Spook's author Joseph Delaney dies aged 77

Delaney's books sold more than 4.5 million copies around the world and have been translated into 30 languages

Author Joseph Delaney, who was best known for the Spook's series, has died at the age of 77, his family have said.

The former teacher, who was born in Preston and lived in Manchester, published his first work The Spook's Apprentice in 2004 and went on to write more than 25 novels for children.

The Spook's Apprentice was made into a film, Seventh Son, in 2014.

His children Joanne, Paul and Stephen said his "boundless" imagination let him live his dream of being an author.

In an interview on his website, Delaney said he had been "inspired by Tolkien and wanted to write like him", but had "failed miserably and lost count of the many times that my manuscripts were rejected".

He said his agent suggested he began writing for children and the idea for his first novel had been "an idea jotted in my notebook almost 18 years earlier, but I hadn't realised its worth".

'Indomitable style'

After the success of The Spook's Apprentice, he left his job as an English teacher and went on to write 12 more titles in the best-selling dark fantasy series The Wardstone Chronicles.

He wrote another 17 books predominantly set in the same world.

His works, which won a number of prizes including the Lancashire Book Award, have sold more than 4.5 million copies around the world and have been translated into 30 languages.

He adapted the names of many places from his early life into locations in his books, turning Preston, Chipping and Lancaster into Prieston, Chipenden and Caster, and said the haunted house which the central Spook character took all his apprentices to was based on his childhood home.

"As far as I know the house wasn't haunted, but it is where I had the recurrent nightmares that are featured in both The Spook's Apprentice and The Spook's Tale," he said.

In a statement released through his publisher Penguin Random House, his children said he had died on Tuesday "after an illness, which, in his indomitable style, he kept to himself and his family so he could carry on with writing as much as he possibly could".

'Completely magical'

They said he had been "a wonderful dad and a deeply caring man with an infectious sense of humour, especially after a glass of red wine" and they were "very proud of what he achieved".

"There is a great deal of Dad in his writing, and we see that in every page," they said.

"When we were young children, Dad would tell us very scary stories that should not have been told after dark.

"We are so fortunate to have those memories."

Ruth Knowles, who was his editor for many years, said working with him was "frustrating at times" as he did not plan or plot in advance but it was also "completely magical as the creatures and characters from his worlds would slowly come into focus, journeying into brilliantly terrifying adventures".

"I hope he's with the ghosts of his beloved Lancashire now and that there's some delicious red wine on tap," she added.

Delaney is survived by his second wife, Rani, his two sons and daughter, and his grandchildren.