Thirst

Thirst

Nobody talks about the strange happenings in Maimsbury. No one speaks of the hooded figures glimpsed in the woods, nor the children’s game that went so horribly wrong. But most of all, nobody dares whisper their doubts about the river they have worshipped for centuries.
Like everyone in Maimsbury, Gorse is used to the sacrifices made every spring to the River Yeelde. The life of a farm animal – in return for a year of plenty – seems a fair trade. That is, until a tragedy leads Gorse to a blood-curdling discovery.
Because this year is a Brim Year, and after giving so much, the river needs more than an animal’s life to sate its thirst…
Pushkin Press
Cover illustration by Natalie Smilie
This was actually the first book by Darren Simpson I’ve read, though I’m not sure why because I’ve seen lots of praise on social media from teachers and librarians for him on social media. I think he might be one of those authors I avoided because where others rave I’m often ‘meh’…but I was certainly biting my nose off to spite my face because, when I sat down to read this, I was hooked from the first page and had to finish it the same day. It raises some big thoughts about whether it can be justifiable to do a bad thing, how decisions affect more than just your own loved ones, and having the courage to say no. All wrapped up in a wonderfully gruesome folklore-ish tale set in the vividly imagined world of a small village.
I asked Darren a few questions:
You write dark but hopeful stories. Do you start with a theme or the world or a character…or something else?
Each book seems to have started with a different thing.
Scavengers
was inspired by the sight of cats scrapping over a sandwich at a recycling centre, which got me thinking about animals and humans living on landfill.
The Memory Thieves
was driven by the desire – prompted by the time I crashed my car and went through a rough patch – to encourage emotional openness in young people. In contrast,
Furthermoor
evolved from the conundrum of how to use a vivid, fantastical setting in an urban, realist story. And my latest book,
Thirst
, came from an itch to write horror (leaning into that darkness, I guess), and from a growing appreciation of folklore and the part it still plays in our lives today.
As you can see, I have worryingly little control over where my inspiration comes from. But one thing I do have is the instinct to spot it, grab it and see where it takes me.
Without spoilers, are there any bits that you thought might be too scary or that editors asked you to tone down?
There are a couple of scenes I thought I’d have to tone down or take out altogether. But it turned out I didn’t have to do any of that.
As much as
Thirst
has its grisly moments, they’re never excessive or gratuitous. There’s one scene in particular I thought I’d never get away with in young fiction. But my editor, Sarah Odedina of Pushkin Press, didn’t bat an eyelid. When I quizzed her over this, she said the scene plays a …