Earlier this season the matchday programme interviewed best selling author and PNE fan Joseph Delaney.
The Spook's books have captured the imagination of young readers worldwide and there is even talk of the books breaking into Hollywood. We caught up with the Preston-born writer to talk about his whirlwind career and his love for North End.
A recurring nightmare as a child proved to make all of Joseph Delaney's dreams come true as the Preston-born writer has made a huge impression on the literary world, releasing a set of science fiction books that would go onto become a global success.
But something that has given Delaney more pleasant thoughts growing up as a local lad has been the writer's love of Preston North End. Delaney has been a season ticket holder in the Sir Tom Finney Stand since 2001, but has been turning out at Deepdale for many years prior to this.
The One And Only caught up with the writer of the award winning Spooks series who revealed when he attended his first home game for the Lilywhites.
"I remember going to see my first home game against Arsenal. If my memory serves me correctly PNE had been runners up in the first division the previous season," he told the programme whilst staying in New Zealand.
"I can't remember any details from the early games I watched but I do remember Tom Finney giving a speech at the end of the very last game that he played for PNE."
Away from his love for North End, Delaney had a long standing vision of becoming a science fiction writer and decided to retire from his job as a teacher at Blackpool Six Form to focus on becoming a full time writer.
The teacher drew inspiration from so many other sources which encouraged him to take a chance at getting his work published.
"I've always read a lot of fiction. Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' inspired me and so did countless other authors. So many times I've finished a book and thought: 'I wish I'd written that!'
"I was looking forward to writing full-time but at that time I was also enjoying my job as a teacher and I had to think twice about giving it up. Once I did so, within weeks I started to enjoy my freedom and knew I'd made the right decision."
This proved to be a brilliant decision by the local writer who released a few children's novels before publishing The Spook's Apprentice in 2004. However, Delaney wasn't aware of the success what was to come following the release of the first book, with the series now selling worldwide, being translated in 24 languages.
"At that time the first book had sold to America but I still wasn't sure how much I'd be earning and whether I'd have to worry about where the next pint of beer was coming from. Had I been a young man with a young family I wouldn't have been able to take the risk."
"He [Finney] was my childhood football hero so that was something special!"
Joseph on his hero, who is also called Tom!
It may sound like a risk for somebody to write about a recurring nightmare which they had as a youngster but that is exactly what Delaney did. Delaney has taken a lot of pride in coming from Lancashire and this has proven to be one of his biggest sources of inspiration whilst writing the acclaimed series.
"I rely on dreams a lot and a recurrent nightmare I had in the Preston house on Water Lane was one source of inspiration. Additionally, I live in a village called Stalmine which has its own boggart - so that helped.
"Lancashire is full of folk tales about ghosts, boggarts and witches, so I've drawn upon those ideas and tweaked them to make them my own. Also the county is rich in history and has spectacular landscapes."
Delaney has gone on to write a further six books in the Spooks series with the production line being in full flow during the noughties, with the Preston fan releasing one book every year since 2004. Delaney's favourite of his books though has been the fourth in the series which was printed three years ago, with the book being located in another Lancashire location.
"My personal favourite is 'The Spook's Battle' set in Pendle. I'd just become a full-time writer and had more time to write and plan. I did a lot of research but threw most of it away and invented my own witches. It was fun to write and have lots of action and weird characters and events."
Despite including local areas in his books but often under disguised names, the creator of The Spooks has never actually included North End in any of his publications, although he has attempted to write a book in the past with a strong Preston North End link.
Also, many people belief that the main character in The Spooks Apprentice Tom, could be based on the most famous apprentice in the City, Sir Tom Finney. When asked about this possible connection, Delaney was quick to shrug off the suggestion.
"Not directly but it is a good strong name and the idea was probably already planted deep within my mind. I did once start writing a detective thriller set in Preston; the hero was a PNE fan."
The former teacher's proudest moment since becoming a writer has coincided with his love for Preston North End though, a moment that had seen him face-to-face with his childhood football hero with the strong name.
"There have been many proud moments. Just seeing my first book on sale was great! Recently, however, there was something completely unexpected. The Spook's Apprentice was chosen for Lancashire Reads, the idea being to get people reading and visiting libraries more.
"Reading champions were selected and to my amazement there is a picture of the most famous Lancashire reading champion of all, Tom Finney, holding my book! He was my childhood football hero so that was something special!"
As a teenager growing up in Preston, Delaney was captivated by the noise that used to bellow out from the
Deepdale stadium. This enthralled the youngster and that prompted him to visit the stadium which captured everyone's imagination for ninety minutes during Saturday afternoons.
"I lived near Watling Street Road and whilst playing football in the streets we could hear the big cheers go up when Preston scored a goal. They were big crowds of over 30,000 people then and they made a lot of noise. Then I started going to the home games."
Since supporting North End, Delaney has pinpointed Sir Tom Finney,
Paul McKenna, John Macken,
Graham Alexander, David Healy,
Andy Lonergan, David Nugent and Ricardo Fuller as some of his favourite ever North End players.
"I lived near Watling Street Road… we could hear the big cheers go up when Preston scored."
The author's hometown roots
The vast majority of these players are part of North End's modern era but nowadays, the writer spends a third of the year in New Zealand, meaning that his season ticket goes to a family member who are as equally keen on the Lilywhites.
"My son, Stephen, is a strong PNE fan and usually sits in my seat when I am in New Zealand. At one time I used to attend games with my wife, Marie, but sadly she died in 2007. PNE home games have always been family occasions and my grandson's James and Thomas are fans.
"However, the biggest fan of all is probably my brother-in-law, David Smith. It was David who persuaded me to get a season ticket back in 2001. He has been there supporting the club for many years and remembers them almost dropping out of the league!"
Something that promises to continue long into the future is the legacy of The Spooks series, with the eighth book in the series being released soon.
"I've just had 'Spook's Stories: Witches' published, which is a collection of short stories. Next June 'The Spook's Nightmare', book eight in the series, will be out. And in October, 2010, 'The Spook's Bestiary' will become available; an illustrated encyclopaedia of the Spook's World with sections on ghosts, ghasts, boggarts and witches.
"I hope to bring the series to a satisfactory conclusion and then have a new science fiction series (which I am working on now) published and be successful."
If that isn't enough, The Spooks is set to be hitting the silver screen with the first book in the series planning to be made into a film by one of the most famous production companies in the world.
"The Warner Brothers are still developing the film which is in pre-production at the moment. The first film should be out in 2011 and will be based on 'The Spook's Apprentice' only. If it is a commercial success the other books in the series will also be made into films."
As for the Preston-born writer's future supporting North End, Delaney is looking forward to watching the Lilywhites in the final third of the season when he will be seeing them live for the first time under manager Darren Ferguson.
You can be sure that Delaney will be dreaming of being amongst the pulsating noise and passion of the
Deepdale crowd instead of the ghasts and ghosts from his much-admired books when he returns to Lancashire to follow the side progress from the Sir Tom Finney stand.
"We have had some excellent managers in recent years. I have yet to see the new manager and his team but I return in March to reclaim my seat and I wish them all the best for the remainder of the season."
