Gory Corey Interviews Darren Shan.
In June 2020, my Daddy took me to a bookshop, and we bought The Demonata box set by Darren Shan.
My Daddy tweeted a photo, and Darren Shan said it would be better if I read The Saga of Darren Shan first, because The Demonata was a little bit scary.
So, I started reading Cirque Du Freak, and it was really good. So far, I’ve read seven out of twelve books in this series.
The series is about a boy called Darren Shan, who goes to the Cirque Du Freak and meets a vampire called Larten Crepsley. After that, he meets vampires and vampaneze, werewolves and killers, and lots more. At the moment, my favourite book is Hunters of the Dusk. It had some shocks and an exciting story.
Darren Shan is one of my favourite writers. So when I got the chance to interview him, I was very excited.
Here is my interview with Darren Shan. I hope you enjoy it!
The Gory Corey Interview (Darren Shan)
Corey: Hi, Darren. What made you want to be a writer?
Darren Shan: Hi, Corey. I wanted to be a writer since I was about 6 years old. I just always loved telling stories.
C: What was the first book you wrote, and when did you write it?
DS: The first book I ever finished (by “finished” I mean completed a first draft) was called Mute Pursuit. I was 17 years old. I’ve never published it, though I might return to it one day, to see if it’s possible to rewrite and edit it into shape.
C: Which of your books is your favourite, and why?
DS: The Thin Executioner, a stand-alone fantasy book that I released many years ago. I’m not sure why — it just means an awful lot to me.
C: Which of your books do you think is the scariest?
DS: I think the start of Lord Loss is hard to top, in pure scary terms! I’ve read out chapter 2 at lots and lots of events over the years, and it always goes down a treat — though it does leave some parents rather pale-faced and quaking in their boots!
C: I really want to read Lord Loss. I love horror and don’t scare easy!
My next question is who are your favourite writers?
DS: Stephen King is my all-time favourite, but I read widely and love lots of different writers, such as J K Rowling, Roal Dahl, Robert Westall, Richard Adams…
C: Is there anything you have written about that scares you?
DS: I’m actually rather scared of spiders, which is why I gave Mr Crepsley a performing tarantula at the Cirque Du Freak — I thought, “What would scare ME if I was sitting in the audience,” and quickly settled on a spider scuttling across its handler’s face!
C: I’m scared of spiders too!
How many books have you written so far?
DS: I’ve published 56 (including books for adults as well as children), with book 57 coming out at the start of September, and books 58 to 60 due to see the light of day next year. I’ve written probably between another 10 to 15 books that haven’t been published — some of them will most likely never be published, though there are some that I plan to return to one day and polish up.
C: What are you writing now?
DS: I’m working on the final three books of my Archibald Lox series, which are due to be published at some point in 2022. I released the first three books last year, and books 4 to 6 this summer.
C: That’s all of my questions answered. I want to thank Darren Shan for letting me interview him. It was a lot of fun!
Hope you all enjoyed reading. I wonder who I will interview next….
Stay happy and keep reading horror!
KR: Darren’s latest book Archibald Lox And The Rubicon Dictate is out September 1st, and can be ordered HERE
The kidnapping of a prince shocks the Merge and turns the Grop Tourney on its head.
In New York, a desperate Archie and Inez play a cunning game of chess with the fates.
But if they are to force a checkmate, they must travel to the heart of an enemy empire and face down the rulers of a merciless realm…
Gory Corey
Corey is a reader, gamer, and writer from the U.K.
His Daddy’s name is Simon Paul Wilson, and he writes books. One day, Corey will too.
Corey likes to read books by Derek Landy, Terry Pratchet, and R.L. Stine.
When he’s not reading, he can be found playing Minecraft Dungeons.
Darren Shan
Darren Shan (born July 2, 1972 in London, England) is the pen name of the Irish author Darren O’Shaughnessy, as well as the name of the protagonist of his book series The Saga of Darren Shan, also known as The Cirque Du Freak Series in the United States. He is the author of the series The Demonata, The Saga of Larten Crepsley, and Zom-B. He has also released the stand-alone novel, The Thin Executioner, and the stand-alone short novels, Koyasan, and Hagurosan. Plus, for adults, he released The City Trilogy (originally under the name of D.B. Shan), and Lady of the Shades…
Find out more about Darren by visiting his official website www.darrenshan.com
You can follow Darren on Twitter @darrenshan
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