The Secret of Crescent Grey

Crescent Grey loved adventure, and found it in the pages of books, but in the real world life wasn't always so great. Orphaned before her first birthday she grew up in the most miserable place imaginable and stranger still, it also just happened to bear her name. But Crescent Grey Orphanage was no ordinary orphanage. An ancient, dark place with a long history of being haunted and other kinds of weird happenings -- a gruesome graveyard, old scary paintings, hidden passageways and odd teachers suspiciously traipsing about at all hours of the night. Everyone seems to have a secret here -- including Crescent herself.

Not knowing who she really was, what her real name is or who her parents were had a profound effect on her and gave Crescent a penchant for solving mysteries and an irresistible curiosity that always seemed to land her in the worst kinds of trouble. Then, a few months before her eleventh birthday she finds a chance to escape her dreary surroundings and forget her mysterious past. Adopted by a caring couple, she finally thinks she is going to lead a normal life. Only something is about to happen to her that will turn her world upside down, make her question everything she knows and change that life forever. Sent back to the place she grew up and forced into a rigorous routine she hates, full of frets about her grades, dodging dreadful teachers, evading awful bullies and putting up with embarrassing situations.

But in the midst of it all she finds things she never truly expected, even from herself: friendship, loyalty, and bravery. And all the while the greatest mystery of all is taking shape around her -- an old evil is brewing, and unbeknown to staff and students alike a series of events is about to unfold that will renew a deadly danger and bring full circle a dark connection from the past which lies at the very heart of the orphanage itself. Caught up in events no adult will believe are Crescent and her friends, and its up to them to solve the mystery, catch the culprit and save the day. But the way is fraught with peril, and a diabolical adversary who comes at them from every turn. And while they must face their fears and confront the enemy, they soon realize that the end of the mystery is only the beginning of the greatest adventure of their lives....

Born in Elyria, Ohio in the Spring of 1970, an only child, R.M.J. Hooper spent his life being influenced by great stories. Whether it was science fiction and fantasy novels, superheroes in comics, or the great adventures of his favorite film heroes.

Drawing from the age of three, he always drifted toward the creative and imaginative. He greatly contributed to his middle school yearbook, involved himself in art classes, creative writing, and Drama Club in High School.

After attending the University of Cincinnati for Commercial Art, he transferred to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh (AIP) and attained a degree in Animation and Multimedia. Daunted by the vanishing genre of traditional, hand-drawn animation and the struggles of succeeding as a professional artist, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where he became a professional caricature artist.

Always captivated by British culture (from its long history and legends such as King Arthur and Robin Hood, British 1980's pop music, films, television shows, and classic literature) he finally had a chance to visit the U.K. in 2004. Inspired by London's rich tapestry of history, parks, soaring architecture, and friendly people, he spent the next four years developing the history and characters that inhabit the world of Crescent Grey.

Spitfire's Grave is the first part in Book One of an intricately planned epic series about the girl Crescent Grey, her friends and their adventures.