Born in London in 1972, Darren O'Shaughnessy [writing as Darren Shan] moved to Limerick with his parents and younger brother. He returned to London to study Sociology and English, then worked for a TV cable company. His first adult novel, Ayuamarca, has been published by Orion and his writing has been likened to Clive Barker and Iain Banks. He is now a full-time writer of TV scripts and novels.