Candy Jar Books has announced the first book in its final series of Lethbridge-Stewart novels:
Spheres of Influence
Written by Violet Addison and David N Smith
Cover by Martin Baines
An alien presence has arrived on Earth. Lethbridge-Stewart has been dispatched to determine the nature of the new arrival.
The Fifth Operational Corps is not the only one interested in the visitor. The race is on to establish diplomatic relations with the extra-terrestrial, and a top-secret military team from the Soviet Union are one step ahead of them…
If either side can successfully form an alliance with the creature, it could turn the tide of the Cold War forever, bringing it to a sudden and unexpected end – with the victor controlling the future of mankind.
Lethbridge-Stewart must call upon the brightest and the best to ensure that Britain is successful in its negotiations, as the alternative is simply too terrifying for him to contemplate… an alien menace – allied to the Soviet Union!
Failure is not an option. Not at any price.
Spheres of Influence was originally planned for release in early 2022, but real-world events unfolding in the Ukraine led to it beiing delayed; range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen explained:
We were nearing the end of editing, with the final changes just arriving from Violet and David, when the invasion began. Knowing the content of Spheres of Influence (originally called The Russian Incursion) I became a tad worried that releasing it at that time might be insensitive, not knowing how many of our readers may have been personally affected by the war in Ukraine. A long conversation was held between Shaun (Russell) and I, and we decided to hold off the book for a while. I spoke to the authors, explained the situation and they agreed.
Violet Addison said:
This book was originally written in 2020, during the height of the pandemic, and was supposed to be published in early 2022. It was designed to be something of a warning, dressed up as science-fiction. It was all going to be jolly good fun, dealing with real-world issues, using good old-fashioned sci-fi metaphors. Then real life intervened. Suddenly real-world events were dangerously close to those in our supposedly far-fetched fiction, so we chose to delay publication, until the real world settled down. Ten months later, it now finally feels appropriate to release it. We’ve not changed a single word of the text. The parallels with the real world will now be glaringly obvious – our warning far too late – but many of the underlying messages are now more pressing, more real, than ever. We therefore like to think that it’s a book with something relevant to say.
Violet and David are no strangers to the worlds of Doctor Who fiction, having previously written (individually) short stories for Big Finish’s Short Trips collections and the Bernice Summerfield collections, and together they penned a Faction Paradox short story for Obverse Books. Andy said::
Originally, the book was pitched to me as a short story for one of the HAVOC Files, but there was something in the idea I liked. And I thought it would be better served if explored as a novel. Some stories are just too big for small-form, they need more space to breathe. And so I posed the idea of making it a novel, and Violet and David jumped at the opportunity.
David N Smith said:
This is the first time we’ve written a novel. We’ve had over a dozen short stories published, in numerous anthologies and fanzines, but we’ve never had the confidence to complete 70,000 words before. There are at least four failed, half-written books stashed away on forgotten hard drives. So, when we were asked to write a novel by Andy, we gladly accepted, as we knew it would provide us with the structure we needed to actually get it done. Having a deadline, and knowing it would be published, is extraordinarily motivating. It gave us focus. And it taught us we could do it. As writers it’s been an incredibly useful process, as it means we now know with certainty, we can do it. So, one day we’ll be able to write another, because now we know we can.
Violet added:
The real joy of working on this range for us is, of course, writing for Lethbridge-Stewart. He’s such a wonderful, idiosyncratic character. A legend. An icon. In sixty years of Doctor Who, no other character has come close to making the same impact as he did, albeit in a very understated way. He never stole the show, but he always did his duty. There simply are not enough fictional characters like Lethbridge-Stewart. Reliable, dependable and professional; a good man simply trying to do the best he can. We really believe Lethbridge-Stewart will still be appearing in stories a hundred years from now. That’s what makes him important. That’s why it’s a privilege to write for him. He’s the type of person we should all aspire to be.
The cover is by popular artist Martin Baines:
I really enjoyed doing the cover for this one. It’s got a monster, snow and guns – what’s not to like. Saying that, I was slightly annoyed that the Brigadier does not have a moustache. I asked Shaun if I could add one, but he said a definite no. Apparently the Brig shaves it off before this scene. I miss the moustache, but, despite this, I hope I’ve done the Brig proud.
The novel can be ordered from the Candy Jar website, and is covered by an existing subscription with the publisher.
A short story collection has been released for The Lucy Wilson Mysteries series:
The Best Christmas Ever
Written by Chris Lynch
Cover by Steve Beckett
Christmas is the busiest time of the year, but this never seems to be a problem for the monsters and aliens that visit Lucy Wilson over the festive period!
Alongside her best friend Hobo, Lucy discovers one of her grandad’s old secrets, investigates a creepy haunted mansion, and gets a visit from a mysterious goatman called Krampus, who takes bad children away.
This is a collection of three stories set over the Christmases of 2018, 2019 and 2020. Defending Earth doesn’t stop for anything, not even Christmas!
But which Christmas is the best one ever?
Featuring A Little Lucy Christmas (previously released in 2020), The Grey Lady of Martyr’s House (from 2021), and a brand new story The Krampus Who Came to Tea.
The Lucy Wilson Mysteries is a Lethbridge-Stewart spin-off adventure and featured licensed characters created for Doctor Who by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln.
Author Chris Lynch said:
The yearly Lucy Wilson Christmas story has become a tradition in the Lynch house, as much a part of our festive activities as putting up the tree, wrapping the presents, or closing the curtains and pretending that we're all out when my sister calls over.
Don't ask me why but Christmas just seems the perfect time of year for shrink rays, death beams, ghosts, monsters, and mysterious time travelling goatmen to all make their appearance. So, I hope you enjoy these very non-traditional, but still very festive, stories!
The collection is available to order from the Candy Jar website.
