Candy Jar Books has announces its latest free-for-download short story in The Lucy Wilson Mysteries:

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: 8.46
Written by Julia Press Simmons

It's 2020 and Lucy Wilson has just witnessed the death of George Floyd, followed by the toppling of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol.

Over eight minutes and forty-six seconds, Lucy and Hobo travel through time to discover why the past still has lessons to teach us all.

Written by critically acclaimed African American author, Julia Press Simmons, 8.46 has been created in response to the death of George Floyd and protests that followed. She says:

When Shaun at Candy Jar asked me to work on this story I was so pleased. Lucy Wilson is an amazing character and I am honoured and humbled to play a small part in her universe.

Head of publishing, Shaun Russell, felt that it was very important to tackle this subject:

Lucy Wilson is a not only a lead female character (which there are very few), but also a person of colour. I felt it would be a dereliction of duty to not cover this topic. I also wanted the story to feel authentic so, through a mutual friend, I contacted the wonderful Julia Press Simmons.

Julia has written more than twenty books including The Strawberry Mansion, and the award-winning play Down There (selected by the Black Festival Emerging Playwright’s series in Nashville). 8.46 is a departure from the standard Lucy Wilson tale. Julia has written a story which is based on her real-life experiences growing up. She continued:

I must admit that initially I struggled with the tone of this project. Lucy is such a marvellous role model for children and I wanted her story to capture my personal experiences while keeping it age-appropriate. Although BAME life in the UK is different from the African American experience I felt that there was enough commonality for me to tell this tale.

Tim Gambrell, who has written Lucy Wilson & the Bledoe Cadets, as well as several short stories including the upcoming The Midwife & the Alien, was involved in the editing process of this story. He said:

8.46 is a brief and powerful story that needs to be told, in my view. It doesn’t labour the fact. It doesn’t accuse the reader of anything. It just tells a simple story and packs quite an emotional punch with it.”

To download The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: 8.46 please visit the The Candy Jar website.

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Candy Jar Books has announced a new non-ficton book collecting together facts and opinions from all fifty-seven years of the rich history of Doctor Who:

100 Objects of Dr Who
Written by Philip Bates
Cover by Martin Baines


So, all of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will: where do you want to start…?"

100 Objects of Doctor Who is a celebration of everyone’s favourite sci-fi show. Perfect for fans, no matter your mileage – whether you’ve just started your journey through all of time and space, or have lived through the highs, the lows, the Wildernesses, the Androzanis, and the Twin Dilemmas.

Inside, you’ll find: A terrifying army of three Daleks! Death’s Head's head! A really quite astonishingly heavy door! Dinosaur fossils! A framed piece of wall!

And much, much more!

This is a book about Doctor Who. But probably not the one you’re expecting.

Candy Jar Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, said:

When Philip Bates submitted his piece for The Brigadier: Declassified I was blown away by the quality of writing. His take on the series was unlike anything I’ve read before. His writing reminds me of Doctor Who: The Completely Useless Encyclodpedia from 1996 by Chris Howarth and Steve Lyons. I am truly excited that we have been able expand beyond ten objects.

Philip said:

My book does feature the behind-the-scenes trivia you would expect, but I wanted to go one further. So, I’ve included sections on the live events not everyone’s been lucky enough to experience, asked the question how Christ the Redeemer relates to Doctor Who, as well as looking at the bizarre world of fake merchandise. I basically wanted to go off the beaten track, jumping backwards and forwards in Who history.

Objects of interest include the Space-Time Visualiser, the sonic screwdriver, a talking cabbage, the Revenge of the Cybermen VHS, River Song’s diary, the BBC Sound Effects No. 19: Doctor Who Sound Effects vinyl, the 1996 Series Bible, a Bubble Shock bottle, the Seal of the High Council of Gallifrey, and a mouldy old Slitheen.

The cover has been produced by Martin Baines, who recently completed the art for Candy Jar’s hardback edition of the Downtime sequel, Child of the New World:

I really enjoyed working on this book. I wanted to emulate the look of 1970s comics such as Scorcher, Valiant or TV Comic. Added to this, I’ve always loved Doctor Who Weekly and it was great to pay homage to this as well.

Philip observed:

When Shaun sent me Martin’s cover I thought, wow! You don’t need me to tell you how brilliant it is: feast your eyes! Spotting the small details is a joy, but the most impressive thing is how evocative the piece is. There's a warmth and playfulness about it. The yellowing page surrounding instantly brings to mind that wonderful smell that encompasses you when you enter a second-hand book store – a reminder that all these stories have been experienced by previous generations. Suffice to say, I love it.

100 Objects of Dr Who is available to order from the Candy Jar website.

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The TARDIS Chronicles: Volume 1 has been published by Wonderful Books.

The book is written, designed and illustrated by Paul MC Smith – author of The Classic Doctor Who DVD Compendium and The New Who Programme Guide – with a foreword by TARDIS aficionado Clayton Hickman.

The TARDIS Chronicles charts the complete voyages of the Doctor’s space-and-time machine in greater depth than ever before. As well as every journey seen on screen, it also covers all those we only hear the Doctor mention with an ‘I once met…’ and ‘I remember when…’.

More than a simple list of dates and planets, each TARDIS landing is pinpointed to a precise location and time. Plus everything the TARDIS itself experiences is recorded, from its environment to events that occur both inside and within sight of the Police Box. Icons denote each time we see or hear the Ship materialise or dematerialise.

In addition, for each trip, there are exhaustive notes detailing which controls are used and what they do; what we learn about the functions and abilities of the TARDIS; behind-the-scenes facts about props, sets, models and materialisation techniques; discussion of what we see and learn about the Ship and its destinations; and much more.

The book also features comprehensive histories of every Police Box prop, control room set and console, covering their design, construction, usage and modifications. These are illustrated with accurate schematics, including annotated plans of every control panel and their variations.

Volume 1: Before the Time War covers the TARDIS’s travels from the Doctor and Susan’s flight from Gallifrey to a gunship crashing down on Karn – more than 400 landings that we’ve seen or heard about.

Clayton Hickman, ex-Doctor Who Magazine editor and TARDIS connoisseur, has provided a foreword, and says

The blessed relief of The TARDIS Chronicles finally existing – without me having to write the bloody thing – cannot be overstated.

THE TARDIS CHRONICLES: VOLUME 1 (paperback; 412 pages; 7x10in) is available now for £22.99 from Amazon.co.uk or $32.99 from Amazon.com.

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Candy Jar Books has announced a collection of lockdown-inspired Lucy Wilson short stories is now up for pre-order, and will be released in two weeks. The royalties from sales will be donated to NHS charities and Candy Jar will double this amount.

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: Lockdown


Earth is in lockdown. But for Lucy Wilson, staying home doesn’t mean staying safe.

Dinosaurs, killer plants, even Meme Lords – some enemies just don’t respect social distancing. So Lucy and her brainbox sidekick Hobo have no choice but to come to Earth’s defence again – although never forgetting to stay two metres away from each other!

In this collection of short stories, Lucy finds herself contending with the challenges of a pandemic, while continuing to rise to the mantle of her legendary grandfather, Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart.



This collection contains eight short stories, featuring Andy Frankham-Allen, Tim Gambrell, John Peel, Tom Dexter, Alan Stott, Cherry Cobb, Paul W Robinson, Adrian Sherlock and Shaun Russell.


The Lucy Wilson Mysteries is a Lethbridge-Stewart spin-off adventure inspired by characters created for Doctor Who by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln.

Shaun Russell, Head of Candy Jar Publishing, said:

At the start of isolation I asked Jonathan Macho, the author of the most recent Lucy Wilson book The Serpent’s Tongue, to write a short story about Lucy being stuck at home, and we recieved some very positive feedback.

Jonathan Macho said:

When Shaun asked me to write ‘Copy/Paste’ as a free download story, I was really grateful for the opportunity to make a small, positive contribution for young readers. When he got back in touch to let me know about the book, I was over the moon. The chance for me to play my part means a great deal, and I really appreciate Candy Jar making my story a part of it.

Shaun continued:

Around about the same time, Andy Frankham-Allen (the range editor of the Lethbridge-Stewart books) contacted me with an idea to send Lucy back to the 1974 dinosaur invasion. Of course, I thought this was too good of an idea to pass up. I was intrigued by how Lucy would cope knowing she could be infected with the coronavirus, but not wanting to pass it on to the Brigadier, or potentially change the past! So, in collaboration with Tim Gambrell (The Brigadier & the Bledoe Cadets), Andy made a start on the story. After this things just fell into place and we soon had eight stories.

Tim Gambrell said:

There’s a real sense of shared experience between the writers and the characters, and it feels special and personal to be able to give something back to the NHS in this way. Added to this, the brief was something I could not refuse. Lucy in an empty London during Invasion of the Dinosaurs! My immediate thinking was not to do the Doctor Who story over again. The biggest gap in the TV story, for me, was the lack of consideration for the poor dinosaurs, scooped up from their homes and plonked into London. There was also little appreciation, by the characters on TV, of the sheer beauty and size of the dinosaurs. So those were my starting points. ‘The London Invasion’ came together incredibly quickly after that, within the framing scenes which Andy had developed.

Adrian Sherlock said:

For most of us our daily routine under lockdown is extremely repetitive, so I thought what if Lucy experienced a lockdown day over and over again? I always loved Sapphire and Steel and The Twilight Zone and these series often did stories such as this, so when Shaun approached me about contributing something to the book my imagination was fired.

Shaun added:

I really enjoyed working with Adrian on ‘Repetitive Strain’. He is such an imaginative writer and it was a pleasure to collaborate with him on his Groundhog Day-type escapade.

Candy Jar also released Sweet Revenge by Paul Robinson as a free download story. Publishing co-ordinator at Candy Jar, Keren Williams, is excited to showcase Paul’s talent:

When we asked Paul to contribute a short story he immediately understood the tone we were after and delivered a cracking adventure for all of us who are stuck at home.

The only female writer for this collection is Cherry Cobb, who successfully contributed to last year’s Christmas Crackers anthology:

When Shaun asked me to write ‘Flower Power’ for this book I leapt at the opportunity, firstly because I can’t think of a better cause than raising money for the NHS and, secondly, I know that lockdown is proving a challenge for many children and adults. Reading is a great way to relax and escape from reality for a time, and with Lucy Wilson by your side you can be sure of so many great adventures along the way.

The next story, The Edge of Glory, is written by Alan Stott, the author of the anarchic children’s book Those Kids Next Door (due to be released by Candy Jar in the autumn). Keren commented:

Last year we previewed Those Kid’s Next Door at our summer pop-up shop and Alan was like a magnet to children. They really loved his energy and couldn’t get enough of his slapstick humour. Aside from this, his books sold really well, so when I needed a safe pair of hands to contribute to this collection he was my first choice.

Another consummate professional is John Peel, the author of many classic Doctor Who, Star Trek, Quantum Leap and Lethbridge-Stewart novels. Shaun observed:

John previously wrote the brilliant Lucy Wilson book The Midnight People. I wanted a story where Lucy and Hobo were trapped in the pages of fiction, so I approached John and within a couple of days he emailed ‘Get Lost in a Good Book’ back to me, and it was exactly what I’d asked for.

Lockdown concludes with a scary romp written by Tom Dexter. Shaun said:

When we started the Lethbridge-Stewart range Tom wrote two short stories for us: ‘The Fright Before Christmas’ and ‘The Black Eggs of Khufu’. Since then we’ve tried, on many occasions, to get him back, but Tom is always very busy. Thankfully isolation has slowed him down a bit. His story ‘Home Invasion’ really rounds off the collection with its heart on its sleeve, and includes a fantastic tribute to all the nurses, doctors and NHS staff that are helping us get through these difficult times.

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: Lockdown is available to pre-order exclusively from the Candy Jar website.

The royalties from this book will be donated to NHS charities. Whatever is raised Candy Jar will double.

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BBC Books have announced a new hardback book that delves into the background of one of the key elements of Doctor Who:

Doctor Who: The Monster Vault
The Doctor's Enemies Unlocked

Written by Jonathan Morris and Penny CS Andrews
Edited by Paul Lang
Illustrated by Lee Johnson and Ben Morris


Doctor Who's biggest and most comprehensive monster guide yet, The Monster Vault takes you on the ultimate tour of the Whoniverse, discovering and cataloguing every wonderful and terrifying creature the Doctor has ever encountered.

From the notorious Daleks, to the evil Stenza warrior T’zim-Sha and the ancient Thijarians, The Monster Vault features in-depth profiles on each monster, showing the Doctor's most dangerous enemies in their natural habitat and unveiling their secret histories. You will also discover how monsters were created and designed, through exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews, anecdotes, case studies and unseen artwork.

This lavish and visually stunning book provides an unrivalled wealth of information, allowing you to explore the rich history of Doctor Who and expand your knowledge and understanding of monsters old and new.

Doctor Who: The Monster Vault is now available to preorder, and is due to be published on 22nd October 2020.

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The latest release in the Black Archive series looks at the Fourth Doctor story Robots of Death.

The series, from Obverse Books, explores in detail the making of the story first shown in 1977.

That's impossible. Robots can't kill.

A literate science-fiction mystery set in an elegant, multicultural future society, The Robots of Death (1977) represents a synthesis of a witty script, beautiful design and clever, sympathetic casting.

This Black Archive examines these elements contributing to the story’s alchemical brilliance, alongside the themes of artificial intelligence, class and power in the works of scriptwriter Chris Boucher, and the titular robots’ legacy, including their reinterpretation in audio and stage plays.

Asked why she chose Robots, Fiona said

I have been fascinated by it since I first saw it during the late 1980s. At a time when even the best of 1970’s TV appeared “dated” rather than “retro,” The Robots of Death stood out because it looked, and sounded, fresh and timeless. Many of my interests as a SF historian and critic may well owe their inspiration to The Robots of Death: the influence of Expressionism; the representation of women and ethnic minorities in SF television; the ambivalence humans feel about robots; and how SF deals allegorically with class, power, and capitalism.

I’m delighted to have the opportunity to explore these concepts in more detail through writing for The Black Archive.

Fiona Moore is a writer and academic who has written guides to Blake’s 7, The Prisoner and Battlestar Galactica.

Order on Amazon

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Following the success of the first two Lethbridge-Stewart Short Story Competitions, Candy Jar is presenting a third competition, again open to previously unpublished writers both in and outside the UK.

Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, said:

In these trying times, we all need something to focus on, to keep us all sane. For a lot of people that’s writing. So it’s seems the perfect time to run another competition, give people something to aim for; a chance to write something for potential publication.

Andy Frankham-Allen, editor of the Lethbridge-Stewart range, added:

This time we’re opting for a theme, something to combat the doom and gloom that threatens to overtake us all at the moment. And that theme is The Perfect Day. The challenge is, what can you do with such a theme? What kind of story does it suggest to you? How would such a story work for our characters (the Brigadier, Anne, Bill, Lucy, Hobo, etc)? And, like in the previous entries, everyone is free to use any original character from both the Lethbridge-Stewart and Lucy Wilson Mysteries ranges, plus our licenced characters. But, and I can’t stress this enough, not characters owned by the BBC or any other creator, without express permission (proof will be required).

The winning entry will receive a Kindle Fire and Lethbridge-Stewart or The Lucy Wilson Mysteries publishing deal. All shortlisted entries will be published in The Lethbridge-Stewart Short Story Collection Vol 3.

Shaun continued:

Our two previous winners are Sean Alexander and Megan Fizell, and we look forward to publishing their new Lethbridge-Stewart stories very soon (subject to world events, of course).

With the opportunity to enter the brand-new writing competition, and a much wider scope for creativity, this is an exciting opportunity for any writer or fan of the Lethbridge-Stewart world.

The entry fee is £5. Visit here to register.
Please include: Your name, age, email, address and telephone number.

Submissions can be entered from 29 March 2020 to 24 September 2020.

Submission guidelines for the Lethbridge-Stewart South Wales Short Story Competition:

• Maximum of 3000 words.
• You must include your name in the document, along with the title.
• Word (or Word compatible) files only. We do not accept PDF submissions.
• This competition is open to anybody, whether you’re a fan of Doctor Who and Lethbridge-Stewart or not. We’re looking for stories that utilise any character from the Lethbridge-Stewart and The Lucy Wilson Mysteries range of books (list of Lethbridge-Stewart characters here: http://www.lethbridge-stewart.co.uk/characters/). It is not necessary to fit within the timeline; these stories are out of the canon of the series, so feel free to let your imagination run wild!
• A selection of free short stories will be sent to any applicant on request, should you need to see our characters in action.
• Our license is with the Haisman Literary Estate only, therefore you CAN use any character from the Doctor Who serials The Abominable Snowmen, The Web of Fear and The Dominators, or any original character found Candy Jar Books’ Lethbridge-Stewart and The Lucy Wilson Mysteries series (except characters from Doctor Who that appeared in the ranges under express permission).
• You can NOT use any other Doctor Who characters or monsters. (Unless you have proof of permission from the creator of the chosen monster/character.)
• You can NOT use UNIT or any associated characters.
• Any entries that feature a Doctor Who character not owned by the Haisman Literary Estate (and without express permission) will be instantly disqualified, with no refund.

Related Articles: Short Story Competition 1 (24 Mar 18), Short Story Competition 2 (29 Sep 18)

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Candy Jar Books have announced the latest in their The Lucy Wilson Mysteries novel range, The Serpent’s Tongue, which this time is set during the William Shakespeare Jubilee celebrations of 1769:

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: The Serpent’s Tongue
Written by Johnathon Macho


Lucy Wilson is really getting the hang of being a hero. She’s faced alien monsters, travelled through time and saved the world more than once! So when a school trip to Stratford-upon-Avon takes a turn for the weird, throwing her and Hobo back in time hundreds of years, she’s more than ready for another adventure.

That is, until the adventure follows her home...

With alien bears on the hunt, something massive lurking in the canals and two mysterious figures watching her every move from between the curtains, Lucy needs to face up to her responsibilities and make an impossible choice.
Take your seats. The show’s about to begin.


The Lucy Wilson Mysteries is a Lethbridge-Stewart spin-off adventure inspired by characters created for Doctor Who by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln.

Shaun Russell, head of publishing at Candy Jar, said:

Jonathan Macno is an exciting new talent from Cardiff. In 2014, at the age of 19, he was a runner-up in our second South Wales Short Story competition and was featured in the accompanying book Breaking the Surface. After that, in 2016, Jonathan wrote the Lethbridge-Stewart short story The Two Brigadiers. This was well-received by our fans, so I contacted him immediately and asked him to write for the Lucy Wilson series.

Jonathan, who is currently doing a Creative Writing MA at Cardiff University, continued:

When I first submitted work to the South Wales Short Story Competition back in 2014, which feels like forever ago, I had no idea all the brilliant opportunities that would follow. Telling a story in Lucy’s world is a privilege I’ve been working towards for a while and it’s thrilling to see the book, my first published novel, come together. The whole thing is surreal in the best possible way. The Serpent’s Tongue is special to me for a lot of reasons. I was given plenty of free reign and support from Shaun and everyone at Candy Jar, so I used the world of Doctor Who to give a platform to that most underrepresented of writers: William Shakespeare.

School kids can struggle with Shakespeare because of the way he’s often dropped on them without context, humour or fun, and that means they miss out on some wonderful worlds. I still remember the first Shakespeare I saw, a brilliant production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream my parents dragged me to that changed my life, no doubt about it. Lucy herself isn’t the Bard’s biggest fan, so this book is me trying to get her on board, and hopefully some of the readers too.

The novel is available for pre-order from the Candy Jar Books website.

Related Articles: Avatars of the Intelligence (28 Mar 18)

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Throughout the coronavirus isolation Candy Jar will be giving away free books on Kindle each Friday (and for 5 days afterwards). The first is The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: Avatars of the Intelligence. To download visit Amazon Kindle.

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Candy Jar Books have announced the next book in their Bloodlines series of Lethbridge-Stewart.

Lethbridge-Stewart: Bloodlines: The George Kostinen Mystery
Written by Chris Lynch
Cover by Adrian Salmon


With the fate of every reality hanging in the balance, the Accord sends Lethbridge-Stewart to a brand-new version of Earth.

His mission: to find Lucy Wilson. She is the final agent the Accord needs to fix the damage done to the quantum realm, but the world Lethbridge-Stewart finds himself in is quite unlike anything he’s ever seen before.

A dystopian nightmare, the UK is caught in a power struggle between the Clown Tithe, the deadly Kruge and the ever-mysterious Volpertinger.

Lethbridge-Stewart’s only ally in this nightmare world is a sixteen-year-old boy from Ogmore-by-Sea called George Kostinen. A boy who, in the real world, should be best friends with Lucy Wilson. Only is this reality – he’s barely heard of her!

How can Lethbridge-Stewart’s mission succeed when Lucy Wilson is a nobody? A girl who’s never even heard the name Lethbridge-Stewart before…

Following last year’s crossover between the Lethbridge-Stewart and The Lucy Wilson Mysteries range of novels, comes a new crossover event. The George Kostinen Mystery is written by Chris Lynch, whose work includes The Lucy Wilson Mysteries novel, Curse of the Mirror Clowns.

Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen says:

Bloodlines was always about taking a different look at our own characters, so this was a nice chance to offer up a unique look at the world inhabited by Lucy Wilson and her friend Hobo – only seen through a distorted mirror. The obvious choice for me was Chris – we haven’t actually worked together before, but we spent a lovely day at a convention a couple of years ago and after meeting to discuss the potential of this book, I knew he was the right man for the job. We had much success with our Lethbridge-Stewart/Lucy Wilson crossover project last year, but obviously we don’t want to hit the same beats again. The George Kostinen Mystery is a crossover quite unlike the previous one.

Chris Lynch says:

Andy and all the writers who have worked on the Lethbridge Stewart range before me have created such an intricate, well-realised universe that I have to confess I was a little nervous about stepping into it. It's somewhat like being given a very beautiful, very complicated grandfather clock and then being asked to service a number of vital parts using only a butter knife while wearing a blindfold. Thankfully, I've been let loose in my little pocket dimension where I can forget about butter knives and go at this thing with a nuclear-powered chainsaw. It's enormous fun putting Lethbridge-Stewart, George, and all other characters through the ringer, transforming jolly old Blighty into a dystopian nightmare, creating new creatures to scare people with, and revisiting my very first addition to this universe – the Clowns.”

The cover is by regular Lethbridge-Stewart contributor, Adrian Salmon. Adrian says:

This was a fascinating cover to compose because of the various components and the fact I had the honour of being only the second artist to interpret Lucy Wilson on a cover – the less said about getting her hair style right the better! The Kruge were a lot of fun to draw, and if you look closely you’ll spot the little drawings of their victims faces scratched into their armour.

The George Kostinen Mystery will be followed by Back to the Past, which wraps up the Bloodlines saga, and then the final book of series seven which will see a return to the Schizoid Earth in I, Alastair.

The book is available for pre-order now, an is including in the book subscription with Candy Jar Books.

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Obverse Books has announced a new book written by former Doctor Who brand manager Edward Russell, looking at the making of Doctor Who from its return in 2005 through to the casting of the first female Doctor in 2018.

Edward Russell on the show throughout the David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi years, and is one of the few people to have an intimate back-stage knowledge of the BBC show. His is able to comment on every aspect of the production from behind the scenes.

With responsibility for everything from day to day publicity to large scale media events, and with a working relationship with the creative team over 12 years of filming, Edward is uniquely placed to shed light on the personalities and processes which go into building a television legend.

There have been a plethora of books about Doctor Who, but speaking to Russell it quickly becomes clear that his was a new – and very well informed – perspective.

Growing up as a fan of Doctor Who since the early 1970s, it was a dream come true to join the team in Cardiff a short while after it returned to screens in 2005. So much has been written about the series that it may surprise fans to know that there are many stories that they haven’t heard. I was at the heart of production throughout the David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi eras and am looking forward to sharing the secrets from that time.

Not only will I discuss in detail how we made the show, I’m also going to cover all the incredible activity around it such us the conventions, the exhibitions, the World Tours, the musical concerts and the mammoth celebrations in the show’s fiftieth year such as a trip to Buckingham Palace and the recovery of long lost episodes. And it’s not just Doctor Who – we also made Torchwood, Class and the Sarah Jane Adventures – all of which will be included.

This is the story of how Russell T Davies took a long gone, but fondly remembered, cult tv show and turned it into a broadcasting phenomenon, and how Steven Moffat then took over the baton and ran with it. Russell sumed up the experience in one sentence.

It was often hard work and stressful, but it was also a lot of fun and I can’t wait to share the joy of that wonderful adventure.

The Trip of a Lifetime – The Making of Modern Doctor Who will be available in Winter 2020, from Obverse Books.

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An update from Candy Jar Books on their forthcoming book about Doctor Who artist Chris Achilléos:

Candy Jar Books would like Doctor Who readers to share their thoughts and memories of Chris Achilléos’ Doctor Who artwork (as well as the Target books that featured his art).

Whether they set you on a path that ultimately led to a career, or simply gave you a few lazy Sundays’ entertainment, we’d love to hear your stories. Do you have images of you with Chris, or photos of yourself reading these iconic Target books as a child? We’d love to see them. We want to pay tribute to why these books really matter – how they have touched lives all over the world.

Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, says:

Last year, we put out a free release celebrating the career of Terrance Dicks, after his passing. A lot of our contributors said that Terrance, and the Target range which he and Chris defined, got them into reading, got them into science fiction, got them into writing as a discipline and ultimately a career. These books changed lives! They changed my life! We want Klaak! to celebrate this.

These contributions will be compiled into a chapter in the upcoming book, Kklak!: The Doctor Who Artwork of Chris Achilléos.

Send your memories, photos or artwork to Shaun Russell with the subject heading KKLAK!.

Each contributor will receive a personally signed paperback copy of the book.

The final date for submissions is the end of February.

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Book details:

For the first time ever, an upcoming book, Kklak: the Doctor Who Art of Chris Achilléos, will compile into one volume the entirety of Chris’ artwork for Target. The artwork will be presented chronologically, with accompanying commentary from the artist himself. The book will begin with an exclusive foreword from Achilléos’ long-time friend and collaborator – and the most prolific and popular of all Target’s writers – the late Terrance Dicks.

In many ways, Kklak… is a love letter to the Target range, which was itself a love letter to the Doctor Who fandom. It was Target’s genuine, tangible affection for the universe of Doctor Who that first inspired Candy Jar’s head of publishing, Shaun Russell, to get into the book world. As Shaun explains:

The Target novels were a huge part of our childhoods. And when it came to our own range of Doctor Who books, the Lethbridge-Stewart series, they were an inspiration. You could always tell that they were produced by fellow fans. There was an attention to detail, and a level of quality, which spoke of the affection their creators held for the show. From the first moment you picked up a Target title, with one of Chris Achilléos’ brilliant designs on the cover, you knew that you were in for something special.

Featuring every one of Achilléos’ Doctor Who designs, as well as never before seen material giving insight into his creative process, Kklak: the Doctor Who Art of Chris Achilléos is released in late spring 2020 by Candy Jar Books.

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The latest edition of The Black Archive looks at the 1970 Third Doctor story The Silurians.

The story raises issues of land rights, the 1970s energy crisis, technological innovation, animal experimentation and the role of the military. Science is presented as the solution to many of the problems, but terrible acts result from the morality of the choices made by both humans and Silurians – and an exiled Time Lord.

The book is written by Robert Smith? (the question mark is part of his name), a mathematician, writer and editor. He is an award-winning professor of disease modelling at the University of Ottawa in Canada.

The Black Archive is Obverse Books’ series of critical monographs about individual Doctor Who stories. The range has recently acquired a new editor. Paul Driscoll, known to readers as the author of previous Black Archives on The God Complex and Doctor Who (1996), as well as for his work with fiction imprint Altrix Books. He will join Philip Purser-Hallard and Paul Simpson as joint editor of the series. He begins his work this year, on books to be published from 2021 onwards.

The first six Black Archive titles for 2021 have now been announced.

Paul Driscoll himself will examine Richard Curtis’ 11th Doctor episode Vincent and the Doctor, while long-serving Black Archivists Jon Arnold and Simon Bucher-Jones look respectively at 1970s staples Invasion of the Dinosaurs and The Hand of Fear.

New authors Andrew Orton and Billy Seguire will be writing on 1976’s The Deadly Assassin and 2005’s Dalek respectively. Theologian James F McGrath, editor of the academic essay collections Religion in Science Fiction and Time and Relative Dimensions in Faith, will be exploring the 13th Doctor’s first season finale, The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos.

The rest of 2021 will bring further releases, some of which will particularly please fans of the fifth Doctor, who so far has been rather underrepresented in the range.

In other news, while the catalogue of titles for 2020 remains the same, unforeseen circumstances behind the scenes mean that two forthcoming Black Archives will be delayed. James Cooray Smith's book on The Underwater Menace and Jonathan Dennis’ on Vengeance on Varos will now be published in April 2020, alongside William Shaw’s Black Archive on The Rings of Akhaten.

The current schedule for 2020-21 is therefore as follows:

• January 2020 – The Black Archive #39: The Silurians by Robert Smith?
• April 2020 – The Black Archive #40: The Underwater Menace by James Cooray Smith
• April 2020 – The Black Archive #41: Vengeance on Varos by Jonathan Dennis
• April 2020 – The Black Archive #42: The Rings of Akhaten by William Shaw
• May 2020 – The Black Archive #43: The Robots of Death by Fiona Moore
• June 2020 – The Black Archive #44: The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang by Philip Bates
• July 2020 – The Black Archive #45: The Unquiet Dead by Erin Horáková
• August 2020 – The Black Archive #46: The Awakening by David Evans-Powell
• September 2020 – The Black Archive #47: The Stones of Blood by Katrin Thier
• October 2020 – The Black Archive #48: The Tenth Planet by Michael Seely
• November 2020 – The Black Archive #49: Arachnids in the UK by Sam Maleski
• December 2020 – The Black Archive #50: The Day of the Doctor by Alasdair Stuart
• December 2020 – The Black Archive #50A: The Night of the Doctor by James Cooray Smith
• January 2021 – The Black Archive #51: The Deadly Assassin by Andrew Orton
• February 2021 – The Black Archive #52: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos by James F McGrath
• March 2021 – The Black Archive #53: The Hand of Fear by Simon Bucher-Jones
• April 2021 – The Black Archive #54: Dalek by Billy Seguire
• May 2021 – The Black Archive #55: Invasion of the Dinosaurs by Jon Arnold
• June 2021 – The Black Archive #56: Vincent and the Doctor by Paul Driscoll

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Candy Jar Books have announced the third instalment in the six-book Bloodlines sequence of novels is now available to pre-order:

Lethbridge-Stewart: Bloodlines: An Ordinary Man
Written by Andy Frankham-Allen and Tim Gambrell
Cover artwork by Colin Howard

The destruction of the causal nexus continues, as the timelines of the Lethbridge-Stewarts and Traverses are wiped out of existence.

A new reality has been created, so very close to the essential timeline. And it is into this reality that Anne Travers is sent to retrieve a man who bears a shocking resemblance to Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart.

February 1969, and school-teacher Archie Lethbridge-Stewart lives an ordinary life. A contented life with his little family in the Cornish village of Bledoe. But that is all about to change. First his old pupil, Owain Vine, is having strange visions. Visions of a London covered in web! And on the news it seems London itself is being evacuated – a major gas leak and bears breaking free of London Zoo. Can these events be connected?

Linking all this is a strange old man. A man who insists he knows Archie. Only, the man insists on calling him Alistair. Who is this strange old man? What is this talk of the future? And why should Archie and Owain risk everything to go with the old man to London?

Anne Travers has the answers. But, unfortunately, she appears to be little more than a ghost!

Originally intended as a solo project by Andy Frankham-Allen, An Ordinary Man is now a co-authored project, with Tim Gambrell coming on board to share the author duties. Andy explained the change in author line-up:

The same life stuff that got in the way of Loose Ends got in the way of this book. When it became clear I would not have the time to write the novel, I turned to a trusted author, one who understood the main setting of the book, the village of Bledoe.

Tim Gambrell said:

An Ordinary Man has certainly been no ordinary book. I have enormous respect for Andy; it takes guts to admit all is not well and that you need help with something. When he asked me to write this with him, I did what I'd do for any mate in trouble: I shifted things about in my own life and agreed immediately. Andy had laid the book's groundwork for me. This is still his book at the end of the day. The cornerstones of the plot and the structure had been laid, and the cast assembled. My initial challenge was planning a lot of the bits that went in between – plotting the character journeys from A to B to C. First and foremost, this is a character-led story, not an action-packed adventure. There are characters here I'd not written for before, such as Owain. But I know Bledoe, I've long known its occupants and, because I've always been a reader of the series as well as writing for it, I felt comfortable with Owain.

Andy added:

Unlike a normal Lethbridge-Stewart commission, this one had much more than a shopping list of elements. The story was already laid out, the opening chapters written. Tim had a very specific brief. Once he’s finished his work on it, I shall then take a pass over it myself, tweaking scenes here and there so that it more accurately matches my vision of the story.

Tim continued:

What I've enjoyed most about writing An Ordinary Man has been immersing myself in these characters, because they're not quite what we expect them to be. I've loved seeing how far I can push a situation before the characters say 'enough is enough', or ‘okay, you win’. And what really prompts us, as human beings, to take action outside of our comfort zone, or make changes to our lives for anything other than selfish reasons. I've got a wife and a young family, I've got adult responsibilities. And I've done a lot of soul-searching in writing this book. And it's got a cover by Colin Howard. I've not had one of those before, so that's exciting!

Colin Howard returns for cover-art duties, and he was particularly excited by the challenges presented to him:

I had quite a lot of fun with this cover, despite the original brief. That posed a few challenges. For Lethbridge-Stewart on this occasion it required him to be of the same age as Web of Fear’s colonel, however in this novel he is simply a Cornish School teacher in Bledoe, minus the famous moustache! So, time for screen grabbing Web again, to find a suitable reference of Nick Courtney at that age. Then I had to view elements of Inferno, to find a forehead reference as well as top lip! In order to flesh out my digital painting, I also added a blazer and tie of the type worn by the younger school-teacher Brig in Mawdryn Undead. I then opted for my usual ‘Way too much detail’ background of a Cornish Fishing Village. I sketch these digitally first, then paint over the sketch at around three hundred times magnification on multiple layers to allow for necessary repositioning if required at the cover layout stage. Anne Travers was again a challenge, as Tina Packer spends most of Web playing a supportive sympathetic cast member in two-hander scenes with Patrick Troughton, so therefore is subsequently ‘facially in-shadow’ with most of her scenes in the Unit base. I then had to add more of a 1970s hairstyle and dress, as her character does a little inter-dimensional time-hopping!

On top of those challenges, Colin was excited to be able to do the one thing he’d wanted to do since first joining the Candy Jar artist roster in 2015:

I have been desperate to get to do a Yeti-related cover, but things didn’t ever quite work out. So this time I ‘politely insisted’. In this novel I was told that the Great Intelligence’s London invasion is more successful without the Doctor or Lethbridge Stewart to thwart them. I decided to go to town a little with Big Ben swathed in flowing web, and two of our furry friends looming in the foreground of that section. The other element I was originally asked for was the ‘Sphere-crackling with energy’, so that completed my design idea.

The novel is available to pre-order from the Candy Jar website, and is covered by subscriptions.

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Candy Jar Books is currently having a Christmas Sale: more details here.

Related Articles: Lethbridge-Stewart: The Shadowman (20 Oct 2019)

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This Christmas, Candy Jar Books are offering readers in the UK a chance to win a surprise bundle of books from their collection, to arrive specially wrapped for the festive day itself!

To be in with a chance to win the bundle, simply answer this question:

How many episodes of Doctor Who have been broadcast on Christmas Day?

Please send your answer along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-candyjar@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Christmas". Open to readers within the United Kingdom only. Only one entry per household will be accepted. Closing date: Monday 16 December 2019.

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Candy Jar Books has announced a festive collection of tales for The Lucy Wilson Mysteries:

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries - Christmas Crackers
Written by Cherry Cobb, Tim Gambrell, Terry Cooper, Keren Williams, Chris Lynch
Cover by Steve Beckett

Ogmore-by-Sea seems to have gone back to its old sleepy way. But adventure never stops for Lucy Wilson and her best friend Hobo, not even at Christmas...

In the run up to the holiday season, Lucy and Hobo help out at the school Christmas Fayre. But what’s inside the Christmas crackers? Why are people going missing? How does everyone seem to be so unlucky? And who is the mysterious Crone?

A collection of five short stories set between Christmas, the New Year and beyond... this book is Christmas Crackers!

Head of publishing at Candy Jar, Shaun Russell, says:

We’ve had such good feedback for the series of books. Reviews have been encouraging and fans seem to have embraced the series completely. As a small thank you for all of the support received, we wanted to release something completely unexpected in time for our readers to enjoy over the Christmas period.

The short story collection entitled contains five stories by a range of different authors.

• The Mobile Army, written by popular children’s author Cherry Cobb
  
  I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to write a Lucy Wilson story, having read the books I fell in love with Lucy as a strong independent character who isn’t afraid to stand up for her beliefs. I hope my daughter grows up to have the same outlook on life.
  
• The Christmas Cracker Conundrum, written by Tim Gambrell (originally given away for free in 2018)
  
  It feels very fitting, to me, for The Christmas Cracker Conundrum to make its way into print, now, for a whole new set of readers. Lucy Wilson, Hobo and I have been on something of a wild journey over the last twelve months. It started with Shaun asking me to contribute a Lucy Wilson short story to Candy Jar's 2018 advent calendar, then it ran through my two 2019 novels, and the journey now comes full circle, back to The Christmas Cracker Conundrum!
  
  I love the characters, their energy, their individuality and the world they inhabit. And Lucy doesn't just speak to kids her own age, either. In the best tradition of children's literature, there's always something in her stories for everyone. Shaun gave me pretty much free reign with my short story, only specifying that it had to involve Christmas crackers, somehow. That's more than enough to get the imagination flowing. We all know where the mystery is with a Christmas cracker, until it's pulled. And if my story makes the readers pause momentarily before they pull their crackers over Christmas dinner, then I'll consider my job well done!
  
• Crimes of Fashion, written by Terry Cooper
  
  I read some of the previous books and couldn't wait to jump into Lucy’s adventures. The story takes inspiration from my teenage years as a rapper and break dancer, when the fashions were highly sought after and everyone was looking for the latest trends in shell suits and trainers. Added to the familiar sci-fi genre, it was great fun to write!
  
• Imposters, written by Keren Williams (Candy Jar’s publishing co-ordinator)
  
  I joined the Candy Jar team just after the very first book in the Lucy Wilson series, Avatars of the Intelligence, was published. Since then, I have had the greatest pleasure of working through the entire range. Being given the opportunity to become a writer in the series has really made my year, but I just hope I’ve written something that everyone can enjoy.
  
• Past, Present and Yet to Come, written by Chris Lynch
  
  I also wrote my story for the Candy Jar Christmas advent calendar last year. This story is a light reworking of A Christmas Carol and explores the future possibilities of the Lucy and Hobo characters.
  

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: Christmas Crackers is available to pre-order from the Candy Jar website, and will be released just in time for Christmas.

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Previously delayed from earlier in the year, Candy Jar Books have announced its next short story collection is now being printed:

The HAVOC Files: Loose Ends
Written By Andy Frankham-Allen, Tim Gambrell, Sharon Bidwell and John Peel
Cover by Adrian Salmon

Events in life are rarely tied up in a neat little bow. There are always loose ends. And for Anne Bishop, nee Travers, nearing the end of her life, this is painfully true.

She receives a visit from a friend she thought lost to her and shares stories about loose ends that were tied up at the last minute.

These include a return to Glencross and dealing with fallout of the events of ‘A Very Private Haunting’, the arrival on Earth of the Star Maidens of Drahb who are in search of the Dominators, an unexpected reunion between the Brigadier and a friend he thought dead for nineteen years, a visit home for Owain Vine and the discovery of a family secret that will change his life forever, and an awkward visit for Lance Corporal Evans to the mother of his dead sister.

At the end of all these tales Anne discovers that one more mission awaits her, when she learns the true story of Rhys Rubery...


This collection also features an exclusive sample of the forthcoming novel 'Downtime 2'.

This collection was originally due early in the year but had been delayed by real life events. It was originally intended to be a collection with only one author, Andy Frankham-Allen, but to ensure it got finished before the end of the year Andy called on the help of a few authors. Andy explained:

As ever, real life drama intrudes on the creative process and when it became clear that I wouldn’t have the time to finish the collection, I decided to give two of my story ideas to two other authors, as well as use Sharon (Bidwell)’s short story sequel to A Very Private Haunting, as it fit the theme of the book. And that theme is, as the title suggests, tying up loose ends left over throughout the original run of the Lethbridge-Stewart range.

The collections features three stories written by Andy; Hide No More (which sees the Brigadier reunited with an old friend) and O Brother, Where Art Thou (Owain returns home to discover a family secret that changes everything), and the two-part The Stories We Tell (in which Anne is visited by an old friend and discovers she has one final mission to undertake), which bookends the collection. The Arrival, which brings the Star Maidens of Drahb to Earth, is written by Tim Gambrell, and Tall Tales, written by John Peel, brings back Evans who has some bad news to share. The collection is topped off by Remnant of a Haunting by Sharon Bidwell, which sees Anne returning to the Glencross, the scene of the novel A Very Private Haunting.

Keren Williams, Publishing Co-ordinator, said:

It’s a great little collection, with a nice mix of sci-fi, ghost stories, and some solid real-world drama. The Stories We Tell is a particularly touching tale, bringing as it does a parallel between the fictional life of Anne Travers and the real life of a Doctor Who fan who died in 2016 at the young age of only sixteen.

The cover features brand new art by Adrian Salmon. Andy explained:

It was important to me that this book was dedicated to the family of Rhys Rubery, my young friend who died three years ago, and so Adrian did a wonderful little portrait of Rhys for the cover.

The book can be ordered from the Candy Jar website.

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Candy Jar Books have announced a new book to feature the classic Doctor Who artwork of Chris Achilléos:

In his five decades as an illustrator, painter and conceptual artist, Chris Achilléos has four best-selling books of his art, Beauty and the Beast, Syrens, Medusa and Amazona. He worked with the likes of George Lucas, as well as producing the iconic promotional art for the cult film Heavy Metal. But it is probably his work for Doctor Who that is the most enduringly popular.

His covers for the official Target novelisations, which began in the early ‘70s, defined a generation’s image of the Doctor and his adventures – particularly after the show disappeared from British screens in the late ‘80s.

Lavishly detailed, with psychedelic overtones and an unapologetically pulpy sensibility, these covers perfectly captured the eccentric appeal of the classic series. To this day, Doctor Who luminaries tip their hat to the influence of Achilléos’ work. The opening of a 2016 exhibition of Target’s cover artwork at the Cartoon Museum, London, attracted the series’ then-showrunner Steven Moffat, as well as twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi.

With the Doctor long back on our screens, and more popular than ever, it is perhaps surprising that Achilléos’ Whovian oeuvre (or Whoeuvre, if you will) has never been collected in one place.

Kklak: The Doctor Who Art of Chris Achilléos, an upcoming title from award-winning independent publisher Candy Jar Books, aims to address this. For the first time, it collects the entirety of Achilléos’ Doctor Who artwork in chronological order, along with commentary from Achilléos himself (as well as some fans) – presenting the definitive guide to his seminal work. The book also includes a small contribution from twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi and a foreword from Achilléos’ long-time friend and collaborator, the late Terrance Dicks.

Achilléos explains his motivations for compiling the book:

I go to a lot of conventions, and the enduring affection of the fans for those Target novelisations is such a compliment. As an artist you’re always wary of being pigeonholed – you want all your work to receive the same amount of attention! But Doctor Who is such a phenomenon, and the commitment of the fans so pure, you have to be grateful. I hope they enjoy this special book.

As the home of the Lethbridge-Stewart series, one of only a handful of fully licensed Doctor Who ranges outside of the BBC, Candy Jar was the natural home for Achilléos’ new title. As Candy Jar’s head of publishing, Shaun Russell, explains:

The Target novels were a huge part of our childhood. And when it came to our own range of Doctor Who books, they were an inspiration. You could always tell that they were produced by people who cared. There was an attention to detail, and a level of quality, which quite frankly, went above and beyond what was necessary. Doctor Who will sell regardless, but as a series it means so much to people – and to us here at Candy Jar – that you want to do repay that. And from the first moment you picked up a Target title, with one Chris Achilléos’ brilliant designs on the cover, you knew that you were in for something wonderful. His work manages to capture everything that makes Doctor Who special, and stand alone as works of art in their own right. When Chris first spoke with us, I jumped at the chance to work with him.

Featuring every one of Achilléos’ Doctor Who designs, as well as never before seen material giving insight into his creative process, Kklak: the Doctor Who Art of Chris Achilléos is released in April 2020 by Candy Jar Books.

The book will be available as paperback and deluxe hardback edition, and can be pre-ordered from Candy Jar Books.

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Doctor Who: At Childhood’s End, the first novel from Sophie Aldred who played the Seventh Doctor’s companion Ace, is to be published 6th February 2020.

Once, a girl called Ace travelled the universe with the Doctor – until, in the wake of a terrible tragedy they parted company. Decades later, she is known as Dorothy McShane, the reclusive millionaire philanthropist who heads global organisation A Charitable Earth.

Dorothy is haunted by terrible nightmares, vivid dreams that begin just as scores of young runaways are vanishing from the dark alleyways of London. Could the disappearances be linked to sightings of sinister creatures lurking in the city shadows? Why has an alien satellite entered a secret orbit around the Moon?

Investigating the satellite with Ryan, Graham and Yaz, the Doctor is thrown together with Ace once more. Together they must unravel a malevolent plot that will cost thousands of lives. But can the Doctor atone for her past incarnation’s behaviour – and how much must Ace sacrifice to win victory not only for herself, but for the Earth? Past or future, which path do you choose?

Sophie Aldred said

I was thrilled and honoured to have been asked to create this opportunity for the Thirteenth Doctor and Ace to meet each other. I had always hoped to be able to offer classic fans an encounter between Ace and a current Doctor in some form or other and I hope fans of the present team will enjoy the blending of two eras of the most amazing programme in the Universe.

Doctor Who: At Childhood’s End by Sophie Aldred is published by BBC Books on 6th February 2020. RRP £16.99.

It will also be available as an audiobook in CD and digital download narrated by Sophie Aldred.

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Candy Jar Books has announced the second novel in its seventh series of Lethbridge-Stewart novels, to be released in late October:

Lethbridge-Stewart: Bloodlines: The Shadowman
Written by Sharon Bidwell
Artwork by Paul Cowan


A new reality has been created by the temporal disruption ripping through the causal nexus. Welcome to 1978… with a difference.

Anne Travers, co-founder of UNIT, and her husband, Bill, are celebrating their wedding anniversary in France, which is the perfect opportunity for Anne to catch-up with an old friend; Madeleine Bonnaire.

At the institute owned by Madeleine’s father, one professor is more interested in his own project than any work for which Bonnaire has hired him. His need for secrecy and his attitude irritates his assistant, Paul Larousse, who would prefer to dwell on his feelings for Madeleine. Meanwhile, Victor Bonnaire is not at all happy to hear of Anne’s visit, not least of all because he’s always viewed Anne as a bad influence on his daughter.

What seems like a simple case of familial friction takes a bleak turn when a local unknown threat makes the news. Suspicion abounds and throws Anne and Bill into an unexpected mystery. What is the strange threat, and does it present a direct danger to anybody at the institute? Or to those who ask too many questions? Unable to walk away from her friend, Anne has no option but to investigate, little knowing she’s about to face the darkest shadow of her life so far.

The Shadowman is set in an alternative 1978, and serves as a sequel to author Sharon Bidwell’s previous novel, A Very Private Haunting. It picks up a thread left over from that novel, set in a world where Lethbridge-Stewart never took part in the London Event, and was never involved in the creation of UNIT. Instead it’s a world where Anne Travers became a founding member of that august taskforce. It also features a new version of her husband, Bill Bishop, as they head to France to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

Sharon said:

Some stories feel unfinished. When I wrote A Very Private Haunting, I left a few threads I was unsure I would ever pick up again. I already had the title of the book long figured out together with my basic idea when asked to write another novel in the range. My book, to once again feature Anne Travers, couldn't have come together more perfectly, though with consequences I never imagined at the beginning. The Shadowman features a returning character from A Very Private Haunting, which allowed me to play with someone who comes across as a thoroughly nasty character, though I see a greater depth to him. I'm a multi-genre writer, though I tend to gravitate back to what I call dark fiction, and there's definitely darkness in The Shadowman. I'm finishing some lighter projects at present intending to work on my first horror novel in the new year after completing some preliminary notes and research, so going through The Shadowman again recently has been very useful in that regard.

Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen said:

I take Sharon wherever I go. She’s worked with me on many projects now, so it was inevitable when I heard that Big Finish were looking for more female authors, that I would put her name forward. I’ve read her story, had some input, and it’s going to be a lot of fun for fans of Jo Grant and the Eleventh Doctor. In terms of The Shadowman, Sharon sent it to me some time ago, at which point it wasn’t part of any particular novel sequence, but rather a continuation of the ongoing narrative began in 2015. But once the Bloodlines concept was developed, it seemed to me that Sharon’s story was a perfect fit, with a few continuity tweaks here and there to place it in an alternative reality in which the events of A Very Private Haunting still happened – more or less as featured in that novel.

The cover is by a new artist to the Lethbridge-Stewart range, Paul Cowan; Shaun Russell, head of publishing at Candy Jar, said:

I’ve known Paul for thirty years. He’s a great artist with a flair for almost any style. He is particularly well-known for his beautifully illustrated trading cards and TV tie-in comic strips. When the opportunity for him to do a cover came up, I could think of no one better to tackle the Shadowman.

Paul said:

Joining the team at Candy Jar is quite literally a dream come true. I get to illustrate stories featuring much-loved characters from my childhood. I have the honour of seeing my work adorn the covers of some quite wonderful stories by a very talented team of writers, many of whose works line the bookshelves in my studio. I get to join a list of hugely talented artists I admire and who have been major influences on my life and work. But best of all, I get to finally work with my friend, something that's been long overdue.

With the cover to The Shadowman, I wanted to evoke the feeling of 1970s Doctor Who. I knew I wanted to homage the Pertwee years, so the illustration of Anne Travers was very much based on the character of Section Leader Shaw from Inferno, whilst the background should be instantly recognisable to any true Doctor Who fan. The Shadowman himself is actually straight out of one of my own nightmares and when Shaun described the character to me, I knew immediately how he should appear. I used pen and ink with a base wash of alcohol marker, embellished with coloured polychromous pencils and white ink for highlights. I then added lighting effects in Paint Shop Pro, which is my go-to software of choice. It's a relatively new style for me and something I'm still trying to perfect.

The Shadowman is due out at the end of October 2019, and can be pre-ordered now either on its own or as part of the Bloodlines bundle; it is also covered by subscription.


Paul, who has MS, is raising money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. If you visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/artrelief and donate £5 your name will go into a hat and the winner, chosen at random, will get a hand-drawn A4 portrait of your chosen subject. This can be a friend, relative, child, pet, favourite animal or celebrity. If you donate £15 (or equivalent) or more, then Paul will draw you an A4 portrait of your choice.

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Candy Jar Books has announce more details about the first novel in its seventh series of Lethbridge-Stewart novels, Bloodlines:

Lethbridge-Stewart: Home Fires Burn
Written by Gareth Madgwick
Cover by Richard Young


1943. Britain's Home Front is feeling the pain of war.

The Fourth Operational Corps has other things to worry about. A downed plane in the High Peak leads Professor Travers to a village full of buried secrets and a family that are far more than they seem.

Her first assignment sees new recruit Eileen Le Croissette infiltrating a Sheffield Steelworks. Buried within is a weapon that could change the course of the war, but what does the secretive Mr Huxtable have to do with it?

Avoiding his domineering father, Matthew Lethbridge-Stewart is also on the case. But he wasn't banking on meeting a group of homicidal little robots…

The pieces are being set for another conflict, one that started a long way away, to erupt in the middle of wartime Britain.

Home Fires Burn sees the return of Section Officer Eileen Le Croissette, based on real-life war hero Eileen Younghusband, on her first mission for the Home-Army Fourth Operational Corps, once again alongside Professor Edward Travers. It also features the return of the Brigadier’s uncle, Matthew Lethbridge-Stewart and the Quarks (last seen in the Lethbridge-Stewart novel, Mutually Assured Domination!)

Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen said:

As with The Laughing Gnome sequence of novels, I came up with an arc in which to tell some non-chronological stories. Shaun and I wanted to highlight some of popular secondary characters, so I looked at which characters would make for a good mix. And, to add to the mix, which monsters had not used independently before. In this instance, the Quarks (baring some comics in the 1960s) always tend to appear alongside their masters the Dominators, so I thought it would be interesting to utilise them without the Dominators. And bearing in mind this first book is set in 1943, that presented the author with another challenge. How to use them without the Dominators, and in a time period long before they ever came to Earth. One other element I wanted to include, just so we had at least one Lethbridge-Stewart in the book, was to bring back the Brig’s uncle, Matthew, a character Gareth handled so well in his previous short story. I’m happy to say Gareth produced a great story that brings all these elements together, as well as honours the great men and women who served our nation during World War II.

This is the first novel by Gareth Madgwick, who had previously written two short stories for the Lethbridge-Stewart range, The Great Magician and Spirits of the Vasty Deep in The HAVOC Files 4 collection, and Inheritance in the Lineage anthology. He said:

I was thrilled when Andy asked me to write my first full length novel, and even more excited when I found out that I would be writing for Edward Travers, Eileen Le Croissette and the Fourth Operational Corps during the war. After all, an eccentric scientist, a confident young woman and a not completely trustworthy military are what the big old Doctor Who universe is all about if, like me, you started with the Pertwee repeats in the ‘90s. The story really began to come together best after Andy asked me to avoid anything that wasn't really known in contemporary literature and science of 1943. That led me down the path of some of the wonderful genre fiction that predated the 1950s, when we think science fiction started. A lot of that has influenced the book in its feel. It's been a blast writing it. Although a massive step up from the two short stories that I'd written for Candy Jar previously, it was a natural progression. I felt that I was combining the character work of Inheritance with the historical research that I did for The Great Magician (although I have to say, Sheffield's libraries have rather a better selection of Second World War material than information on Owain Glyndwr for some reason).

The cover is by returning artist Richard Young, whose previous cover art includes The Flaming Soldier, A Very Private Haunting, and Scary Monsters. Richard said:

I’ve wanted to tackle the Quarks for a long time and knowing that the book is set in Sheffield during the Second World War, I felt that they should have an authentic wartime look. Added to this, I wanted to feature a different picture of Eileen. After a bit of research, Shaun found a wonderful photograph. I just hope people like what I have done.

Gareth adds:

The beautiful cover has really captured the feel of the book.

Home Fires Burn is released to tie-in with the 80th Anniversary of World War II. Shaun Russell, Head of Publishing at Candy Jar Books, explains a little of Eileen’s role in the war:

With eightieth anniversary of the start of the war, we felt that we really wanted to acknowledge the contribution the greatest generation made to all our lives. In 1941 Eileen signed the official secrets act, and wasn’t able to talk about her work in the top secret Filter Room. In 2017 she was featured in The Flaming Soldier and we’ve had so many requests to bring her back. So, here she is launching the new series of books, and this time round her contribution to this story will have major affect on Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart’s life.

Gareth said:

The Second World War is an era that has always fascinated me, including the bravery and steadfastness of those like Eileen Le Croissette (later Candy Jar author Eileen Younghusband). Setting it in the beautiful Peak District and also the nearby Sheffield steelworks gave me an opportunity to look into areas of the war effort that aren't always explored elsewhere, and the sacrifices made.

Home Fires Burn can be pre-ordered now either on its own or as part of the Bloodlines bundle from the Candy Jar website. It is also part of the series seven subscription.

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