Shane Hegarty, the former arts editor of The Irish Times, made headlines in 2013 when he signed a substantial six-figure four-book deal with HarperCollins for his Darkmouth series of children’s fantasy books. In January 2015, the film rights for the Darkmouth series were sold in a high six-figure deal.
I really wanted Marianne Gunn O’Connor as my agent… I had written about 5,000 words and needed to know if it was any good or not. I thought ‘If she thinks it’s worth something, then it’s definitely worth pursuing. If she doesn’t, then I have to take it on the chin.’ So I sent her 5,000 words and she got back very quickly to say she wanted to see more. I came back with 15,000 words.
We were expecting twins… when I really started working on Darkmouth properly. I remember being in Holles Street just before Christmas 2012 – the twins were being induced – and reading an email from Marianne saying she really liked it and asking when I could have it finished. I told her Easter, then thought ‘What have I done? This is a ridiculous promise to make.’