A well known Irish children’s horror book author was on hand at a Norfolk school to sign copies of his books and take questions from children.

Darren Shan, who comes from Limerick, visited Old Buckenham High School as part of a promotional tour to promote his latest series Zom-B, a 12 book saga about teenager B Smith who must find a place in a world of racism, zombies and darkness.

The 40-year-old author spoke about his work at an assembly for over 200 students, many of whom were visiting Old Buckenham from nearby towns including Wymondham and Archbishop Sancroft school in Harleston.

He read some extracts from his Zom-B series and talked about his work and some of the topical issues that can come through in his books before fielding questions from the audience.

He then visited a workshop where the students were having their faces painted in grissly horror make-up to reflect some of the characters in the novels before spending an hour-and-a-half signing and leaving messages in the books for the many pupils who attended the event.

The London-born writer, who moved to Ireland aged six, said he had a family connection to the south Norfolk area because his girlfriend’s aunt lived in Quidenham.

He said: “I have always loved writing and horror is my first love. Writing horror novels is the one I love the most.”

As well as Zom-B, his other novels include The Saga of Darren Shan, a 12 part series about the struggles of a boy who has become immersed in the world of vampires, The Demonata series, which deals with the world of demons, the Thin Executioner and the City Trilogy for adult readers, which features a city ruled by gangsters.

Following his visit to Norfolk, Mr Shan was set to visit Bournemouth, Barnet and Yeovil among other places during his UK promotional tour.