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THE LUCY WILSON MYSTERIES: LOCKDOWN!

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce that 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.


Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, says: “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 received some very positive feedback. 

Jonathan says: “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 continues: “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, Andy made a start on the story. After this things just fell into place and we soon had eight stories.”


Tim Gambrell, who previously wrote The Brigadier & the Bledoe Cadets, is honoured to be a part of this collection. He says: “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.”


The collection is aptly entitled Lockdown and contains eight short stories. Aside from Andy and Tim, the other authors include John Peel, Tom Dexter, Alan Stott, Cherry Cobb, Paul W Robinson, Adrian Sherlock and Shaun Russell.


Shaun says: “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.” 


Adrian says: “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.”


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. She says: “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.”


Our only female writer for this collection is Cherry Cobb, who successfully contributed to last year’s Christmas Crackers anthology. She says: “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 says: “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 WhoStar TrekQuantum Leap and Lethbridge-Stewart novels. Shaun says: “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 says: “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.”


Blurb for 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. 

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: Lockdown is available HERE!

The royalties from this book will be donated to NHS charities. Whatever is raised Candy Jar will double. This book is available exclusively through Candy Jar. It will not be available via any other retailers.

The Laughing Gnome – An Anthology

Candy Jar Books is proud to announce that a brand new limited edition anthology of short stories set within The Laughing Gnome series is now up for pre-order directly from the Candy Jar webstore.

From September 2018 to May 2019, the Lethbridge-Stewart range has been releasing The Laughing Gnome sequence of novels, which sees the Brigadier, Anne Travers and Bill Bishop astral projected throughout the Brigadier’s timeline. The six-book series covers the major points in the sequence, but not all the astral jumps through time. The HAVOC Files: The Laughing Gnome explores a further eight adventures in the sequence.

Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen explains further: “Between Fear of the Web and Rise of the Dominator there are twelve further jumps; that’s twelve time periods in which our heroes find themselves. Three times twelve, in fact, as each of our heroes have an adventure in any given time period. Some of these jumps have been mentioned in the sequence of novels, but by the time of Rise of the Dominator only one of these adventures has been chronicled (the third novel in the sequence, The Danger Men, shows Bill Bishop’s adventure in 1999). This anthology chronicles a further eight adventures covering 1929, 1963, 1986, 1955, 1993 and more!”

Among the eight authors selected for The HAVOC Files: The Laughing Gnome anthology are popular Lethbridge-Stewart writers John Peel, Sarah Groenewegen, Harry Draper and Shaun Collins, as well as acclaimed Australian author George Ivanoff. A full list of authors and story titles will appear on the Candy Jar website in due course.

The cover is by ever-popular Doctor Who and Lethbridge-Stewart artist Colin Howard. “Finally, The Laughing Gnome gave me an opportunity to paint Nicholas Courtney’s likeness ‘undisguised’ on the Cover of a Lethbridge-Stewart book, after a hiatus from the covers, due to working on the BBC Animations for Shada and The Macra Terror over the past couple of years. For this cover I utilised screen-grabs from of both the Brig and Anne Travers, which I then sketched digitally into position. From there I painted them digitally, using my usual technique, whereby I start with mid-skin tones, then add shadowed areas, down to almost black, then return to adding the lighter areas on the portrait up to white to give a nice realistic feel. In the detail areas I tend to zoom-in to a minimum of 250-300 pixels per square inch to ensure a realistic finish to my painting and to achieve the finer detail. I decided to go with a classic military green for the Brigadier’s uniform rather than the awful washed-out khaki/ochre of season seven.

“With Anne, I used the same technique, although, when you get a nice likeness/screen grab, it often means that you have areas of the head cropped out of screen-shot, so I looked for other scenes where the rest of her hairstyle can be ascertained; in this case a  small 1960s beehive, which she had in the latter episodes of The Web of Fear, although I did exaggerate it slightly to mimic a Gnomes hat. I also did a little bit of a search online to get eye/hair colour, etc, and incorporate those into the artwork. Each Portrait is around one-two days’ work, plus background, so in the end it takes around a week to paint each cover.

“One of the things I have always enjoyed with some of the art jobs I’ve had in my career is when I get to create something from the author’s descriptions in the text, and with the Laughing Gnome a nice detailed description was available from Simon a Forward’s Scary Monsters. So I did a few slight alterations from my initial sketch, and ended up with the ‘cheery/sinister fellow’ featured on the final art, complete with a weathered look of an old Ornament with moss/lichen decorating his visage. This is probably the part of doing these books I enjoy the most, when your creative side is challenged, and you get to design your own creature from a brief, and you aren’t just copying a design or just adding effects/filters to a photograph. Like most of the other covers out there these days.”

The HAVOC Files: The Laughing Gnome will be a limited edition release, available only through the Candy Jar website. Please get your pre-orders in early to ensure you have a copy of what will undoubtably be a popular and quickly sold-out anthology.

Blurb:

Sir Alistair, Dame Anne and Brigadier Bishop have been astral projected throughout the Brigadier’s timeline by the mysterious entity known only as the Laughing Gnome. Thirteen jumps, thirty-nine different adventures.

Explore eight new encounters through time in the brand new anthology, including Sir Alistair finding himself in the body of his uncle, Matthew Lethbridge-Stewart, in the 1930s; uncovering a Silurian relic in the 1980s; and an encounter in Africa with his eldest son, Mariama Lethbridge-Stewart, in 1963! And Dame Anne encounters the Borad in 1930s Scotland, in a new story by the creator of the BBC smash, Land Girls, Roland Moore!

Featuring stories written by some of the most popular Lethbridge-Stewart authors, including Harry Draper (Lineage, Short Trips: The Last Day at Work), Sarah Groenewegen (The Daughters of Earth), James Middleditch (Piece of Mind), and John Peel (The Life of Evans, Doctor Who: The Daleks’ Masterplan).

The HAVOC Files: The Laughing Gnome is up for pre-order now for £10.00 (+ p&p) directly from Candy Jar Books.

NB: The HAVOC Files: The Laughing Gnome is not included in any subscription or multi-book deal.

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

 

The Brigadier: Declassified

Candy Jar Books is proud to announce the long-awaited celebratory book, The Brigadier: Declassified.

Originally scheduled for release in 2018 under the name The Brigadier: 50 Years of Lethbridge-Stewart, this book is a non-fiction look at the many lives of Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart from his TV years through to his appearances in audio dramas and prose!

Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, explains the background of the book: “The plan was to release a book about the Brigadier in all his many iterations to celebrate his fiftieth anniversary, but sadly due to some behind-the-scenes issues the book had to be delayed. We lost our original editor. I asked Andy (Frankham-Allen) to take over, which meant trying to fit it into his busy schedule. Andy also had to start more or less from scratch, which meant seeking out new contributors.”

Editor Andy Frankham-Allen continues: “It’s been enjoyable process, although somewhat long-winded. I wanted to get as much variety as possible, with articles looking at not only the Brigadier’s television adventures, but also his other media appearances, including his time with Big Finish and our very own Lethbridge-Stewart range of novels. The result is, I hope, a nice mixed bag, which a little something to interest every fan of the Brigadier.”

The cover is by regular Lethbridge-Stewart artist Richard Young.

Blurb:

Celebrating one of Doctor Who’s most legendary characters, The Brigadier: Declassified is a collection of articles and essays covering the Brigadier’s storied career.

From 1968 to 1975, Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart was a regular feature on Doctor Who. He returned to the show several times through the 1980s and later in the spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures. But his appearances were not limited to the television; he has appeared in comics, novels, audio dramas and even a straight-to-video film!

Join us as we take a look at Nicholas Courntey’s life in Thirteen Objects, explore the concept of parallel worlds with Peter Grehan, refresh your knowledge of Big Finish and the Lethbridge-Stewart range books, learn about the work that goes into bringing the Brigadier to life with artists Adrian Salmon and Colin Howard… and much more!

Also features reviews of every televisual appearance by the Brigadier with Simon A Forward and Glenn Bartlett, and an exclusive interview with the Brigadier’s right-hand man, John Levene!

With a foreword by Terry Molloy.

The Brigadier: Declassified is due for release in the summer of 2019, and is up for pre-order now for £8.99 (+ p&p) directly from Candy Jar Books.

NB: The Brigadier: Declassified was previously announced as The Brigadier: 50 Years of Lethbridge-Stewart

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

FREE ADVENT DAYS 23 & 24

Two more days, and two more Candy Jar Christmas Advents.

For Christmas Eve eve there is a special sample of Downtime: Children of the New World. The official sequel to the 1995 film, Downtime, Children of the New World reunites the Brigadier with his daughter Kate, and sends them and their allies on a rescue mission when the Brigadier’s grandchildren, Gordy and Conall, are kidnapped!

And for Christmas Eve there is a Lucy Wilson Mysteries Christmas Special. Two stories from Tim Gambrell and Chris Lynch. One a Christmas caper in Ogmore-by-Sea, and another displaying a Lucy Wilson spin on A Christmas Carol!

Download both here for FREE: http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/adventcalendar.html

FREE ADVENT DAY 22

For Day 22 of their Christmas Advent, Candy Jar had released another BRAND NEW free short story set in the Lethbridge-Stewart universe.

This time it’s Vampires of the Night by Chris Thomas. It’s 1942 and Professor Edward Travers and the Home-Army Fourth Operational Corps are called in to investigate some very strange goings on…

Download it free now: http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/adventcalendar.html

FREE ADVENT DAY 20

Candy Jar’s Advent Day 20 is something special. A full and FREE documentary about Eileen Younghusband, a hero from World War II who entered the fictional Lethbridge-Stewart universe in 2016’s The Last Duty and The Flaming Soldier. She returns to the series in 2019 with the series seven novel, Home Fires Burn by Gareth Madgwick!

To watch the documentary just click here: http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/owwdoc.html

FREE ADVENT DAYS 18 & 19

Two more advents have been revealed by Candy Jar Books.

Day 18 is a brand new free story from Alyson Leeds, who previously authored the short story, All the Kings Men, in The HAVOC Files 4, and the novel, The Laughing Gnome: Fear of the Web.

Download A Funny Turn here: http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/freebrandnewstory.html

Day 19 is seven episode of Kangazang, written by Terry Cooper and read by Colin Baker.

Download here: http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/freekangazang.html

FREE ADVENT DAY 16

Every day leading up to Christmas, Candy Jar Books is offering free stuffing in their Advent Calendar.

Today, December 16th, it’s a whole book! Beware of the Mirror Man is written by Benjamin Burford-Jones, the author of 2017’s Lethbridge-Stewart novel, The Dreamer’s Lament.

Get your free book HERE!

PROVISIONAL RELEASE SCHEDULE 2019

As we near the end of 2018, we’d like to share with you are release schedule for the first half of 2019.

Please note: these dates are provisional, and subject to change.

  • February: The Laughing Gnome – Rise of the Dominator by Robert Mammone
  • March: The Laughing Gnome – Lucy Wilson and the Bledoe Cadets by Tim Gambrell
  • April: On His Majesty’s National Service by David A McIntee
  • May: The Brigadier – More than Fifty Years of a Doctor Who Legend
  • June: The HAVOC Files – Loose Ends by Andy Frankham-Allen
  • July: Downtime – Children of the New World

DOWNTIME: CHILDREN OF THE NEW WORLD

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce a very special book for 2019, the first of its standalone Lethbridge-Stewart novels. Downtime: Children of the New World by Andy Frankham-Allen.

In co-ordination with Reeltime Pictures, Downtime: Children of the New World is a sequel to their straight-to-video film, Downtime, which introduced the Doctor Who world to the Brigadier’s daughter, Kate Lethbridge-Stewart. Both are reunited in this new novel, appearing together in a full novel for the first time in over twenty years!

Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, as played by Jemma Redgrave, became a semi-regular feature in Doctor Who following her appearance in 2012s The Power of Three by current-series showrunner, Chris Chibnall. She continued to appear throughout Peter Capaldi’s time as the Doctor, and currently enjoys her own series of UNIT adventures with Big Finish. But she first appeared in Downtime in 1995, played by Beverley Cressman, which was produced under licence from Mervyn Haisman by Reeltime Pictures Ltd, and was written by Marc Platt. Kate went on to make a few minor cameo appearances in Doctor Who novels and short stories through the remainder of the 1990s. Cressman returned to the role in 2003 for another Reeltime Pictures straight-to-video film, Dæmos Rising. Downtime: Children of the New World will be her first starring role in a novel since Marc Platt’s own novelisation of Downtime in 1995.

It’s not only Kate who is returning. Downtime: Children of the New World also features the return of her son, Gordy, who was first introduced in Downtime. Along for the adventure are other alumni from both Downtime and Dæmos Rising, including ex-UNIT captain, Douglas Cavendish. Picking up the story nine years after the defeat of the Great Intelligence in Downtime, Kate, Gordy and the Brigadier will be joined by further members of the Brigadier’s family, including his eldest grandson Conall Wilson, who first appeared in Candy Jar’s Lethbridge-Stewart series.

Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen, and author of the book, explains how it came to pass: “When I first heard of Reeltime’s forthcoming film, Anomaly, which would see Beverley returning to the role of Kate, I contacted Keith Barnfather. Initially it was simply to express my interest in Kate’s return, and how I’d be open to us working together to cross-pollinate our two ranges. Keith was very open to the idea, and before we knew it the conversation turned to prose and the idea of doing a sequel to Downtime. It took a while to work out when to set it, and after watching Dæmos Rising it became clear the book needed to be set after that film. The only proviso Keith gave me was that I needed to “set up” Anomaly.”

Set in September 2004, Downtime: Children of the New World picks up the story told in Downtime, which saw the Brigadier and his daughter join forces with Doctor Who companions Sarah Jane Smith and Victoria Waterfield to defeat the Great Intelligence’s plan of world domination through New World University. Although a sequel, the novel is intentionally written to stand on its own.

Andy explains: “All background details from Downtime will be treated the same way one treats background detail in a normal standalone novel; the reader will be told everything they need to know for the story to work. Of course, further insight can be gained by picking up Downtime, but it won’t be essential. Children of the New World is its own story. The basic idea came to me fairly quickly, but it wasn’t until I rewatched both films and had a chance to look through Marc Platt’s novelisation that the main plot point presented itself. I was determined to write a solid standalone tale, but one that was a logical continuation of Downtime, while at the same time bringing Kate and Gordy fully into the fold with the Brigadier’s extended family. The chance of having the Brigadier’s two grandsons together was too good to pass up, and that quickly became the crux of the plot.”

The striking cover art is by popular Doctor Who artist Adrian Salmon, who has done work for Doctor Who Magazine, Big Finish, the Doctor Who animated DVDs, and Candy Jar previously. He says: “Great to be asked to draw a cover for the new look Lethbridge-Stewart range! Andy and I had a lot of fun with this cover; as soon as he told me what the book was about, I knew the kind of thing I wanted to do. He gave me an open brief to redesign the Yeti, to make it more of a simian creature, and less like the way they’ve previous been depicted in Doctor Who. I wanted to incorporate silver into the design, initially as a kind of harness, before we settled on a fearsome face mask, to suggest the controlling intelligence and to make it clear these are not the Yeti fans have previously seen.”

Blurb:

Kate Lethbridge-Stewart joins her father, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, in a mission to save her son’s life!

For the last nine years Kate’s life has been a happy one. Other than a minor blip in 2003, she hasn’t had to worry about aliens bothering her or her son. Indeed, her biggest concern is Gordy’s first girlfriend. But it all changes when a face from her past appears, bringing with him a warning.

Gordy and his cousin Conall are kidnapped by a radical group calling themselves the Followers of Maitreya!

The Brigadier and Kate join forces with Douglas Cavendish and Anne Travers on a mission to save Gordy and Conall, which leads them to the ruins of Det-Sen Monastery in Tibet where deadly Yeti roam, and a prophecy is about to fulfilled!

What connects the Followers of Maitreya to a developing online school, Asteroid 4179 which is heading towards Earth, and the Brigadier’s family?

NB: DOWNTIME: CHILDREN OF THE NEW WORLD IS NOT COVERED BY ANY SUBSCRIPTION OFFER.

Downtime and Dæmos Rising are available directly from Reeltime Pictures Ltd.

http://timetraveltv.com/programme/87

http://timetraveltv.com/programme/480

There will two editions of Downtime: Children of the New World, both now available for pre-order:

Standard paperback edition (limited to 500 copies) for £10.00 (+ p&p).

Limited hardback edition (FIFTY COPIES ONLY) for £25 (+ p&p). This edition will be signed by Andy Frankham-Allen and feature an exclusive forward by original Kate Lethbridge-Stewart actor, Beverley Cressman.