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WITH A MOVIE IN
THE PIPELINE AND
24 FOLLOW-UP
BOOKS, VAMPIRE
ENTHUSIAST IS
MAKING HIS MARK
Last year Darren
O’Shaughnessy
was broke and on
the dole. Now
the 27-year-old
is set to become
a millionaire
and it’s all
thanks to his
childhood
obsession with
vampires.
While other boys
his age played
football, Darren
spent hours
reading horror
stories and
watching vampire
films.
And his passion
for all things
gothic has paid
off as his
children’s
novel, Cirque
Du Freak,
the first of a
series of nine
books on the
character Darren
Shan, is to be
made into a
film.
Movie giants
Warner Bros.
snapped up the
rights to make a
film of the
book, which was
published last
month, for a
seven-figure
sum.
Darren has also
signed contracts
with major
publishers in
America and
Britain for a
series of books
based on the
characters in
Cirque Du Freak,
the first novel
in the series.
And Darren
intends to keep
busy – he plans
to publish 24
books over the
next 12 years at
a rate of one
every six
months.
Even at his
lowest point
Darren never
considered
giving up
writing to find
a job. "It was
just a case of
whether I would
be able to carry
on writing full
time. I quit my
job in a cable
television
company and it
was a couple of
years before I
started earning
any money, so I
was drawing the
dole. I had to
get by on very
little money and
I even
considered
getting a
regular job if
it got to the
stage where I
could not make a
living out of
writing
"But I would
have still
carried on
writing at
weekends. The
best thing about
earning this
money is that it
allows me to
carry on writing
full-time, which
is basically all
I ever wanted to
do. It’s great
because I can go
on and write
about what I
want and I don’t
have to worry
about getting
another job.
"The money
hasn’t started
coming in yet. I
haven’t got a
huge amount
sitting in the
bank, so I
haven’t done
anything
outrageous."
And Darren
insists that he
won’t let his
new-found wealth
go to his head.
"The money is a
means to an end.
I have no
interest in
making money –
the writing is
important to me
and if I make a
load of money
out of it, then
that’s
brilliant.
"I have to focus
on my work and
try not to think
about the money
coming in,
because that’s a
distraction.
Writing is the
one thing I have
to believe in.
"I think my
parents and my
brother are more
excited than I
am. People are
ringing them up
all the time and
congratulating
them. It’s all
been very
exciting for
them.
"I know it
probably looks
like I’ve
achieved
overnight
success, but
it’s taken me 10
years of very
hard work, to
gradually
improve my
skills. I didn’t
really get a big
break — I would
describe it more
as a gradual
break. I sold
Cirque Du Freak
to the
publishers two
years ago, but
it has only been
published now.
"When I sold
books two and
three from my
Darren Shan
series to Harper
Collins, I knew
I’d received a
big commitment
from them. There
was a big push
behind my work.
That’s when my
agent started
sending the
books out to
film agencies.
And from last
June things
began to pick up
speed when
Warner Brothers
started
negotiating the
film rights."
Warner Brothers
have also bought
the film rights
to the second
book in the
series, The
Vampire’s
Assistant.
And Darren is
set to make $1m
from the deal.
The novel
Cirque Du Freak
features two
young boys who
go to see a
freak show and
run into a
vampire. The
story explores
what happens to
them and how the
experience
changes their
lives.
Darren started
writing when he
was just 14. But
he knew he
wanted to become
a writer when he
was five years
of age.
"It was always
something that I
wanted to do,"
he said. "I
started writing
short stories in
my spare time
when I was 14.
Those stories
grew into my
first novel
which I wrote
when I was 17
and I’ve been
writing ever
since. I wrote
part time when I
was at college
and that
progressed to
the full time
writing I’m
doing now.
"I read a lot of
fantasy and
horror books and
watched a lot of
movies so that I
could get ideas
for my books.
The notions I
have explored in
Cirque Du
Freak go
back to when I
was a very small
child, when I
watched a lot of
vampire movies.
Impact
"I used to love
these movies and
those images
have stayed with
me throughout my
life. They have
had an enormous
impact on my
writing."
Darren has
already written
nine books for
the Darren Shan
series and he
plans to write
more.
"It’s taken me a
couple of years
to write the
first nine
novels. The
first one was
published last
month but I’d
actually sold it
almost two years
before. And I
wrote the others
during that time
— I like to work
ahead."
Not content with
making his mark
on childhood
fiction, Darren
has also
branched out
into adult
fiction.
His new fantasy
novel, Hell’s
Horizon, the
second book in
his "The City"
series, was
published by
Orion books last
month. The first
book in the
series,
Ayuamarca,
was published in
February 1999
and two more
books are
planned for the
series.
But just how
difficult is it
for an author to
write both adult
and children’s
fiction?
"My children’s
fiction is quite
dark," he
explained, "so
it’s not like
going from
horror to Enid
Blyton, but at
the same time my
children’s books
are toned down
quite a lot from
my adult
fiction. There
are certain
things you have
to be careful of
when you are
writing for
children. I find
that it’s really
good to write
for adults and
children because
they feed into
each other. You
learn things
writing for
children which
you can bring to
the adult books,
and vice versa.
An adult book is
usually longer,
so you have to
work that little
bit harder.
However,
children’s books
can be just as
tricky.
"It’s important
to find the
right voice for
the characters
I’m writing
about. For
example, when I
first wrote
Cirque Du Freak,
the voice
wavered. I
wanted to write
a book for
teenagers but it
started out as a
story an eight
or nine-year-old
might like. I
had to work very
hard in order to
perfect the
right tone of
voice."
Darren also
relied on the
views of
youngsters when
he wrote his
first children’s
novel. His
mother, Breda,
teaches in a
primary school
and he gave her
copies of the
book to
circulate among
her pupils. He
also gave her
questionnaires
for the children
to fill out so
he could get
some feedback on
what he had
written.
"I got a lot of
ideas from the
questionnaires,"
he said. "I
could pick up if
they thought the
book was too
mature or too
scary. And they
also told me
what they would
like to see in
the book.
"Every adult
thinks they know
what children
like to read,
but until you
actually ask the
children, I
don’t think you
can know. We all
like to think
that we are in
touch with the
inner child, but
most of the time
we’re not."
Darren included
the pupils of
Askeaton Primary
School in the
dedications of
the book as a
thank you for
the vital
advice.
But there’s also
a mischievous
side to Darren’s
character. He
brought a
collection of
live tarantulas
to the launch of
Cirque Du
Freak to see
how people would
react.
"At first people
were terrified
and wouldn’t go
near the
spiders, but as
the evening wore
on people got
closer and
closer and
everyone ended
up handling them
in the end.
"I think people
have a
fascination with
horror — they
can’t help being
interested in
it. They like to
try things that
are a little bit
dangerous."
Darren believes
that his
childhood and
upbringing has
played a major
role in his
decision to
become a writer.
Countryside
"I was born in
London and
stayed there
until I was six
years old. Then
my family moved
to Ireland, to
the Limerick
countryside.
Living in a
quiet place has
been very
beneficial to my
writing because
it gives me the
space to focus
on my work with
very few
distractions.
When you live in
a big city there
are always
things to do and
places to go."
Despite the big
contrast between
Darren’s fantasy
novels and the
place where he
lives, he
believes that he
has the best of
both worlds.
"London is like
a second home to
me and I go
there quite a
lot. I went to
college there
for three years,
so I’m used to
the big city
environment as
well as living
out in the
countryside."
But he plans to
stay in Limerick
for the
foreseeable
future and
continue
writing.
Darren has
already been
compared to the
king of horror
Stephen King. He
is delighted to
be mentioned in
the company of
such a
prestigious
writer.
"Stephen King is
one of my idols.
I grew up with
his books. I
read Salem’s
Lot when I
was 11 and I
thought it was a
brilliant book,
so he has been a
big influence on
me. A lot of
writers and
books have
influenced me,
especially
Tolkien and
David Eddings. I
loved the ideas
and the
storytelling in
those types of
books. I don’t
think I’m quite
in the league of
those writers
yet but it would
be wonderful to
give them a run
for their
money."
With such a
hectic schedule
it is difficult
for Darren to
find time to
relax.
"I go for an
hour-long walk
and watch two or
three movies
every day — not
all of them are
horror. I watch
practically
anything.
"I’m pretty much
a loner
actually, so I
don’t get out
that much. I
might go out
with my brother
Declan or a few
friends but
mostly I’m happy
just watching my
films and
reading some
books. That’s my
idea of
relaxing."
Little Brown
publishers have
purchased the
rights for
Darren’s book to
be sold in
America.
Despite the
impressive
history of Irish
writers, there
are very few who
are currently
working in this
field. Darren’s
work embodies
the genres of
horror, fantasy,
crime and
mystery. His
first novel,
Ayuamarca,
an adult fantasy
novel, was
published last
February and is
a mixture of
these genres.
The novel
follows a young
gangster who is
determined to
make his way up
through the
criminal ranks
by any means
possible, even
if it means
becoming
involved with a
serial killer
and betraying
those closest to
him. The title
of the book
means
"procession of
the dead", so it
promises to be a
chilling
thriller.
The second novel
in the series,
Hell’s
Horizon,
which was
published three
weeks ago, is
about a man
investigating
the murder of
his girlfriend.
The story is set
in the same
nameless city as
Ayuamarca
but is less of a
fantasy novel
and more of a
mystery. Darren
has already
finished the
first draft of
the third novel
in the series
and it is
planned to be
published next
year.
No date has yet
been set for the
release of the
movie version of
Cirque Du
Freak.
HarperCollins
publish Darren’s
books for older
children and
teenagers and
Orion books
publish the
adult fiction.
His latest
novel, Hell’s
Horizon, was
released on
February 10. |
