Last week the world of Doctor Who lost Terrance Dicks. To celebrate the life and career of ‘Uncle Terrance’ Candy Jar has released a free PDF, Terrance Dicks – A Tribute.

Terrance Dicks wrote thirty-five episodes of Doctor Who, including classics such as Horror of Fang Rock and The Five Doctors; he was script editor of the show for six years, overseeing the transition from Patrick Troughton and the entirety of the Jon Pertwee era; he wrote over sixty novelisations of Doctor Who stories; and all this is before even touching on his multiple stage, audio, and non-fiction productions, or his innumerable scripts and children’s books outside of the Who universe.

Wherever stories of the Doctor were being told, Terrance Dicks’ name was sure to be found, whether in the Target Books of the ’70s and ’80s, or the Virgin New Adventures and Big Finish productions throughout the ’90s and 2000s. Through the fallow years before Doctor Who’s return to screens, the fandom was kept alive in no small part to Terrance Dicks’ prodigious output.

He was an ever-present at conventions and on documentaries, a warm, witty and humble custodian of the show he had been so pivotal in developing. In the words of James Middleditch in Candy Jar’s free PDF: “The wisdom and twinkling joy with which he spoke about Doctor Who would… become fundamental to the experience of the series in the 1990s.”

Terrance Dicks – A Tribute is a collection of memories from the authors and artists who were inspired by Terrance’s work. This range of writers and artists – with Nick Walters, Chris Achilleos, Gary Russell, John Levene, John Peel and many more – is a testament to the depth of Terrance’s influence.

In Nick Walters’ own words:

And it’s not just writers who hold him dear. Shaun Russell, Candy Jar’s head of publishing, was motivated to compile this collection by his own debt to Terrance’s work:

The free PDF also includes artwork by Adrian Salmon, Terry Cooper and Paul Cowan.

ONE WORLD, ONE LAST CHANCE:
AWARD-WINNNING AUTHOR ARRESTED

Sue Hampton, the award-winning author of Thinner Than Water (“enjoyable and fascinating” – Beverley Knight), Just for One Day (“terrific” – Michael Morpurgo) and Candy Jar Books’ first Lucy Wilson instalment, Avatars of the Intelligence, has been arrested.

On 15th April 2019, Sue peacefully occupied Waterloo Bridge, as part of Extinction Rebellion’s month of protest against the “criminal inactivity” of the government in the face of today’s climate crisis. Their cause is a popular one – its urgency couldn’t be greater, the science any clearer. And yet in April alone, over a thousand protestors were arrested.

The granddaughter of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Lucy Wilson is no stranger to radical action herself. And Sue’s short story sees her in the thick of the action – on the site, in fact, where Sue was herself arrested, Waterloo Bridge.

For figures such as Sue, the repercussions of a criminal record are potentially severe. A one-time primary school teacher, Sue has been a professional author for over a decade, and much of her time is spent touring schools giving talks to students across the country. Her theme, both in her work and her talks, is the importance of love and respect. As a long term sufferer of alopecia universalis, and an ambassador for Alopecia UK, it is a subject close to her heart.

Head of publishing at Candy Jar Books, Shaun Russell, explains why he thought it was important to give Sue this platform:
Editorial Coordinator in Candy Jar, Will Rees, says:

You’ve been in a collision. You wake inside the TARDIS. The Doctor introduces you to the person, or thing, you collided with. He’s a strange and magnificent ball of living energy called Volta. Part surly teenager, part bomb, Volta is very unstable. In fact, he’s primed to explode. Big time. Unless he can be returned to his home planet, sharpish. The problem is, a squad of galactic busybodies has other plans for Volta. Bad ones. Drawn into a frantic chase, you become the Doctor’s unlikely assistant as she races against time to get Volta home to his parents. Armed with a sonic screwdriver, it is down to you to help the Doctor as she faces the forces of evil, and teenage angst, in this animated 13-minute VR adventure from the team behind Doctor Who Series 11.

As I was part of the Doctor Who audience growing up in the ’70s, it was great to have the opportunity to write a short story featuring a fantastic character such as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. For me it was exciting to adapt my writing style to integrate with a pre-existing universe.

I chose to include pirates in the adventure, because for me, they represent enigmatic and shadowy characters from the murky past of history, epitomising working class entrepreneurs; forging fortunes in life, by their own sweat and guile, not afraid to operate outside of the establishment. Plus, when writing I like to get into character, and who doesn’t like dressing as a pirate for the day?

A word of warning for the unwary, ill prepared traveller of adventures. Never upset a pirate. A scallywag will find themselves dancing the hempen jig soon enough.

“When Shaun told me that Candy Jar would be giving away something every day for twenty-five days I thought he was mad. I said, “You’ll regret it by day seventeen”, and indeed he did. However, I do feel that he has pulled it off, just! To be honest, I have actually enjoyed many of the freebies, particularly the Eileen Younghusband documentary. So, I am really pleased that he has chosen Companions as the Christmas Day giveaway. It deserves to be out there again. For six months I watched every episode of Doctor Who, and the book, in my opinion, encapsulates what is great to be the Doctor’s best friend. And Christmas is certainly a good time to celebrate this.

It’s a Christmas tradition that we give away some short stories to our loyal readers, and this year I thought why don’t we go the whole hog and really spoil everybody? I feel that, despite Andy’s reservations, the giveaways have been successful. I have certainly received many emails from readers who have been looking forward to each day. Perhaps this is something we might repeat in the future. Time can only tell.

With the success of the Doctor Who marathon on Twitch, many news fans are being introduced to 1960s Doctor Who for the first time, and with it, the Brigadier, Anne Travers and the Great Intelligence. To celebrate, Candy Jar Books is offering a special treat for these news fans, a chance to see what happens next.

Free on Kindle until Monday 12th June:

• Top Secret Files: An introductory pack featuring new short stories and interviews about the Brigadier.
• The Dogs of War: The Brigadier and Group Captain Gilmore team-up to deal with an unusual threat in the London Underground. Have the Yeti returned?
• Times Squared: The Yeti have invaded New York and are lurking in the subway. The Brigadier stands ready to face them.
• Night of the Intelligence: A kidnap. A conspiracy. And the return of a primal force from the dawn of the universe. The Brigadier fights to protect not only the UK, but the world itself!
• Avatars of the Intelligence: Threatened by an old enemy, Lucy must step into her grandfather's shoes. But in her new hometown, who can she trust?

With the fiftieth anniversary approaching we wanted to do something special for the fans. This website collects together everything you need to know about the Brigadier and we plan to add much more content as the months roll by.

Creating a website for Candy Jar is one of the most enjoyable projects I have ever been involved with. There are so many different elements to the site. It’s something you can easily get lost in and thoroughly enjoy exploring.

With the fifth Lethbridge-Stewart season due soon, Richard has managed to create a website which celebrates our beloved Brigadier. The site contains interviews, forums, and never-before-seen material, and the chance to sign up to a newsletter and download a variety of free stories.

Since we launched the books we’ve had lots of questions and comments from fans about the Brigadier’s time in Doctor Who, as well as our novels. We wanted this site to keep readers completely up-to-date with every aspect of the series, explore the mythology of the Brig, and act as a news portal for new releases.

New BBC 360° mobile game lets Doctor Who fans pilot the TARDIS through the vortex

Doctor Who fans can pilot the TARDIS on its most exhilarating journey yet as it careers through the depths of the space time vortex in the BBC’s first ever 360 arcade game, Doctor Who Time Vortex 360.

Fans simply need to visit bbc.in/dw360 using their smartphone or tablet and by physically moving their mobile device through 360 degrees, they will be able to fly the TARDIS within an increasingly turbulent time vortex.

As they speed through time, players will tackle hazards and obstacles emerging from the future ahead of them, but in a unique and literal twist will sometimes need to physically turn themselves to look backwards in time in order to evade threats emerging from the past.

Jo Pearce, creative director, BBC Digital Drama, said:

The game is an endless runner, which gets more and more difficult the longer people play, taking them on a visually intense journey through the iconic vortex from the show's opening credits. Using the device's accelerometer, the game is controlled by physically moving around, even giving the player the ability to turn around and travel backwards in time.

Designed as a mobile-first experience for the BBC by Goodboy Digital, the game combines cutting edge HTML5 and WebGL using PixiJS v5.0 to create a breath-taking journey that works on a wide range of hardware.

The game is available to play on BBC Taster, where fans can rate the game and provide feedback.