Back in time

So a sizeable dose of Real Life – notably an extended trip to the UK, followed by even more deadline pressure than usual in the Day Job – has taken me off the board recently. Apologies for it being so quiet…

But if I’ve not been writing here, I’ve been writing elsewhere. I’m in the middle of something unusual for the Australian Horror Writers Association (more on that nearer completion), and earlier this week I finished off a project I’ve been chipping away at since just before Christmas – a new Doctor Who short story.

It’s for Myth Makers, the fiction anthology of the Doctor Who Information Network, and the first magazine ever to publish one of my short stories. In fact, it’s safe to say that being picked up for Myth Makers kickstarted my writing in more ways than one. Not only did it get me “off the mark”, it also led directly to my being noticed and commissioned by Big Finish for their Doctor Who and Bernice Summerfield ranges.

So when editors Matt Grady and Andrew Kearley got in touch to ask if I’d pitch for their upcoming issue – celebrating the show’s 50^th anniversary – I started to come up with some ideas. But not having written straight sci-fi in five years, the switch from horror back to the genre in which I started wasn’t an easy one. Cue a number of rewrites to make my story “less dark”… 

Slot that trip to the UK into the middle of the process, and this was a story that took a long time to write, but one that I hope has turned out well for its extended gestation. It’s called The Observer Effect, and will be appearing in Myth Makers Presents: Golden Years, scheduled for release a little later this year. It also allows me to tick the Sixth Doctor off my list of “Time Lords I’ve Written For” (following Docs Two, Three, Five and Seven). In case anyone else is counting…

You can find out more about Myth Makers at the DWIN website, where you can also pick up back issues of the magazine.