NOVINKA | 2.9.2010 09:43 | KOMENTÁRE [5]
AUTOR: Interview with Darren Shan

Darren Shan, author of the equally-named Saga, has agreed to answer a few questions to our readers.

We submitted your questions to Darren and here come the answers:

Why did you decide to name the main character Darren Shan? Do you feel the character reflects your personality somehow?
I did it in the beginning for practical reasons. I was also writing books for adults, under my real name, Darren O'Shaughnessy. I decided to use a different name for my children's books and came up with Darren Shan. Then, because I knew I was going to start the book by saying it was all a true story, I decided to use the name for the main character as well, to blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Darren the character isn't much different than any of my other main characters, in that he is based on myself to a certain extent, but lives as his own creation. We are not one and the same just because we share the same name.

Do you have any special sympathy towards vampires? Would you like to be a vampire if you could?
I love vampires! I saw my first Dracula movie when I was 5 or 6 years old and I fell in love. I always liked horror, and vampires were the creepiest creatures I ever came across. As for being a vampire... no, I'm pretty happy as a human.

How does it feel to be famous? Do the people stop you on the street often? And what about new opportunities that the fame opened you? (traveling to places where you have never been before, etc.)
As a writer, you get to enjoy the nice bits of fame and not the nasty bits. So although my name is widely known, my face is not, and I rarely get recognised on the street by fans. I like that -- it means I can live a normal life and just enjoy the good parts of success, such as being able to travel widely.

Mr. Crepsley was one of the favourite characters of fans. Why did you let him die?
One of the unique things about my books is that virtually nobody is safe. I apply the laws of the real world to my novels. In the real world, if there is a war, death will be doled out randomly -- you won't be spared just because you have all the characteristics of a hero! I don't protect my characters. I create very dangerous situations in my stories, and a consequence of that is that there is a high body count. But fans of Mr Crepsley should not be too sad -- he returns in a four book series, about his life before he met Darren, starting in the UK and USA this month!!

Who is your favourite character and why?
Mr Crepsley. He developed over the course of the books and became someone very special. That's why I was drawn to go back and write more books about him -- I felt that his story just had to be told.

Do you miss the writing of the story of Darren Shan?
Not really. For me writing is always about moving forward. I had a great time working on The Saga, and it fell into place more smoothly than anything else I've ever worked on. But I'm always focusing on the next challenge. I don't want to boast about past glories -- I want to move forward and keep trying out new material.

If you had a chance to write the saga again, would you change anything? Would you write the ending in the same way?
No. The ending was in place from quite early on in the process -- I knew by the end of the second or third book how it was all going to finish. The only thing I would maybe do differently if I could go back would be to include a bit more about Steve in the first half of the series. I thought the series was going to be longer, so I didn't want to over-use his character. If I'd known from the beginning that I would stop at book 12, I would probably have brought him back a bit earlier in the storyline.

And also some question about movie. Are you satisfied with it? Which character was, in your opinion, displayed the best way? Which not? Did you have the chance to influence actor cast in the movie?
I chose not to get involved in the movie, so I had nothing to do with the making of it. But I enjoyed it when I saw it. I felt it was an interesting adaptation. It was very different to the books, but I didn't mind that. I felt that John C Reilly was excellently cast as Mr Crepsley. The only real criticism I have is that I felt they made a big mistake in cutting out the character of Sam Grest -- his presence would have allowed them to be a bit more solemn near the end, and to hit viewers on a deeper emotional level. But overall I was happy with how the film turned out.

And some fast questions. What would you choose?:

books – film -- I like them both!

vampires – spiders -- vampire.

pen and paper or computer -- I write all my books on computer.

sci-fi or fantasy -- As with books and film, I love them both, so I can't choose between them.

We would like to thank Darren Shan for granting us the interview and wish him many success in his further writing.

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