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It's nearly
Halloween, the
time when
ghoulies and
ghosties
and long-legged
beasties - and
Darren Shan -
creep out
of the woodwork.
The best-selling
children's
horror author
spoke to
Deborah Penn
about his
forthcoming
visit to Kent
when he will be
signing copies
of his new
spine-chiller.
Be prepared to
be scared, very
scared. Darren
Shan says he
doesn't drink
blood
but, having
looked at his
new book, his
claim is not
entirely
convincing.
Here is an
excerpt from
Bec, the
latest in
his Demonata
series: "Then,
in a blur, claws
dart out of the
darkness... a
twisted face...
fiery eyes ...
rows of teeth...
the demon grabs
me!"
Just two days
before
Halloween, the
bloodthirsty
best-selling
author, known as
the Stephen King
for children,
will be signing
copies of Bec
at Waterstone's,
Bluewater, on
Sunday, October
29 for an hour
from 3pm.
In a nutshell
Bec, a trainee
priestess,
fights to fit in
to a tribe
that needs her
skills but fears
her powers. And
when the
demons come, the
fight becomes a
war. Bec's magic
is weak
and untrained
until she meets
the druid Drust.
Under his
leadership, Bec
and a small band
of warriors
embark on a long
journey through
hostile lands to
confront
the Demonata.
Despite
such horrific
outpourings, you
would never
guess from
talking to
Darren that his
mind runs along
such
bloodthirsty
lines. He speaks
with a South
East London
twang although
he has lived
in Ireland for
most of his 34
years. He lives
in Limerick with
his long-term
girlfriend
Bas, having
moved over the
water with his
family from the
Elephant and
Castle
when he was six.
The season
ticket
holder at
Tottenham
Hotspur was
born Darren
O'Shaughnessy.
He tried to
explain where
his
terrifying ideas
originate: "They
come from all
over the place.
Everyone has
ideas,
daydreams,
but writers turn
these into
stories.
There are very
few original
ideas so you
have to find a
different
spin."
He says his
books don't give
him nightmares:
"I've always
loved
horror stories,
even as a child.
Horror's only
scary if you
don't know the
twists ahead
- and of course,
I do! I write
the books I'd
like to have
read
when I was 12,
13, 14 and 15."
Darren began
writing as a
teenager. He
bought his first
typewriter when
he was 14, and
never looked
back,
knocking out
loads of short
stories and
comic scripts,
and
making false
starts on
several books.
He eryoyed his
first taste of
literary success
aged 15, as a
runner-up in a
TV
script-writing
competition,
with a dark
comedy script
entitled A
Day in the
Morgue - he
was morbid
even then.
His first book
in a series
entitled The
Saga of Darren
Shan, or
Cirque Du Freak
as it's known in
America,
attracted rave
reviews. He
followed his
vampiric Saga
with The
Demonata,
a series about
demons, which
will run to 10
books. Bec
is the fourth
and Universal
are planning to
make a film [of
Cirque Du
Freak].
Shan's concept
of the vampire
differs from the
Hollywood
moaning,
neck-biting
kind. His
vampires cannot
fly,
morph, and will
not kill their
prey. They do
not
have sharp
teeth, and
neither holy
water nor the
cross are
effective
against them. A
stake through
the heart does
kill them,
though, and so
does
a bullet.
The closest
action they
perform to
flying is
'flitting",
moving so fast
that the naked
eye
cannot see them.
With their
extremely sharp
nails they make
a small incision
into the back of
your arm to take
as
much blood as
they need and
close
the cut with
their spit,
which has
special healing
powers. Full
vampires can
knock out a
person with
special gas that
they breathe
through their
mouths. Perhaps
Darren's books
should
carry a
Government
health warning:
seriously scary.
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