Pentagon Pirate Gang & The Poisoned Apple follows a group of friends involved in a dangerous mystery involving poisoned students, hidden notebooks, secret orchards, & adults they cannot trust. What draws you to write middle-grade adventure tales?

JW – I wanted to write something for my two teen children, their primary school was/is called Orchard PRimary. There’s the first link to the first book (The Secret of Orchard). I wanted a school setting and Sherwood Forest isn’t far away, so all those elements drew me to start the writing.

Then creating a fantasy world that readers could get lost in and enjoy, by building key elements to sustain the story over several books, like the notebooks, the mystery behind the orchards, what are the secrets and why are the teachers trying to hide them? Then the ‘enhancement’ element using fruit (hence the School of Fruit Teaching (SOFT), where students gained thier enhanced ability from a fruit based mixture (“ There is great power in humble fruit”) is my personal mantra. This helped design the teachers names (mainly fruit or plant based) and became part of the whole package for the themes, plots and sub-plots.

The School of Fruit Teaching has its own language, traditions, games, rivalries, and hidden secrets. How did you develop the rules and culture of this world?

JW – very carefully. Planning out the story, then who interacts with it and why, leaving gaps and questions to be filled in or answered in following books. Trying understand what would make the book readable from invested buyers, who wnat to feel and root for the baddies or the goodies or both, but still learn some lessons and empathise with some of the characters or what they have to endure, so although fantasy some of these emotions and feeling I hope become real, making the reader want more, but understand what is happening and why.

How do you approach writing young characters who must face fear, secrets, and difficult choices?

JW – Carefully. I did wonder how much ‘pain’ or ‘fear’ to put them through. The characters are young and so will many of the readers, yet there needs to be some ‘mild dread’ which could face any of us, but each handles it that fear differently, even at a young age. But alos adding the support network of their close friends, means that no one is really suffering completely alone, with no help in sight.

Additionally, these young characters need to be able to hold secrets, not spill the beans even when they are itching to. The revelation at the wrong time could cause major upset, so they are learning many life skills as they draw on each others strengths.

What do you hope young readers learn from the choices Aime and the others make?

JW – I do hope they firstly enjoy the book. Be entertained by it and tell their friends to read it. then there are the ‘lessons’, if you want to call the that. Friendships, courage, bravery, patience, respect (for the teachers even when they may be wrong), plus knowing they have the backing of their parents, even though they are not with them. Ultimately i like to hope that enough readers are keen enough to follow the whole journey from start to finish, and bring many more with them.
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