The name of this writer is well known to adolescent readers. His books firmly occupied a worthy place on their bookshelves. They attract the attention of young readers with seemingly everyday stories. But at the same time, books do not just overturn the familiar picture of the world. They are amazing. And for good reason.
The author of books knows the cherished dreams and genuine aspirations of readers. And not just know. Masterfully describes and makes you experience a bunch of emotions. With the heroes of the books of Eduard Verkin, they commit ridiculous acts, fall into extreme situations. But the most important thing is to get out of the mess and remain a real person.
Childhood with a "snowman"
Verkin Eduard Nikolaevich was born in the city of Vorkuta in May 1975. The writerâs father is a miner, and his mother is a pharmacist. As the author himself recalls, in kindergarten they often liked to frighten each other with horror stories about a terrible snowfield abducting children. One told me in horror how the snowman dragged the dog away, the other saw him in the barn. And the third boy did get an incredible story about how a friend went into the snowstorm in a store and did not return - he took away a snowfield. The author jokes that the kindergarten "Sun" is one of the most vivid childhood memories. Some cottage cheese casseroles were worth.
School years
The school, as the author tells about himself, was the most ordinary, average. Horrible stories and snowfields are a thing of the past. Ten years is one boredom. Until the seventh grade, he studied under the strict supervision of parents, which could not but affect the learning process - diplomas, victories at olympiads, excellent marks. In high school, he studied just as well, but it required additional mental effort. This affected the performance, as a result - several triples in the certificate.
Work days
Since he did not enter the institute after school, I had to go to work. This reasoned him. According to the writer himself, he was eager to learn further. And in 1993, Verkin Eduard entered the university in the city of Syktyvkar without any problems. He studied simultaneously at two faculties: in law and in history.
Until 1999, after studying, he worked as a teacher in Vorkuta at one of the universities. It was at this time that he began to study literature and went to study at the Literary Institute. In 2003, after completing the courses, he began to write. Today he is a famous author of numerous children's books, a member of the Writers' Union. Married, has a son.
Attempt at writing
The first work that deserves attention, Verkin Eduard considers the competition work dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the victory in the Second World War. She took no place, but was printed in one of the newspapers and brought the author, albeit a small, but the first fee.
He wrote constantly, in the evenings, after work - unloved and unpromising. The author himself jokes that in the city of endless nights and the same endless days with the setting sun, all conditions are created in order to invent his own world.
First novel
The book "Place of Dreams" is one of the best for a teenage audience. Awarded the prize for the best fantasy work. Fiction for children, which will make modern teens take their mind off computers and shooters. The thirteen-year-old character was âdrawn intoâ a computer game so much that it became problematic to return to the ordinary world. You are in the Place of Dreams. Now don't complain.
In order to move to the next level, you need to learn something new, become better and learn to separate the good from the bad. You will have to languish from thirst in the desert hot from the sun, risk your life, demolish goblin bullying. The hero of the book will have to go a long way, and a lot of surprises and adventures await him.
The book makes you think, discover something new. Reading the novel leaves a strong, deep impression. The book marked the beginning of the series of science fiction novels âThe Chronicle of the Dream Countryâ:
- "Place of Dreams" (2006);
- The Bee Wolf (2007);
- âCats walk acrossâ (2007);
- âSnow Dogsâ (2009);
- A Brief History of Darkness (2013).
Eduard Verkin. Books
The author works in different genres. In total, he wrote more than 90 novels, novels and stories for children - from horror to realism. Cycles of works:
- âThe Adventures of Vitka and Genkaâ - the cycle includes 8 books published from 2004 to 2016. Tales of the adventures of three friends. The character of the book Zhmurkin constantly pulls friends into trouble: either they rob the robbers, then they wander in the woods, then they go fishing for a giant pike .
- âInvestigations of Felix Kuropyatkinâ - 7 books of the cycle were published from 2005 to 2008. The hero of the cycle Felix is ââa fighter with the forces of Darkness. They crossed the Kuropyatkin road more than once. So he is not new to this business, but a fighter with solid experience behind him. With whom he only had to fight - and with the vampire rodent, and with the dead general, and with the spirit of the artist. But he always came out victorious due to his resourcefulness and optimism.
- âBlueberry Seagullâ - science fiction for children, 3 books, 2009 editions tell of two teenagers of the future: a ârobot ownerâ and a fighter for the rights of robots. They met face to face and fought for the only Blueberry Gull ship in their world. The ship is about to leave the planet. Which of them will win the battle and write their name in the history of piracy?
The funniest book
According to Edward, one of the funniest he considers the story "The Raven Cutter". Such a profession existed in the real world, but in the 19th century. The peasants then lived poorly, and in the worst of times they had the only food available - raven meat. Then the biteer went hunting and killed the raven, biting them by the neck. But realistic and terrible stories were left out of the book.
The story tells about the descendant of such a raven bite. The young blogger lives in a provincial town and writes articles. As a budding journalist who won the Olympics, he is sent on a journey. On the bus, he meets the same winners of the competition - musicians, athletes, artists. So begin the fun adventures of the "golden youth."
Book from childhood
Verkin Eduard recalls how they were forced to read biographies of young heroes at school. They even called classes in their honor. But they taught uninteresting, boring, albeit with an excess. Few students took this seriously. But these teenagers were real heroes. So one of the pioneer heroes Len Golikov somehow "did not hook."
As an adult, Edward came across documents telling about him. And he imagined how a sixteen-year-old boy was participating in battles. On account of a large number of Nazis killed, bridges undermined by him, the general captured. And the author decided that such feats should be written.
After the war, they began to write about heroes, look for materials and photographs. It turned out that Leninâs photo was not at all. Then they turned to the mother of the hero. She said that he and his sister had almost the same face. The sister was dressed, the machine was hung around the neck and photographed. It so happened that in the photo the pioneer hero with burning eyes is a disguised girl.
Many years later, they found a real photo. But by then all the monuments were made with a photo of her sister. So the story was born. The main character of the "Cloud Regiment" tells everyone that he can not be photographed and impossible to kill. He is invulnerable. But once itâs possible to take a photo, and before the heroâs death, the countdown begins.
The novel raises quite serious topics. The book contains scenes that are hard for the child's psyche and cannot be avoided. Therefore, the author had to soften the details. Books are rarely written easily, but Cloud Regiment was created in four months.
The heroes of the novel fall to a rural artist who foresees the future. He transfers his vision to the canvas, which he calls the âCloud Regimentâ. Eduard Verkin says that the prototype of the artist is a real face. He lived in the village and, when he died, the inhabitants cut one of his paintings into pieces and carried them home.
In those days, there were no photographers in the villages, and he was often asked to paint a portrait or capture a wedding. Good by nature Yefim Chestnyakov, the village children painted stars. Here are those whom he endowed with asterisks, all returned from the war with real rewards. These are the real stories that formed the basis of the Cloud Regiment book.
How are books born?
With each child in the first years of life there is a great many stories: scary and funny, ridiculous and funny. Most of his stories, says Edward, occurred to him in childhood. I read something in the newspaper. Some story was told, and everything remained in memory. Fun books come out much easier. But sometimes it doesnât work out at all. A ready-made novel is lying, you feel something is wrong. How the whole work will not work, and you take it apart into pieces.
As soon as he began to compose, recalls Eduard Verkin, the books did not work out very well. And I decided somehow to write about my grandmother. A simple plot, grandmother goes to a church holiday with her little dog in a cemetery and cleans the graves. Recalls all the good that a man did to her. And then he remembers something bad and pulls out flowers from the grave. Thus, it appears at the grave of her husband, who died at the front.
According to the author, the story "Star City" turned out. And since then, he knows what happened - what does not. What will be claimed by young readers, what will not work. Perhaps that is why his books are considered by teenagers to be among the most beloved, because he knows his reader.