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WRITER INSPIRES
FEAR WITH SCARY
SERIES
It is all a bit
confusing. It
says on the
cover of the
book that
Cirque Du Freak
was written by
someone called
Darren Shan. And
Darren is also
the hero of the
story. It says
that it is a
true story. But
here is a secret
that not many
people know.
Darren Shan does
not exist. The
whole thing is
an invention of
author Darren
O'Shaughnessy.
It is a con
trick.
O'Shaughnessy, a
great fan of
horror stories,
was born in
London and then
moved to Ireland
when he was six
years old. As he
grew up, his
hobby was
watching horror
movies.
Sometimes, he
managed to watch
as many as three
films a day. He
had a massive
picture of
Christopher Lee
(a famous horror
actor) in pride
of place on his
bedroom wall.
When he was 18,
O'Shaughnessy
returned to
London to study
at university.
O'Shaughnessy's
mother was a
primary school
teacher and she
hoped that he
would follow in
her footsteps.
But no way.
O'Shaughnessy
had his sights
set on becoming
a horror writer.
He had been
writing stories
since the age of
14.
Like many
writers,
O'Shaughnessy
had no success
when he first
began to write.
He lived with
his parents and
did various jobs
to finance his
writing. By the
middle of last
year, he was on
the point of
giving up
writing and
taking up a
career with a
cable television
company. But
luck stepped in
just in time. A
literary agent
discovered
O'Shaughnessy's
work and
recognised the
unique nature of
his imagination.
The writer had
already written
several books in
a horror series,
The Saga Of
Darren Shan,
and the agent
was captivated.
He knew that
young readers
would devour
stories packed
tight with such
spine-chilling
ideas.
And he was
right. When
Cirque Du Freak
hit the
bookshelves, it
sold over 9000
copies in just
three weeks.
Warners, the top
Hollywood movie
company, quickly
bought the film
rights and
O'Shaughnessy
found himself
signing along
the dotted line
of a
seven-figure
movie contract.
Cirque Du
Freak is
truly the
beginning of
something huge.
O'Shaughnessy
intends to write
24 novels before
the series
concludes and he
has set a
pattern of
publishing one
story every six
months over the
next 12 years.
The screams and
shivers of
Cirque Du Freak
will be giving
bad dreams to
brave teenage
readers for many
dark nights to
come. Be
prepared to be
afraid.
Seriously
afraid. |
