a
writer. "When I
was a teenager,
I decided
writing was what
I really wanted
to do as a
career," he
says. "I started
off with adult
books, and the
children's books
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 Incas,
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, a
detective story
with a slight
fantasy twist,
which hit the
bookshelves in
February 2000.
Cirque Du
Freak was
Darren's first
teen horror
book. Writing
under the name
of 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
explains. "My
books aren't
like Postman Pat
or Goosebumps!
They're written
in a dark style,
with adult
themes, but also
written in a way
that children
can access. It's
quite difficult
to write for
children because
you have to find
the right tone
of voice. Lots
of people talk
down to kids, so
it can be quite
tricky to find a
middle ground."
He continues to
write 10 or 12
pages every day
on both his
children/teen
novels, and a
fantasy series
for adults. "I
still manage to
write a lot and
travel around.
I've been
travelling
around England
and Ireland with
my books a lot."
A fan of
novelists
Stephen King and
Clive Barker,
his writing is
in the tradition
of Oscar Wilde,
Jonathan Swift
and Bram Stoker.
And when he
hasn't got his
head glued to
his computer
screen or stuck
in a book,
Darren loves to
watch a good
film. Videos and
DVDs line the
walls of his
house, including
everything from
silent films to
horror and
romance. There
can never be
enough material
for his vivid
imagination to
feed on. "I've
got loads of
ideas bubbling
around in my
head, and every
now and then I
pluck a few out
and use them,"
he laughs.
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