Lethbridge-Stewart

THE LUCY WILSON MYSTERIES: THE PENNYWORTH RECURSION

11 July 2024 admin Comments 0 Comment

Candy Jar Books is thrilled to announce an exciting new addition to The Lucy Wilson Mysteries series: The Pennyworth Recursion.

Penned by veteran Lucy Wilson author Chris Lynch, this captivating short story continues the adventures of Lucy and Hobo.

Publishing Co-ordinator, Keren Williams, shares her enthusiasm:

“Chris has been with us since the inception of this series and has a remarkable grasp of the characters, especially Hobo. Whenever I get a Chris story for proofing, I know that I’m going to have a fantastic couple of days!”

The Pennyworth Recursion reintroduces the character of Pennyworth, originally seen in the Lethbridge-Stewart novel, The George Kostinen Mystery. Pennyworth, a robot Yeti created by Hobo, aids him in navigating his bleak, dystopian life. This story brims with humour and adventure, featuring multiple versions of Pennyworth from alternate dimensions!

Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, adds:

“Chris has been a cornerstone of the Lucy Wilson series, particularly with his annual Christmas stories. While this story takes on a slightly darker tone, akin to The Terminator franchise, Chris’ signature outlandish ideas make it truly exceptional.”

Renowned Beano artist, Steve Beckett, once again delivers a fantastic cover, which showcases various Yetis, including Pirate Yeti, Cowboy Yeti, and Football Yeti.

Blurb for The Pennyworth Recursion:

Lucy and Hobo embark on an olde-worlde coach trip to Bledoe. It’s clearly a trap, but with tickets priced at just 1p, how can they resist? Or more accurately, how can Hobo resist? Lucy isn’t convinced the price is worth the ride…

On a musty old coach packed with OAPs, they find solace in Pennyworth, a virtual, portable assistant created by Hobo. However, their luck takes a turn when Pennyworth calculates their chances of reaching Bledoe are… zero.

Robotic Yetis appear from nowhere – one in a cowboy hat, another wearing a football kit, and one half the size of the others! Despite their differences, they all share one name: Pennyworth.

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

Lethbridge-Stewart The Epic Finale Begins… Here!

3 September 2023 admin Comments 0 Comment

UN Cover

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce the third title in its final series of Lethbridge-Stewart novels.

United Nations is written by Jonathan Blum, his first Lethbridge-Stewart novel, but by no means his first foray into Doctor Who fiction. During the 1990s he penned several Doctor Who novels with his partner, Kate Orman, for BBC Books, including Vampire Science and Seeing I. Outside of books, he also wrote the seminal Big Finish audio, The Fearmonger.

Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen says:

“I’ve long wanted to work with Jon Blum, having been an admirer of his work since I first read Vampire Science in 1997. It took a while to work out, since Jon is a busy chap and we needed a window that would work for him. A such, his first Lethbridge-Stewart novel comes at the end of the range, and has taken something of a lengthy gestation period. For these last few novels, starting with Spheres of Influence and It Came from the Isle of Man, I made sure the authors worked closely together to build up an ongoing situation, worthy of such a big event as the creation of UNIT.”

Jonathan Blum says:

“Much of this book was springboarding off of where John Peel left his book. He set up an adventure with international scope, then resolved the crisis itself… Because John was doing the big alien adventure, I wanted to explore the other half of what would become UNIT’s remit; ‘anything unknown [on Earth], or even beyond.’ I wanted human-scale adversaries, people living with the unearthly or trying to exploit it. And I wanted to show how humans can produce the sort of global threats the UN is supposed to be uniting us to deal with. The business with the Odds was inspired by some middle-aged reflection on just how outrageously unlikely my life has been over the years. Lethbridge-Stewart keeps trying to have a normal life in the midst of barking madness, and I wanted to draw some parallels with these other people coping with improbable events. Dramatize that sense of a little bubble of normality, but on a global scale. And then blow it up.”

Setting up UNIT is a large part of these final books. Frankham-Allen continues:

“That was also the endgame of this series, to fill the gap between The Web of Fear and The Invasion, to show what happened in those four years between to not only Lethbridge-Stewart, but Earth at large. What series of events would warrant the set-up of such an international force…? We had it all planned, and things were going smoothly, and then we were hit with a bizarre reference to The War Machines (a story that happened long before The Web of Fear) in 2022 with Doctor Who: Flux…”

Jonathan Blum explains:

“We were most of the way through the story, when suddenly Flux established that UNIT was being set up years before Lethbridge-Stewart even came on board [despite countless previous references to his importance in the founding of UNIT]. But then if you look at what actually happens in Flux, it turns out there’s a very good reason why the original UNIT was strangled at birth, and needed our heroes to breathe life into it. And suddenly we see some things the Brigadier’s superiors did earlier in the book series in a rather different light…”

This book also sees the full return of Captain Kramer, who previously appeared in Times Squared…

Blum continues:

“Thirty years ago now, I made my student film Time Rift, and Marsha Twitty played Adrienne Kramer, commander of UNIT USA. And her part kept getting bigger, because her performance really jumped off the screen. Marsha became a lifelong friend, and Kate and I wrote General Kramer into our Eighth Doctor novels. Then the Lethbridge-Stewart team asked if they could feature a younger Kramer in their series. But when Marsha passed away in 2019, I decided I wanted to write for her once more as a tribute. Somehow that snowballed into being the big founding-of-UNIT story! I talked with Marsha’s friends, her mother and her boyfriend, and really tried to dig into the truth of what it would be like for a young Black woman officer working at the UN in those days. She was a joy to write for – a take-charge woman who’s also really good at keeping things to herself, and having more up her sleeve than you think. And we see very different sides to her in these books. Even after all these years, she was still able to surprise me!”

Blurb:

It was impossible that the public could ever have missed seeing the giant alien spaceship. But somehow, everyone did.

The US and USSR both want to know how the UK covered the incident up. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart would quite like to know who actually did cover it up. Old allies from both sides of the Iron Curtain are chasing the answer – but each with their own agenda. Everyone wants the power to make inconvenient secrets disappear.

The search leads Lethbridge-Stewart to the single most normal man on the Isle of Man, and what happens to the world around him when he dies. Lethbridge-Stewart faces death by coincidence, as probability gets turned upside-down.

And as the attacks get closer and closer to home, so does the political fallout. His career, his dream of uniting the worlds’ nations against alien threats, even his family could pay the ultimate price.

The final two books in this Lethbridge-Stewart series will be Intelligence Taskforce by Jonathan Blum, and the series epilogue, The Lost Son by Andy Frankham-Allen.

If you have subscription with Candy Jar Books, United Nations is covered by this.

To order, please visit https://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/unitednations.html

THE EVER-RUNNING

22 June 2021 admin Comments 0 Comment

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce the latest Lethbridge-Stewart book, The Ever-Running written by Richard Brewer.

This book is very different to the ongoing Lethbridge-Stewart series and the anthology books, The HAVOC Files. Instead, The Ever-Running is a collection of short stories with an arc, taking the Brig into situations and locations that he has never encountered before.

If you are a fan of dystopian melodrama or futuristic space operas, then this collection is just for you. However, this book offers something for everyone, especially if you are fond of the classic Doctor Who stories, The Daemons or The Android Invasion.

Richard says:

“Back in 2018 my story Shadows in the Glen was featured in the first Lethbridge-Stewart Short Story Collection, and since then I have kept in contact with Candy Jar.”

Candy Jar’s Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, says:

“I was very impressed with the quality of Richard’s work, and after he submitted A Message from the Brigadier – a companion piece that featured alongside the free Lucy Wilson story Copy/Paste during lockdown in 2020 – we began to talk about him writing a full book.”

The Ever-Running sees the Brig facing a new enemy, one who has the ability to manipulate his timeline and beyond!

“I wanted to take the Brigadier to places that he has never been before,” Richard says.

“It was tremendous fun to drop him into unknown territory!”

But then Richard received some terrible news. He continues:

“I started writing The Ever-Running during a particularly difficult time. My wife was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the beginning of last year. At first, she and I shared a deep sense of powerlessness and frustration at the news. But after the initial shock, and following some investigation into the current state of research into brain tumour treatment, we both knew that we desperately wanted to raise some money. I approached Shaun about writing a selection of short stories to raise funds for this urgent cause and he readily agreed.”

Every year some 16,000 people are diagnosed with a brain tumour; a disease which is responsible for more deaths of children and adults under the age of forty than any other cancer. Sadly, despite this startling fact, the funding into research is very low, as is evidenced by the fact that the prognoses for brain tumours have not changed in forty years. However, helping lead the fight against this devastating and indiscriminate disease is the Brain Tumour Charity.

Coincidentally Shaun found himself working on The Ever-Running under similar circumstances. Sadly his daughter was knocked down by a car, fracturing her lower back and pelvis on both sides leaving her unable to walk. Shaun says: “COVID restrictions meant that I had to stay with her as she recuperated in hospital, so as she was sleeping (or playing on her Nintendo Switch) I edited Richard’s book, and I am so grateful that I was able to do this during the obvious worrying times I was facing. As a cancer survivor, I wholeheartedly support this book and encourage all readers to support Richard, either by buying this book, or donating to the Brain Tumour Charity (www.thebraintumourcharity.org).”

Blurb:

Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, the stoic and ever dependable defender of Earth, is about to discover that reality is under attack from an enemy that strikes from beyond the boundaries of space and time. The Ever-Running have vowed that they must never be caught, and to prevent capture they are willing to destroy all that Alistair has sworn to protect.

Explore six new adventures throughout Alistair’s life and beyond, including a desperate battle for survival on a distant ice planet, General Lethbridge-Stewart facing the outbreak of World War 3 in the 1980s, a young girl escaping a remote Hampshire village where the sick never return from an idyllic island, and three further adventures that take the Brigadier to the far future, and a realm beyond the universe itself.

The Ever-Running is written by Richard Brewer, the author of the short story File# 161229 and Shadows in the Glen. Profits from this book will be donated to the Brain Tumour Charity.

The Ever-Running is available to pre-order via this link http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/theeverrunning.html and will be released in early July 2021.

THE EVER-RUNNING IS NOT COVERED BY ANY SUBSCRIPTION OFFER.

THE PHANTOMS OF TUSKER ROCK

15 September 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce that The Phantoms of Tusker Rock, the latest instalment of The Lucy Wilson Mysteries, is now available for pre-order, exclusively from the Candy Jar and Lethbridge-Stewart websites.

Lucy Wilson is the granddaughter of the iconic Doctor Who favourite Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, and the last three years have seen her contend with a succession of extra-terrestrial threats drawn to her home in the seaside village of Ogmore-by-Sea, just outside of Bridgend.

Like several of Lucy’s previous adventures, the latest mystery is rooted in the area’s ancient legends. It was a concept that appealed to author Christopher Bryant, whose Welsh heritage has always informed his life and work.

Christopher says:

“One of the things I’ve always loved about Doctor Who is how it opens a portal – sometimes literally – between the everyday and the fantastic. In particular I’ve always liked the episodes that take the viewer into history. Whether it’s the Doctor’s flirting with Elizabeth I, or taking a jaunt around Dickensian London, it’s such a cool way of giving young viewers a sense of connection to their heritage. When Candy Jar approached me, I saw the opportunity to root around in that rich trove of folklore and myth and, hopefully, introduce it to a new generation.”

In The Phantoms of Tusker Rock we find Lucy and her superbrain sidekick Hobo encountering the ghostly cyhyraeth – a disembodied howl portending the death of the listener, which, legends say, can be heard emanating from Ogmore’s Tusker Rock to this day.

The Rock has long been a source of legend, the ruin of unwary ships for centuries. And where myths collide, and the supernatural threatens, Lucy Wilson is sure to be found.

South Wales, of course, has been a hotspot of all things extra-terrestrial, extratemporal and extraordinary ever since the BBC established the home of Doctor Who in Cardiff. As the capital of not only (unquestionably) the world’s most beautiful country, but also one of its most loved and enduring franchises, in recent years the city has drawn in tourists from all over the world, keen to see the real-life home of the Doctor’s adventures.

As Candy Jar’s Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, puts it:

“You can go anywhere in the world and people know Wales because of the Doctor. When we started the Lucy Wilson series, we knew we wanted to build on this connection; not only did basing our stories in Wales help establish an internal logic within the wider universe, but being a Cardiff company built up Lucy’s adventures. Lucy is a mixed-race character, who moved to the area from London. Using her character as the means to explore Wales’ folklore, we hope to paint a picture of Wales in the modern day – a country proud of its traditions yet cosmopolitan, diverse, and entirely at home in the twenty-first century.”

Blurb of The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: The Phantoms of Tusker Rock:

Lucy Wilson might be the scourge of all things extra-terrestrial, but her latest opponent is a little closer to home. Try as Lucy might, her dad just doesn’t get it. Earth’s last line of defence doesn’t get to take days off, even if it means staying out on a school night!

Particularly when those nights are broken by the sound of supernatural howling. And ghostly Vikings stalking the streets. And a mysterious coven of druids, led by someone who looks awfully like the little old woman down the road…

Whatever her dad says, Lucy’s got a job to do. But with night falling, and the waters rising, soon she finds herself cut off from everyone she loves.

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

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries:

The Phantoms of Tusker Rock is available from

http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/thephantomsoftuskerrock.html

THE BRIGADIER FACES HIS WORST FEAR!

15 September 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce a very special book for 2020, the second of its standalone Lethbridge-Stewart hardback novels, Kiss of the Ice Maiden by Michael Sloan.

Michael Sloan has hundreds of TV credits to his name, including Battlestar Galactica, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Six Million Dollar Man, The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. However, he is perhaps best known as the creator of the original The Equalizer TV series, which has subsequently been adapted into a billion-dollar franchise starring Denzel Washington.

In the late ‘60s, early ‘70s Michael spent a great deal of time in the UK and fell in love with Doctor Who, particularly the Jon Pertwee era.

Michael says:

“I have been a fan of Doctor Who for as long as I can remember. I wanted my Lethbridge-Stewart book to be a distinctive departure for his character. So, in my book the Brigadier falls in love! This is a thriller and, as you would imagine, the course of true love does not run smooth. Despite this, I thought it would make a change for the readers to see Lethbridge-Stewart wrestling with his emotions. He is vulnerable and his normal stalwart persona has been emotionally comprised.”

Kiss of the Ice Maiden is reminiscent of the early 1970s Hammer Horror films set in present day such as Dracula A.D. 1972. It has supernatural and horrific overtones, and is the kind of book that would expect from the creator of The Equalizer.

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

“A few years ago I worked together with Michael on Lost in Christmas, a children’s book about a family who become trapped inside Christmas cards and have to find a way to escape. While working on this, I sent Michael some Lethbridge-Stewart books and he devoured them. It wasn’t long before he pitched his own idea and I jumped at it. His story is certainly a different perspective on our hero. It also takes us right back to the 1970s, and picks up where we left off after A Very Private Haunting.”

The Kiss of the Ice Maiden delves deeper into the Brig’s past to find out what makes him tick. Alongside this, Anne Travers has lost her father to the Great Intelligence, and has turned her back on HAVOC. Michael’s story is an emotional punch-up and is reminiscent of The Equalizer.

Michael continues:

“The book does echo some of my screenplays I have written over the years, where the hero is flawed, but still very much a hero. I did this with some effect in the three Equalizer books. The Robert McCall character is tough, edgy and mercurial, all qualities that he shares with Lethbridge-Stewart. Particularly when he has been played with such strength and vision by Denzel Washington in the two Equalizer movies that have been shot by Sony/Columbia.”

The striking cover art is by artist Martin Baines, who created artwork for the Downtime hardback. Martin says:

“For me book covers need to convey the feel and mood inside a book. I don’t think you are treating the reader well if every cover looks the same with a generic photoshopped face of the hero on the cover and is often short sighted. When I was briefed by Candy Jar I instantly thought of the brilliant painted covers for Pan’s paperbacks in the sixties and posters for Hammer Horror. I do not normally use this type of palette so it was a bit of experiment but I really liked the poster of Hammer’s The Gorgan and thought it was a good starting point. I think it makes this cover slightly different and more special for the readers. The empty fairground also brought great images in my head”

Preview of the book:

“Lethbridge-Stewart moved through the overlapping shadows in the cemetery with his heart pounding in his chest. The coffin was shrouded by rain that sheeted across the ground. He knew what would be waiting for him, but he could not turn away from it. He approached the grave carefully, aware that one of the shadows could manifest itself into the shape of the creatures. Vines had wrapped their tentacles around the coffin. Lethbridge-Stewart stepped up alongside it, holding onto his revolver, and lifted the lid. He shoved it to one side, revealing the creature lying beneath. She was a scarecrow of the vision he had in his mind. Her skin was dry and flaked off when he touched it. She was a husk, wasting away as if ravaged by a deadly disease. Her eyes were obsidian, her long eyelashes a mockery of the once beautiful face. Its texture repelled him. It was his worst nightmare.”

A Lethbridge-Stewart thriller by Michael Sloan.

NB: THE KISS OF THE ICE MAIDEN IS NOT COVERED BY ANY SUBSCRIPTION OFFER.

There will be two editions of The Kiss of the Ice Maiden, both now available for pre-order:

Standard paperback edition (limited to 300 copies) for £10.00 (+ p&p).

Limited hardback edition for £25 (+ p&p). This will include a postcard and free book featuring stories from the LSVerse.

You can also buy a bundle of Kiss of the Ice Maiden and Lost in Christmas.

FIRST-TIME NOVELIST FOR FOREWORD TO THE PAST

30 April 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce that the fifth and final instalment in the five-book Bloodlines sequence of novels is now up for pre-order.

Continuing on from The George Kostinen Mystery, Foreword to the Past is written by first-time novelist Baz Greenland and sees our heroes finally joining forces as they travel through time to save the universe itself.

Range Editor, Andy Frankham-Allen, says:

“Originally entitled Back to the Past, this final part of the sequence was going to be co-written between me and Baz, but after seeing how effortlessly he wrote his short story, The Dinner Party, I decided to step back and let him write it on his own. Baz and I go back a few years now, 2014 I think, and we met when I did a talk at Rhydypennau Library on the companions of Doctor Who. His son displayed a remarkable knowledge of Doctor Who, and I soon got to talking to Baz himself. Since then we’ve often talked about writing, and Baz’s interest in such. As ever, it was just a case of finding the right story for him, the right opportunity. And here we are.”

Baz Greenland worked on his first unpublished novel at the age of ten, and has been working to develop as a writer ever since. He has written two plays for the Manchester Fringe theatre scene and a script for online comedy series Supermarket Matters. He regularly reviews TV, audio and film through his role as writer and TV editor for The Digital Fix. Baz first published prose work was with The Dinner Party in last year’s The Laughing Gnome: Havoc Files collection.

Baz says:

“As a big Doctor Who fan, writing for one of the show’s most iconic characters has been a dream come true. I am incredibly grateful for Andy and Candy Jar Books for giving me the opportunity. With their support, I’ve been able to achieve my dream of seeing my name in print. I cut my teeth into this world with The Dinner Party last year and it’s been an absolute pleasure – and a challenge – to go bigger with Foreword to the Past. Getting into the minds of Lethbridge Stewart, Anne Bishop, George ‘Hobo’ Kostinen and real-life hero Eileen Le Croissette has been a privilege. I’ve also had the duty of bringing to a conclusion a number of threads running through the Bloodlines series and I hope I’ve done it justice!”

Andy says:

“With four heroes it made sense to have two plot threads, and so from the outset of developing Bloodlines, it was essential that the threat not only be directed at Lethbridge-Stewart’s family line, but also Anne’s. The culmination of this sends our heroes into the past – specifically the 1967 Doctor Who serial The Abominable Snowmen and an event referenced both in Baz’s short story, The Dinner Party, and the book three of Bloodlines, An Ordinary Man. While one team of heroes have to avoid changing the past and interacting with established events, the other team have to ensure that Lethbridge-Stewart’s grandparents meet and fall in love. Both classic scif-fi tropes, and both wonderfully spun into a fun yarn by Baz in Foreword to the Past.”

Baz concludes:

“Foreword to the Past is an epic adventure, filled with lots of wonderful character moments. Getting into their heads, understanding what makes them tick, is what really drives me as a writer and I’ve really put these four heroes through their paces. From a new twist on a classic Doctor Who story to nineteenth century France, I wanted to use real and fictional past events to shape the story. On screen, Anne and Lethbridge-Stewart never got to go travelling through time. In Foreword to the Past, I give these characters just that.”

The cover is a return engagement for the artist responsible for The Lucy Wilson Mysteries’ covers, Steve Beckett. Steve says:

“Foreword to the Past is my third piece of cover art for the Lethbridge-Stewart series. Each cover I have worked on has called for a slightly different art style from me which is great fun and certainly stretches me as an artist. This cover gave me the challenge of developing the look of Hobo who first appeared on the covers of the Lucy Wilson series. The Lucy book covers are very cartoony and Hobo is very simply drawn, so for this book he needed to look more real. The author’s description of Hobo dictated his dress sense and included Hobo’s trademark hoody, but I had to develop his facial features, which was tricky considering his lack of hair and eyebrows! I settled on using my eldest son, Ethan, as a starting point, imagining him without his hair. I wanted to make sure Hobo still had his wide piercing eyes and I think it worked out well. Hobo is probably relieved that he is not being attacked by some alien beastie on this cover for a change!”

Blurb:

The Accord has assembled its team from various realities: Lethbridge-Stewart, Anne Travers, Eileen Le Croissette and Hobo Kostinen. They have been given their missions…

For Hobo and Eileen, it is a trip to 1935, and Tibet. There they must ensure that anthropologist Edward Travers is not killed. If they fail, he will not go on to meet the Doctor, nor will he go on to father Anne Travers, undoing decades of future history.

For Lethbridge-Stewart and Anne, it is a trip further back, to May 1896, Paris. There they must ensure that Lethbridge-Stewart’s grandparents meet and fall in love. If they do not, then Lethbridge-Stewart’s father will never be born, and neither will Lethbridge-Stewart himself.

But there is a mysterious force at work, targeting both time zones simultaneously. One determined to erase the bloodlines of both the Lethbridge-Stewarts and Traverses, and if it succeeds, the very future of the universe will completely fall apart.

Our heroes must use every skill they possess to protect and restore time, and make sure that the Lethbridge-Stewarts and Traverses go on to protect the future of Earth

Foreword to the Past will be followed by the final book in series seven, a sequel to 2015’s The Schizoid Earth and a final trip into parallel realities, I, Alastair by Robert Mammone.

If your have subscription with Candy Jar Books, Bloodlines: Foreword to the Past is covered by this.

To order, please visit .

Candy Jar Books Announces Lethbridge – Stewart Short Story Competition Three

28 March 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

Following the success of the first two Lethbridge-Stewart Short Story Competitions, Candy Jar is having a third round with another competition. As with the second one, it will be open to previously unpublished writers both in and outside the UK.

Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, says:

“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, adds:

“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 continues:

“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.

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

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 ). 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.

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: The Serpent’s Tongue

17 March 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce that the latest The Lucy Wilson Mysteries novel, The Serpent’s Tongue is now up for pre-order, exclusively from the Candy Jar and Lethbridge-Stewart websites.

This information is being released to coincide with Shakespeare Week, an annual celebration giving primary school children opportunities for enriching and enjoyable early experiences of Shakespeare. Written by Jonathan Macho The Serpent’s Tongue finds Lucy and Hobo time travelling back to Stratford-upon-Avon during the Shakespeare Jubilee celebrations of 1769.”

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

“Jonathan 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, says:

“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.”

The Serpent’s Tongue is a Shakespearean tour-de-force and a must for fans of the Bard. However, some children (and adults) find Shakespeare difficult to get into. Jonathan feels that Shakespeare should be fun. He continues:

“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.”

Blurb for The Serpent’s Tongue:

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.

The Serpent’s Tongue is available from this link.

LETHBRIDGE-STEWART THE GEORGE KOSTINEN MYSTERY

1 March 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce the fourth instalment in the five-book Bloodlines sequence of novels is now up for pre-order.

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 popular author 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.”

Blurb:

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…

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.

If your have subscription with Candy Jar Books, Bloodlines: The George Kostinen Mystery is covered by this.

The book is available for pre-order now for £8.99 (+ p&p).

AUTHOR CHANGE FOR AN ORDINARY MAN

15 December 2019 admin Comments 0 Comment

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce the third instalment in the six-book Bloodlines sequence of novels is now up for pre-order.

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 explains 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 says:

“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 says:

“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 continues:

“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. Colin says:

“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. Colin says:

“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.”

Blurb:

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!

If your have subscription with Candy Jar Books, Bloodlines: An Ordinary Man is covered by this.

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