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Derek
Landy was born in 1973 Lusk, County Dublin.
He is an author and screenwriter. He has written two
screenplays that have been made into films, Dead Bodies and Boy Eats
Girl. Derek Landy then moved onto writing
Skulduggery Pleasant, published by Harper Collins. The second book
of the series
Skulduggery Pleasant 2: Playing With Fire has just been released
whilst a third book in the series entitled 'Skulduggery Pleasant
3: The Faceless Ones' is due to be released in April 2009.
Totz2teens have
been lucky enough to interview Derek Landy recently, so why not carry on
and read what he had to say.
How do you
conceive your plot ideas?
Ideas come from everything. I get ideas from comics and books and
movies and TV and music and world events and people I know and things
that have happened to me, or things that I wish would happen to me…
Everyone has
ideas, and a lot of the time, everyone has the same ideas. But it’s what
you do with them that counts. The real trick is to take an idea, find
its most unique point, and sharpen it until it cuts through anything
else like it. Then you have something special.
Have you
written a book you love that you have not been able to get published?
No, actually, but I have written loads of film scripts that I’ve
loved and that haven’t been made into films. That’s the risk you take as
a writer- you devote so much of your time and energy and passion to one
piece of work, never knowing if anyone else is going to like it…!
How long did it
take you to publish your first book, after you started trying?
Well, I’ve kind of been lucky as far as books go…! I started writing
Skulduggery Pleasant in the summer of 2005. By November, I had a book
twice as long as it is now, and my agent said that she loved it, but
that I needed to cut it down. I went back and edited it, and by the end
of December, I had it where it needed to be.
My agent sent
the book out a few weeks later, and it took two weeks for Harper Collins
to say that they wanted it. I just got lucky!
What do
you consider to be your best accomplishment?
Who
inspired you to write?
My best accomplishment, as far as writing goes, is probably the first
script I wrote. It was called Dead Bodies, and it was made into a movie
in 2003, and it was the first sign to everyone around me that I wasn’t
wasting my time, and that I actually had some talent.
It’s because of
Dead Bodies that I didn’t give up, and it led to my second film, which
got me my agent, and my agent believed that I could write a book, which
led to Skulduggery!
Did you always
want to write?
Oh yes. When I was a kid, I loved writing. I had lots of friends,
but I was quite happy to spend entire days by myself, playing with my
toys or writing my stories.
Given that many
of us were raised in the era of children’s literature that was dominated
by Enid Blyton and her ilk. Would you say that modern children’s
literature is of a higher quality and more in touch with their readers
than ever before?
I’m not expert on children’s literature, so I’m going to stay away
from making any kind of definitive comment on the quality question! I
will say that modern children’s books are probably more in touch with
their readers than before, simply because they have to be. Kids are a
lot more cynical now, and if they feel a writer isn’t being absolutely
genuine with them, they’re not going to waste their time.
I think younger
readers are looking for fun and escapism and laughs and thrills and a
good story, but most of all they’re looking for some kind of truth in
whatever they read or whatever they watch- the same as the rest of us.
How do your family react to your career path?
My mother was worried initially, because being a writer is generally
not a full-time job. It usually pays little, and it’s very hard to get
noticed, and there is so much work and struggle and luck involved in
getting a book published or a movie made…
These days, though?
Oh
she loves it!
Skulduggery Pleasant Playing With Fire is a
truly genre-busting book best described as comic horror adventure, Derek
Landy created an irresistible character in the wise-cracking, sophisticated
and oh-so-well dressed Skulduggery Pleasant. A powerful magician with a
particular penchant for fire, a master of dirty tricks and an ace burglar,
he’s also very dead. He and his sidekick Stephanie thought that they had
saved the world. But that’s before the notorious Baron Vengeous shows up,
along with a lot of dead bodies and vampires proving to be the duos biggest
challenge yet.
For those that are brave enough to really
step into the world of Skulduggery, The Munchkin Army might the answer. This
new online experience will enable users to join Skulduggery’s secret army,
where they can battle characters from the books and compete against each
other to accomplish special missions on and offline. Those with skill and
determination will win rewards such as mp3’s, screensavers, bebo skins and
even exclusive content from Derek Landy himself. Members must move up the
ranks to get closer to reaching the final prize…to be revealed…
www.skulduggerypleasant.co.uk
Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy
ISBN: 9780007257058 £6.99
Paperback HarperCollins Children's Books - released 1st September 2008
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