Stroke of Genius?

Throughout his career (which took off with 1984's short-story collection ''Books of Blood''), Barker has wanted to craft an epic children's series modeled after a formative influence: C.S. Lewis' ''Chronicles of Narnia.'' However, his longtime publisher, HarperCollins, had always balked at the idea. Management turnover, not to mention internal lobbying by friend and children's-book editor Joanna Cotler, finally led to different thinking. ''It's really kind of interesting how you can get pigeonholed,'' says the writer, enjoying a cup of tea and a fat stogie. ''I've always thought of myself as a populist; it's always been my desire to be in different places.''

By the time HarperCollins had come around in 1999, Barker had been exploring Abarat in paint for four years. Upon his Kaspar Wolfswinkel epiphany, Barker decided to fashion a new fantasy world intuitively, letting the images he was painting flesh out details, locations, and characters. He began writing after completing 100 paintings, and he expects the entire quartet (one volume of which will be published every two years) to contain 600 paintings.

But Barker didn't discover all of Abarat on his easel. He proudly admits that Candy, his heroine, owes her hipness and forthrightness to his adopted daugh- ter, Nicole, whose biological father -- photographer David Arm-strong -- is the man Barker calls his husband. ''You can't have a 14-year-old lass living in close proximity to you and be writing about a girl of roughly the same age and not be influenced,'' says the writer, laughing the laugh of a contented family man.

Was it difficult for the edgy scribe to make the transition to telling stories for kids? ''He was a little nervous at the beginning,'' recalls Cotler. ''He asked me, 'Are there any rules I need to know about?' And I said 'Nope. Just no graphic sex,''' she laughs, '''and maybe give just the thought of violence.'''

Not to worry, hardcore fans: Barker says he hasn't gone soft. After completing the kid stuff, the author says he plans to serve up a dark fantasy trilogy for adults. But he does believe that the kinder, gentler world of Abarat has profoundly changed him. ''The fact that I've been in this place for so long has made me more...shy,'' says the often-outlandish author, who graced the cover of ''Coldheart Canyon'' as a debonair black-and-white-film star. ''If you would have asked anyone to give you two words about Clive Barker when he was a kid, they would have said nervous and shy. With ''Abarat,'' I like to think I've come full circle.''

(Additional reporting by Nick White)