Joseph Delaney

Joseph Henry Delaney is an author of science fiction and fantasy books. He has written over a dozen books.

His writing career began with the release of the erotic sci-fi thriller "Mercer's Whore", written under the pen-name of J.K. Haderack. This was followed up by, under his real name, the first in "The Wardstone Chronicles", "The Spook's Apprentice". Which was the first children’s novel he has written and is partly based on the experiences and memories he had as a child. The sequel, entitled "The Spook's Curse" was released in mid-2005, and the third book, "The Spook's Secret", was released in the summer of 2006. In America the series is published as "The Last Apprentice", beginning with "Revenge of the Witch" followed by "Curse of the Bane", "Night of The Soul Stealer", and "Attack of the Fiend". The fourth book of "The Wardstone Chronicles" is called "The Spook's Battle", released in the U.K it was the longest so far in the series. The fifth book, of at least six, "The Spook's Mistake" was set to be published on 5 June 2008 but was released prior to that date. The sixth book was announced to be The Spook's Sacrifice and will probably be released in this year as well as other books.

The rights for the feature-length film of "The Spook's Apprentice" have been acquired by Warner Bros. The film of The first book (The Spooks Apprentice is due to be released in 2009. [cite web | title= Jake Hope interviews Joseph Delaney | url= http://www.achuka.co.uk/interviews/main.php | format=HTTP | accessdate= 2007-12-23]

Early work

On first leaving school he started work as an apprentice engineer. Delaney went on to become an English teacher, before setting up the Media and Film Studies department at Blackpool Sixth Form College. He specialised in vampire literature. He retired after the second Spook’s book was published to write full time.

"The County", as written about in the books, is based upon Lancashire in the north of England. The locations concerned are also largely based upon those known to Delaney, for example, the town of Priestown is based loosely on Preston, where he was born, Lancashire becomes Caster, Blackpool is now the Black Pool and Chipping is Chipenden. He has three children and seven grandchildren. He still lives in the county with his family.

References

External Links

* [http://www.houseoflegends.com.au/Author-Detail.aspx?Author=Delaney,%20Joseph Joseph Delaney at House of Legends]
* [http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Authors/Default.aspx?Page=Author&ID=Delaney,%20Joseph Joseph Delaney at Random House Australia]
* [http://www.spooksbooks.com/ The Wardstone Chronicles Web site]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/lancashire/content/articles/2007/07/09/joseph_delaney_feature.shtml Author interview with the BBC]