Shane Hegarty was a journalist and editor of the Irish Times , and before that worked in radio and the music business. Now a full time writer, he is the author of the bestselling middle-grade series, Darkmouth- which is currently being developed into a big screen animation by Oscar-nominated director Douglas Sweetland and Moana Head of Story, Dave Pimentel. Darkmouth was nominated for the Waterstones Prize. Boot is his first series for younger readers. He lives near Dublin with his wife and a brutally honest young readers focus group - otherwise known as his four children.