I've had a few enquiries/comments over the last few weeks about the pronunciations of certain character names in my books. The latest was on Twitter, where a follower was watching an old interview with me and realised she'd been mispronouncing the name of Seba Nile for all these years -- she was saying Seb(rhymes with web)-ah instead of See-bah.

Look, when it comes to a made-up name -- or even an unusual real name -- there is no "right" or "wrong" way to pronounce it. I never mind when a reader's interpretation of a name doesn't match mine -- I'm sure I've "mispronounced" lots of names myself when I've been reading books by other writers over the years.

(I can't let this quick true story go without mention. When I read the first Harry Potter book, I pronounced Hermione's name as Her-me-own. Then I got invited onto the set when they were making the first film. I was chatting with a very young Emma Watson at one point, and when I got the name wrong, she swiftly, politely, but firmly corrected me with, "Actually, it's Her-my-oh-nee." No room for negotiation on that one!!!)

Anyway, having said that every reader is entitled to their own version of my characters' names, as the author I like to think that my own way of saying them is the offiical way -- not the only way, by any means, and maybe not even the best way, but certainly the certified Darren Shan way! A long time ago, I wrote up a list of the odder names in Cirque Du Freak and the other four books in the series which had been released at that point, and I also did a list for the first three books of The Demonata, in each instance describing how *I* say the names. So, if you want to get in line with the official stance, click on the links below -- but if you'd prefer to go on pronouncing them your own way, that's absolutely fine too. :-)

Cirque -- https://www.darrenshan.com/extras/feature/other-stuff-whats-in-a-name-from-book-5

Demonata -- https://www.darrenshan.com/extras/feature/a-demon-by-any-other-name