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Oh the horror:
author visits
students at
Coppell Middle
School West
Darren Shan
visited students
at Coppell
Middle School
West on Tuesday.
Shan, a young
adult horror
fiction writer,
has sold 10
million books in
more than 20
languages in 30
countries, said
Rose Brock,
librarian at
Coppell Middle
School West.
Shan has lived
in Limerick,
Ireland, since
he was 6 years
old after his
family moved
from his London
birthplace.
Students had to
win tickets to
listen to Shan
speak in the
library, Brock
said. There were
two sessions in
which Shan spoke
and parents and
students from
other schools
were calling
West to see if
they could go to
one of his
sessions, Brock
said.
To earn a
ticket, students
had to complete
a scavenger hunt
with questions
about Shan. The
first 250
students to
complete the
hunt won
tickets, Brock
said.
Brock said Shan
appeals to a
wide range of
kids from
elementary
school students
to high school
students. Boys
show the most
interest in his
writing as he
writes bloody
and gory scenes,
she said. In
Shan’s first
series, “Cirque
du Freak,”
Darren Shan, a
fictional
character, meets
vampires at a
circus. Shan
said he used his
pseudonym as the
main character’s
name to blur the
lines between
reality and
fiction. Shan’s
real name is
Darren
O’Shaughnessy.
He published two
adult novels
under his real
name, he said.
The fourth book,
“Bec,” in Shan’s
second series,
“The Demonata,”
was recently
released. The
series will span
10 books. His
first series
spanned 12
books.
At the middle
school, Shan
read a scene
from the first
book in “The
Demonata”
series, “Lord
Loss.” The scene
follows the main
character, a
young boy named
Grubbs Grady,
back into his
parents’ home
after they left
him at his
aunt’s house for
the evening.
Grubbs walks
into his
parents’ room to
find his mom,
dad and sister
brutally
murdered.
Shan said he
chose to read
the scene
because it was a
particularly,
“gruesome, gory,
bloody scene.”
Shan then read
an excerpt from
the fifth book
in “The
Demonata”
series, “Blood
Beast.” Although
the book is not
set to sell
until October,
Shan said he
thought it was
particularly
frightening as
the scene takes
place on an
airplane.
As he read the
descriptions of
acid vomit,
chopped off
heads and
popping
eyeballs,
students in the
audience groaned
and laughed. He
said the scene
should really
put them in the
“mood for food.”
The last book in
“The Demonata”
series is set to
release in
spring 2010.
After Shan read
his excerpts,
one student from
the audience
interviewed him.
Sabalan
Mirazaei, an
eighth-grade
student, asked
Shan why he
likes to write
horror books,
what his
favorite books
were and where
he got his
ideas.
Shan said his
favorite book
when he was
growing up was
“The Secret
Garden.”
Although, it
might seem
surprising for
his audience
that he would
like a book
about a little
girl and a
garden, he said,
the idea of the
main character
feeling alone
and out of place
is mirrored in
his own writing.
“I like to take
readers through
a real roller
coaster
emotional
journey,” Shan
said.
He said his mom
was worried
about him when
he was a kid,
because he had a
poster of
Dracula, “the
lord of the
undead,” on his
wall. His
all-time
favorite book is
“Salem’s Lot” by
Stephen King.
Shan said his
greatest thrill
in his writing
is getting to
“meet people who
have read the
books.” He said
that most of his
time is spent
alone writing.
“If no one was
interested, it
would be a real
big waste of
time,” Shan
said.
Shan said he
originally wrote
adult fiction
but had always
wanted to write
about vampires.
“I always wanted
to do a vampire
story but not
the ordinary
Dracula story,”
Shan said.
Mirazaei asked
Shan if he’d
always wanted to
be a writer.
Shan said he’s
always loved
writing. He said
he doesn’t get
“writer’s block”
because he dives
in to his
writing without
thinking about
the overall task
of writing a
book.
Although he said
it’s “very nice”
to have sold
more than 10
million books,
he said the
satisfaction of
writing
continues to be
his drive.
Writing to make
quick money
should not be
the reason
anyone writes,
Shan said,
because it’s not
a great way to
make money. He
said the love of
writing should
be the only
reason people
write.
When asked his
biggest fear,
Shan said he’s
slightly afraid
of losing the
success now that
he’s had it.
“What if [the
books] are no
good,” Shan
said.
Shan said
writing his
first draft is
quick. He said
all the books in
“The Demonata”
series have been
written, but he
said he takes
two years to
edit and revise
them.
Although he said
demons and
vampires have
been written
about before,
his goal as a
writer is to
approach the
story in a new
way.
“What you do as
a writer is to
try to put a
fresh spin on
old ideas,” Shan
said.
When one student
asked if parents
ever got mad at
him for writing
scary books, he
said he hadn’t
experienced much
frustration from
parents because
people read
horror to be
scared. Although
he thought there
would be more
objections to
his books, he
said he thinks
there isn’t
because his
stories are
about the
struggle to move
on from violence
and not simply
about the
violence.
“Through all the
bloodshed and
goriness, the
stories are very
moral,” Shan
said.
The rights for
his first three
books from the
Cirque du Freak
series were
bought by
Universal
Pictures. The
script for the
film will be
written by
Oscar-winning
screenwriter
Brian Helgeland,
who wrote
“Mystic River”
and “LA
Confidential.”
The producer for
the film will be
Lauren Shuler
Donner, who
produced the
“X-Men” series.
Paul Weitz, who
directed the
“American Pie”
series, will
direct the movie
version of
“Cirque du
Freak.”
Jennifer Abbots,
former publicist
and long-time
friend of Shan,
said his
characters are
actually really
human and kids
can relate to
his writing.
Despite his gory
writing, Abbots
said, Shan’s
“really funny.”
http://www.carrolltonleader.com/articles/2007/04/11/breaking_news/3.txt |
