Finally, the one you’ve all been waiting for… The Spook’s Nightmare Limited Collector’s Edition is now available to pre-order on Amazon.

Here’s a sneak peek of the full cover:

Thanks to all the loyal fans who’ve been waiting for this!

The ‘Spook’s Nightmare Tour’ has come to an end and I am finally back to my writing. I have met my editor, Sarah, and agreed changes. So I’m now working on Draft Two of Book Eight which is now provisionally titled ‘The Spook’s Destiny’.

For now the ‘Alice Book’ has been postponed and I will not write it until next year. The reason is a good one. Because of plot developments in Book Eight (a big crisis for the main characters at the end) it works better by having the ‘Grimalkin Book’ published immediately after it in October 2011. So now I am writing about Grimalkin. So far it is going really well but, as usual, I am discovering the plot as I write.

On September 30th this year, ‘The Spook’s Bestiary’ will be published. Here is the cover image below.

Yulek Heller is the artist and his work is really impressive; he has truly brought the Bestiary to life. Below is an image he has created for the book.

Above is a skelt, the creature that lives in crevices near water. It has a long translucent bone-tube rather than teeth and sucks blood from its victims neck. Most of you will probably remember the part played by one in ‘The Spook’s Mistake’.

The launch of ‘The Bestiary’ is to be done in conjunction with the ‘Silverdell Bookshop’ in Kirkham. I’ll let you know the date and time as soon as it has been fixed.

Best wishes,

Joseph Delaney

On tour, I recently did two events arranged by Elaine Silverwood and Sue Wardell of the ‘Silverdell Bookshop’, in Kirkham. The first was at Rhyddings Business and Enterprise School, Oswaldtwistle; the second was at Baines School, Poulton-le-Fylde.

Both were excellent events with enthusiastic pupils. Elaine celebrates author visits by creating a special ice cream. She is an expert at this and her vanilla based ice cream using local Ayrshire cream and high quality ingredients (some imported from Italy) has won prizes and is, in my opinion, easily the best in Lancashire. She gave a tub to me and it was labelled ‘Joe’s Blood and Bones’. It fortified me on the journey to my next event and there were suspicious red stains in the delicious mixture that could have been blood. The Spook wouldn’t have touched it (he prefers cheese anyway) but I suspect it would become a hit with the Pendle blood and bone-witches!

With a few red stains around my mouth, I visited Pendle Vale College in the company of Tony from Pritchard’s Book Shop, Formby. Once again the school librarian, Anita Vine, had invited a really great audience. Pendle’s own pupils were augmented by teachers and children from other schools – so it was a really great event.

Waterstones, Bury, was another enjoyable visit. Other authors were also visiting at the same time and the staff got involved by wearing costumes (a young bookseller called Nathan was the spitting image of a spook) and dressing up in animal suits. There was a great party atmosphere.

On June 12th I revisited Central Lancaster High School Library at the invitation of Valerie Laycock. I first went there in 2006 to open the refurbished library and it was great to return. That library is also a resource for the community and it was great to talk to adults as well and be reminded again that not all Spook’s readers are children.

Another highlight of the tour was the event on Sunday, 13th June, at the Harris Library in Preston where I met old friends such as Jake Hope from Lancashire Libraries and Hazel from ‘BookTalk Groups’. Going there is always special to me because it is the library that I first attended as a child and where I borrowed and read my first full-length book, ‘Treasure Island’. I talked to an audience of about fifty, mostly readers who are familiar with the series – amongst them a trio of young sisters who love being witches and spend many a happy hour mixing up potions in their garden shed. Often when I give talks, posters drop off walls and I usually joke that it was a ‘boggart’. This time that didn’t happen but one boy, Evan’s tooth did fall out whilst I was talking!

Finally, here is a new public event to be added to the list. Following two days of school visits arranged by Mary, the owner of the Corner Bookshop in Garstang, on Tuesday June 29th at 4pm I will be signing there and answering questions. If enough readers turn up I may give a talk.

Best wishes,

Joseph Delaney

For the UK entrants, we thought you might like to find out a little bit more about the Manchester Ghost Walk guide, Flecky Bennett…

Flecky Bennett lives in the underground tunnels under the streets of Manchester,
And on this special night he is going to rise to the surface for the selected few.
He will tell them stories of ghosts and the sinister side of his city.
Will he like the look of you!
Will he think you’re brave enough!
When the Town hall bell chimes the hour.
Your night belongs to Flecky…

Find out more about Flecky’s Manchester Ghost Walks…

We have had some brilliant entries so far in the competition. As lots of you who live outside the UK have shown such enthusiasm to enter, we have decided to add an additional category to find one overseas Spook’s Apprentice. The overseas winner will recieve a mystery Spooky prize instead of the Manchester Ghost Walk, and new Spook’s books for a year.

If you would like to enter the overseas competition, please submit your entry in the same way as the UK competition, and make sure to tell us which country you live in.

Good luck!

Today was organized by Tony, the manager of Pritchard’s Bookshop, Formby. I visited and gave talks and signings at three libraries: Maghull, Crosby and Birkdale. It was a chance to meet and thank librarians such as Leslie and Zoe who are great supporters of the series as well as readers who have read ‘Spooks Stories’ right from the very beginning. So I really enjoyed the day.

As you know you can email me directly on www.spooksworld.co.uk. I recently received an email from a librarian who wanted me to feature a librarian in my books to counter the usual stereotype. She wanted me to write about a young attractive fashionable librarian with green eyes! As you know I do not plan my books in much detail but use a big envelope into which I stuff pieces of paper, each with an idea that will feature in a future book. So I decided to use such a librarian in Book Nine (which I will start to write just before Christmas this year). Yes, the Spook and Tom will encounter her soon. Yesterday I met the librarian in question. Her name is Kirsty and her picture is featured here.

On tour with me is Linda, my international publicist, who actually lives in New Zealand and has flown to England to join me on ‘The Spook’s Nightmare Tour’. Here is a photo of us visiting one of the great sights of the Lancashire coastline – the ‘Iron Men’ sculptures which are positioned on the beach. Here you just see one but there are lots of them!

Best wishes,

Joseph Delaney

After two hectic days out selling books with dynamic Tony from Pritchards, Formby, today was very peaceful. I just had one event at the Blackpool Collegiate High School.

This proved to be very interesting because I shared the platform with another author, Jonathan Eaves, whose first book, ‘Rude Awakenings: A Tale of Terra Infirma’, was published this year. We were both returning to our old school. Joanathan attended as a pupil and I actually taught there. Not only that, I taught Jonathan for six whole weeks back in the 1980s!

After answering questions in the library’s ‘Starbooks Cafe’ we both gave a short talk to a mixture of pupils from different schools and some older students from ‘The Blackpool Sixth Form College’ where I also once taught. We tried to vary the usual Q and A session and started by asking each other questions (which had been devised by Jonathan).

Example Question: ‘If you were a politician, what cabinet position would you like and what single piece of legislation would you introduce?’

I replied that I would like to be the Minister responsible for overseeing the torture of witches. As for legislation I would stop swimming witches because it’s very unreliable (most sink and are believed innocent). I would make it compulsory to use the method of jabbing them with a bodkin to find the Fiend’s mark. But I would make sure that Quisitors were properly trained and they would be subject to regular appraisals and have their salaries linked to performance.

To that same question, Jonathan considered how hotel receptionists might be similarly regulated. It was funny and that is his strength. Whereas my books are dark and serious Jonathan’s are full of humour. If you Like Terry Pratchett you will like ‘Rude Awakenings’.

Best wishes,

Joseph Delaney.

To celebrate publication of The Spook’s Nightmare, the seventh book in the Spook’s series, we are running a competition to find seven Spook’s fans to become Spook’s Apprentices.

If you are chosen as one of the seven Apprentices, you will win a place for you, a friend and a parent/guardian to join Joseph Delaney on a spooky ghost tour of Manchester in October 2010. AND you’ll also win free copies of each new Spook’s book to be published until October 2011. But be prepared to show you’ve got what it takes, as we’ll be giving you some Spooky challenges along the way as well!

So, here’s how to enter…

Tell us, in no more than 500 words, why YOU should be chosen as a Spook’s Apprentice and what you would do to spread the word of the Spook.

For example, what have you done already that shows what a huge Spook’s fan you are? Perhaps you made a Spook’s cloak, or have created a video about one of the books. Or, if you were chosen as an Apprentice, would you perhaps set up a scary book club at your school, or arrange a Spooky Halloween sleepover?

Your entry may also include drawings, photographs and videos - so be as creative as you like!

To submit your entry, either write it as a comment in reply to this blog, or email spooksbooks@randomhouse.co.uk. (You can also submit supporting images via the same email address, if you choose to enter via the blog.)

The closing date for entries is 1st September 2010.

Read the full Terms & Conditions

The ‘Spook’s Nightmare Tour’ began on Wednesday 26th June 2010. The first two days were arranged by Tony Higginson of the Pritchard’s bookshops and involved visits to the Sefton and Liverpool areas.

The very first event was at De La Salle School where I gave two talks to enthusiastic audiences. In the afternoon we visited St Jerome’s Primary School followed by a detour to Pritchard’s Formby shop where I did my first shop signing of the tour. In the evening I stayed in sunny Southport and was able to relax with a pint of Guinness and gather my strength for the following day.

We began Thursday promptly with two talks at Meols Cop High School followed by lunch at Range School, Formby where I met some old friends and signed their books. After a trip to St Edwards in Liverpool (to do a follow up to a group I talked to early in the year) it was a drive through heavy traffic to Pritchard’s Crosby shop which was full of readers waiting to get their new books signed. It was unfortunate that we’d kept them waiting but everybody was very patient and in good spirits. The signing rounded off two very busy days.

Another four weeks of touring await and I feel exhausted already. But it is a part of the job that I really enjoy. It is great to meet readers and get feedback and probing questions. Whilst talking to each group I have been telling them about the two websites (www.spooksbooks.com and www.spooksworld.co.uk) and about the competition. The seven winners will become spook’s apprentices, accompany me on a tour of spooky places and win books for themselves and seven friends.

Best wishes,

Joseph Delaney

Are you a huge fan of the Spook’s books?
Would you like to meet Joseph Delaney?
Are you brave enough to take on the challenge…
To become a 2010 Spook’s Apprentice?

To celebrate publication of The Spook’s Nightmare, the seventh book in the Spook’s series, we are running a competition to find seven Spook’s fans to become Spook’s Apprentices.

The seven winners will join Joseph for a Spooky tour in Lancashire.

WARNING: Be prepared to show you’ve got what it takes!

Find out how to enter here on 28th May 2010