It’s been a little while since my last post, so a quick update.
I have just finished watching season seven of Doctor Who, so I’ll be adding new entries for both seasons six and seven soon. The entries have been delayed by work on my next Lethbridge-Stewart novel, Beast of Fang Rock, which, much like Horror of Fang Rock back in the ’70s, has come about due a lost (manu)script and is, thus, a last minute replacement. All this means a shift of focus for me, and a quick turnaround.
As such I’ve been heavily involved in the writing of Beast, with 17,978 words written in the first week. Which is not bad going, considering the amount of research needed to get this book right. Research which includes reading up a lot on lighthouses, visiting them, and watching all kinds of documentaries. All this plus the usual research for a book that takes place in the late ’60s.
I can’t tell you too much about it at the moment, except that it is not only a sequel to Horror of Fang Rock, but also serves as a prequel, revolving as it does around the legend of Fang Rock as told by Reuben in the Doctor Who serial. The mysterious Beast that prowled the rocks in the 1820s, claiming the lives of two keepers and driving a third out of his mind. I can also tell you that I have the ear of Terrance Dicks during the writing, with him passing comment on its development. His role in the book is not as big as we’d hoped, however, due to his other commitments. We also have the cover all ready to go, which Terrance has called ‘powerful stuff’. The cover is by a Doctor Who artist of some repute, and we look forward to sharing it with you very soon. (A very minor piece of it is displayed above, and the ‘title card’ is below. Hints are always fun!) And as I like to do, I can share with you the names of the cast (as it currently stands):
- Colonel Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart
- Anne Travers
- Lance Corporal William Bishop
- Daren Woodward
- Mr Slant
- Corporal Sally Wright
- Harold Chorley
- Stephen Worman
- Owain Vine
- Dr Gautum Jhaveri
- Jim Saunders
- Mark Powell
- Jennie Rudge
- Reuben Whormby
- Vince Hawkins
- Lord Henry Palmerdale
- Ivan Richards
- Tim Gambrell
- Archibald Goff
- Jacob Travers
- Charlie Crane
- Alfred Scott
For now I’ll leave those names with you, let you make of them what you will…
The Welsh-Londoner's Literary Adventures 