JJ Arcanjo has recently been writing a series of Crook Haven books. Two have already been published and two more will be published next year. The children were able to order the books and have the books signed.

There have been three books that have inspired JJ Arcanjo to write the Crook Haven books – Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events and The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ . The latter book, he admitted was his all-time favourite book from his childhood because it is so humorous.

He shared with the children how he came up with Crock Haven being a school for thieves one day, simply by having a conversation with a friend. He then went on to create the settings and characters based on places and people he knew. To show the children how easy it can be to create these, he encouraged the children to come up with their own settings for the school. Their own ideas were wonderful places – far and wide that he was very impressed with.

The subjects he has invented for his characters to study in the school are – forgery, crimnastics and deception, just to name a few. Again, the children were asked what other types of lessons did they believe thieves should have. A very interesting range of subjects were suggested like hacking and learning how to use gadgets.

The content of these books based on friendship, heists and adventure inspired the children immensely and many questions were asked of JJ Arcanjo regarding his life as an author – in fact, too many for him to answer.

This author visit was truly inspiring and was so informative, hopefully igniting a spark in all the children that anyone could give writing a go.