As mentioned in Blog 4, The Spook’s Apprentice has been turned into a stage play, which will be performed on 1st and 2nd December at Thornton Little Theatre in Lancashire.

Tickets are priced at £5 for adults and £4 for OAPs and children and are available through the theatre box office on 01253 869138.

Visit the website at www.wyrebc.gov.uk

The visits to Australia and New Zealand went really well and they were followed by a tour of America (six cities in two weeks) and a short tour of Romania. So I’ve been really busy but it was great to see those countries and talk to readers of the series. In Romania I was taken to Transylvania and toured Bran Castle a place that ‘Vlad the Impaler’ once visited. There I got lots of inspiration for a future book.

The ‘Spook’s Sacrifice’ (Book Six) is mostly set in Greece. In Book seven we’ll return to the County but I am seriously considering setting Book Eight in Transylvania. As I write the ‘Spook’s Bestiary’ I’m developing the mythology further and there will be three places on the earth where dark forces are most likely to stir; three places where portals to the dark are most easily opened. They are: Greece, Romania and, of course, the County.

As part of ‘Lancashire Reads’, an initiative by Lancashire Libraries to encourage reading and get everyone to read the first book in the series, Dawn Spooner from Thornton Library came up with the idea of getting local children involved in a dramatisation of ‘The ‘Spook’s Apprentice’ and she is now the project manager. Jaclyn Pope, of the Paul Nicholas School of Acting, wrote the script and directed the students’ rehearsals. Additionally, five young artists from Millfield Science and Performing Art College have created the backdrops which are to be digitised and projected onto the stage

I went along to a rehearsal of the play on the 13th of November and I was really impressed by the acting and the hard work that has gone into the production and I will be attending both performances to give a very short talk and sign books in the interval.

So the play will be performed at Thornton Little Theatre, Lancashire on the 1st and 2nd of December at 8pm. Tickets are £5 for adults and £4 for oaps and children. Tel 01253 869138.

I’m about to start working on Draft Five of ‘The Spook’s Sacrifice’. I’ve also just written a short story for America called ‘Grimalkin’s Tale’. Hopefully, this will be featured in ’The Spook’s Mistake’ paperback in summer. It tells the story of how Grimalkin fought to become the witch assassin of the Malkin Clan. One day I hope to write a full length book featuring her.

Well, back to the writing or I’ll miss my deadlines!

Best wishes,

Joseph Delaney

Thanks to everyone who took part in the recent Ghost Story Writing competition that ran during Joseph Delaney’s live events. Congratulations to our three winners, whose stories were chosen from the many entries by Joe himself.

1st: Bones Baby by June-Marie Jolly (read June-Marie’s winning entry)

2nd: Mysterious Mabel by Tara Griffin (read Tara’s winning entry)

3rd: The Spirit of the Cliff by Shannon Jackson (read Shannon’s winning entry)