There’s a lot left open at the end of The Invasion. Tobias Vaughn’s story – and the whole International Electromatics set-up – is very layered and detailed. We see repeatedly in Doctor Who that once the main threat is dealt with the Doctor is quick to leave.

As a character, he was in a class of his own – due very much to Kevin Stoney’s bravura performance, but also because of Derrick Sherwin’s script and Douglas Camfield’s direction. We know Vaughn was killed at the end of The Invasion, and left hanging over the railings. I wanted to find a way to get more from the character without pretending that he hadn’t really died on screen, which would have felt like a cop-out. I also wanted to work purely within the situations and concepts that Derrick Sherwin had created, to give my story the sense that it was finishing off, or tidying up any strands left hanging loose after the TV story had concluded.

We’ve got a wider cast of UNIT regulars to take our books forward. Readers have already been introduced to many of them in the two UNIT Files short story collections (Operation Wildcat, 2022, and Operation Fall-Out, 2023) but The Vaughn Identity allows us to see how they were impacted by the events of The Invasion, making it more of a shared experience. As the first novel of the range, it’s important to introduce and involve new regular characters in the action and the storyline and not simply as an info-dump roll call.

There are a few minor nods to the Lethbridge-Stewart range, but nothing that would faze new readers. We want this to be a jumping-on point, a fresh start whilst also quietly acknowledging the achievement of the previous range.

Birds of Prey

 

If the people of Britain thought the energy crisis was over, they were very wrong. Power cuts are returning, spreading from London and focusing on particularly vulnerable targets, almost as if by intention.

 

The Association has risen again and is stepping up its campaign to take power and enact its supremist ideology. Ian Gilmore, Rachel Jensen and even their son Dillon become embroiled in a plan to survive a plot for revenge. They must stand against old enemies as the spectres of past conflicts are raised and a new battle starts to spread through the streets of the capital.

 

For there are others who stand ready to face the Association too. But how far will they go and what weapons will they deploy? Gilmore, Jensen and their allies find that the monsters of the human race may be far more terrifying than anything from beyond it, and that this time, humanity will need saving from its own worst instincts.

 

Due to a change in circumstances, Robert felt he would be unable to commit the time needed. However, we agreed to look at it again a few months later, and sadly little had changed by time it came to move forward. Robert allowed me to use his outline and ideas for book two as a jumping on point for his replacement, but in the event I decided it was better to let whoever that was to just read the first book and take it in their own direction.

The prospect of writing for the Counter Measures series felt quite different to my prior work on the Lethbridge-Stewart range. I would say the tone is a bit darker and more morally complex, with the threats emerging from the behaviour of humans as much as anything from elsewhere, although influences of past invasions continue to play a big role in awakening our own worst instincts. Like Robert before me, the thought of following the narrative threads and themes of Remembrance of the Daleks was a jaw-dropping one. Robert produced such a thrilling follow-up in Birds of Passage, which itself left some intriguing strands dangling, that I had not one but two great stories to do justice to. The Remembrance novelisation, rightly heralded as a late highpoint for the Target range, contains such depth in its depiction of ’60s Britain and its racial landscape. I also revisited Andrew Cartmel’s Cat’s Cradle: Warhead and found a shockingly prescient and familiar dystopia in what had been his speculation about the early twenty-first century. Without wanting to be too negative, it’s worth remembering how close we all are to such breakdowns in order and certainty, so I tried to channel both of their concerns and the reflective moods of their novels in writing Birds of Prey.

James jumped at the chance before any sense of trepidation could set in, and once he’d finished his reading and research, he soon had an outline to me. There were only a few changes I wanted, in keeping with the goals Andrew Cartmel and I had set out for the series.

 

Storyline guidance from Andy was invaluable as always, in particular in providing the geographical focus of London and a core group of characters there. Real history and locations have been interwoven into this dark parallel past, and may change the way you see the parts of the capital on your next visit; a Birds of Prey Walking Tour is certainly possible! To move further into the London-based thriller genre, I also took inspiration from the original television version of Edge of Darkness with its rain-soaked pavements and its uncanny way of suggesting an impending apocalypse in otherwise very small scale events and moments. I hope all these ingredients have come together to be a testament to some of the best writers, their characters and themes. None of us really write in isolation, and to have been in their literary company for a while has been a privilege.

I’ve always been a huge fan of his work, and I knew I wanted something in a similar vein. I asked John to give us something Triffid-esque and he did exactly that. He’s created a nice blend of genres, mixing the best elements of storytelling that you’d find in the works of Robert Banks Stewart and Wyndham, giving it Peel’s own distinctive twist. And John is no stranger to twisting tales, make no mistake. He’s been writing prose fiction beyond Doctor Who continuously for over twenty-five years, and you don’t do that without being good.

Colin is a Doctor Who demi-god and I wouldn’t have felt comfortable changing his work. His realisation of the Grandfathers was perfect. Like all his Doctor Who artwork, Colin really understand what makes a good monster.

Like the Beast of Fang Rock, I read the book and choose my favourite scenes. I was excited to discover that The Grandfather Infestation is a jam-packed full of action, so it made illustrating it very fun indeed.

John’s first ever Lethbridge-Stewart book was The Grandfather Infestation. And what a book it is! And, over the years we’ve always tremendous feedback about it, receiving so many requests to release a new edition. But instead of doing a paperback with a new cover, we decided to do something a little more special. Like Beast of Fang Rock, Martin’s artwork really helps to bring this exciting book alive. And the Lucy story is the cherry on the cake, allowing us to introduce the alien Grandfathers to a new audience.

It’s always nice to have John Peel back. He’s an old hand at novel writing, and without fail always delivers a strong first draft. More often than not, in fact, it requires little or no rewrites, usually a few touch-up edits. With the end in sight, we knew we had to prepare the way for Lethbridge-Stewart to become the Brigadier, and for his transfer from the Fifth to UNIT. To the end I worked alongside the authors of the final series to develop stories that would see the transition take place, show the fans why it was necessary for UNIT to be set-up to protect not just the UK, but the world itself. This book, like the previous Spheres of Influence, is a step towards that end…

We’d planned these final books some time ago, and I’d forgotten some of the smaller details, since obviously I had worked on many titles in the meantime. So it was a nice surprise when characters from bdw titleoth John's The Grandfather Infestation and On His Majesty’s National Service made an appearance. I hope it will be equally surprising and exciting for the long-time readers of the range, to see things coming full circle. It’s apt, I feel, that these characters in particular should return, tying John Peel’s contributions to the series in nice little bow.

I had tremendous fun while writing On His Majesty's National Service and introducing some new characters to the world of Lethbridge-Stewart, so when I was asked to write another entry in the series, I couldn't resist bringing some of them back again to help him out. Or are they helping him?”

I wanted to write something a bit different this time around, though, so I decided to avoid the customary alien invasion theme. This time around, the aliens aren't determined to conquer the Earth – but what they have in mind might be a greater disaster than a simple invasion. It was also fun working with Jonathan Blum (with a bit of assistance from Simon Forward) to find ways to link these final books together, to walk the path to UNIT…

The title often changes between first announcement and eventual release, and this one was no exception. Originally it was called United Nations, which would be followed up by Jonathan Blum’s Intelligence Taskforce. However, due to the need to turn Jon’s novel into two books (more on that when Jon’s book is due), I decided it made sense to assign both titles to Jon’s novels. Thus, John Peel’s needed a new title. It took a while, but I eventually suggested It Came from the Isle of Man to fit in with the B-movie influence behind the chapter titles contained within the book. John approved it immediately.

This cover was slightly different to my earlier ones in that rather than an idea of what the story elements were, I was given a passage of the novel to illustrate. The description of the sea monster is vivid and when I sat down to design it, I was influenced by one artist in particular. Way back when, when I was at school, a favourite artist of mine was Rowena Morrill, who sadly died a couple of years ago. She painted strange, fantasy hybrid creatures that had an otherworldly colour palette perfect for this subject, I felt. The scale of the creature is helped with the poor Minke victim, though I did move the ship closer than in the story for visual impact. Lethbridge-Stewart was always a hands-on sort and Andy asked for him to be in action mode. What better than showing him running into battle, urging his men forward? The breaking ice behind him hints at a location for the story, and there is a clue to another location for the keen Doctor Who fan.

I do like the Scots Guard hat (glengarry) so am pleased I was able to paint it. I find it can be quite tricky to get right in the way it sits on the head as the angles look wrong. Fortunately, I have one (too small for me, unfortunately) but it fits a polystyrene bust I have (don’t ask!). This allowed me to get it just right. I’m a big believer in reference material; you can guarantee that if you get something wrong someone will always notice. This caused quite the headache when trying to draw Lethbridge-Stewart’s service revolver, as I’d chosen an angle that I couldn’t find any reference of, so had to piece it together as best I could. I hope I’ve got it right!

I’ve been really fortunate with my association with the Lethbridge-Stewart books. I bought the first one and loved it; so much so that I felt the urge to create some fan art. Andy saw it and later offered me a try-out. So not only am I a fan, Andy give me the opportunity to become a part of it. It is sad for me to know this is my last cover as the series draws to a close, but what a ride it’s been! Massive thanks to Andy for creating such an enjoyable series of books, and for taking a chance on me. (I know he will want to edit this out, but I hope it stays)

The reaction we’ve had about the first book centred on the fact that it featured a strong female lead character, who our readers seem to have wholeheartedly embraced, working alongside classic Doctor Who characters such as Professor Travers and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. The latest short story takes a new twist, and brings the iconic film actor and director, Orson Welles into the mix.

There’s a famous Spitting Image sketch from years ago,” Tom adds, “where they basically said that Orson Welles lived his career in reverse, starting with the remarkable success of Citizen Kane and ending with financing being more than scarce for anything he wanted to direct.

The Analysis Bureau did exactly what we wanted, launching a spin-off title from our Lethbridge-Stewart books, and has created a team of characters who not only exists in their own universe, but also embrace characters, both human and otherwise from the worlds of Doctor Who, who we have under license. It was only natural to bring them back as soon as we could.

Chris painted the image of Capaldi in time for the LFCC when he was invited to be a guest at the Heavy Metal stand as he knew Peter was attending. Capaldi was one of my favourite doctors and we both liked his gruffness and welcomed a return to an older representation of the Doctor. Chris remarked how much he enjoyed painting his characteristics – the eyes being particularly a feature as Capaldi’s look is quite striking. Chris liked to draw interesting, older faces as ‘they were a more interesting subject’ to paint.

Before Chris sadly passed away, we had been discussing doing something else, but this never came to pass. Since then, knowing that we had one more piece of artwork, I wanted to showcase this. We are now releasing this version of the book to celebrate his life.

When Shaun asked me to pen a new story with Lucy and Hobo encountering the Borad and some animal hybrids at Bristol Zoo, it turned out to be a two-fold blessing. Not only did I get to spend more time with two characters I really love to write, but it gave me an excellent excuse to go to Bristol Zoo for ‘research’, just a few days before it closed down! The more I saw and learned about the Zoo and its history, the more clear it became that it was the perfect setting for a Lucy Wilson adventure. I hope I did such a special place justice.

First it was The Brigadier and the Bledoe Cadets paired with Lucy Wilson and the Bledoe Cadets and now… When it came time to discuss what our next crossover would be, Shaun suggested Lucy meeting up with Edward Travers and HG Wells. Then came the old ‘who to write it’, which almost always results in Shaun suggesting John Peel. I was on board with that, and knew John would be up for the challenge…

Writing the story was… interesting. The two books had to have separate plots that interlinked, and yet still made sense if read alone – which obviously took a bit of planning! And the last couple of chapters (the wrap-up) had to be the same, obviously, but told from two different perspectives. The only way I could imagine doing this was to write both books together as a single manuscript, so that I could be sure that the pacing worked out and the overlaps occurred at the same time in each tale, and then leave the two respective editors to disassemble the manuscript into two books. Hey, I wasn't going to do all of the work! I was expecting the process to be challenging, but because the editors and I had worked it out beforehand, it actually proved to be a lot smoother and easier than I had feared. And also a great deal more fun.

The main theme of the book is memories. Lucy has travelled to Melbourne, Australia, in 1985 but has lost most of her memories. She can’t remember where or when she came from, or even who she is. Particularly important are the lost memories of her grandfather, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. In 1985, she befriends a boy named Matty who also has repressed memories. Weaving all those memories into the story as they begin to be reclaimed was the concept that inspired the novel.

 

Much of the book’s setting is based around my own teenage years. I grew up in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. The library and lifesaving club mentioned in the book were places that I used to ride my bike to. And, just like the characters in this book, in 1985 I attended Aussiecon 2, the 43rd World Science Fiction Convention, as Melbourne was the host city. It was heaps of fun, taking these elements from my formative years, and weaving them into Memories of the Future.

I was really excited when I was told that I’d be able to use UNIT. in Memories of the Future. I ended up giving UNIT. an Australian branch. In my mind, they are off having other adventures around Australia now that Lucy has returned to her own place and time.”

 

What better inspiration for a kid’s story than evil Koala Bears? I had so much fun stepping into the world of Lucy Wilson, and throwing her into a time travel adventure with one of Australia's greatest mythical monsters, the legendary drop bears!

It's Gremlins meets a tour through Australia's rich history – from a trip to the Pleistocene era through to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. It was an honour to follow up a wonderful story by George Ivanoff and I hope Rampage of the Drop Bears delights fans, young and old!

First it was The Laughing Gnome, and then Bloodlines… and now… When it came time to discuss what our next crossover would be, Shaun suggested Lucy meeting up with Edward Travers and HG Wells. It was a great idea, and made a nice change from her bumping into her grandad. First we had Lucy without Hobo, then we tried to shake things up with the last crossover by not actually having Lucy in it at all (sort of), so this time we knew we definitely wanted Lucy and Hobo. Then came the old ‘who to write it’, which almost always results in Shaun suggesting John Peel. I was on board with that, and knew John would be up for the challenge…

When I was just starting my writing career, Terry Nation offered me a lot of advice. One piece was this: ‘If an editor ever asks, “Can you write me this?” always say yes. Then panic. And then go away and work out how you'll do it.’ (He never took very much seriously.) But it was good advice, and made me accept some writing assignments I would otherwise have passed up. It was very applicable in this case, where I was asked to write two interlinked novels simultaneously and for different age groups – certainly nothing I would have attempted without being asked!

John has written plenty for us so far, but he hadn’t done a Travers & Wells, and as I knew it was time to start thinking ahead, and working just how many books I actually wanted the series to be, it seemed John was the perfect choice to just go away and get on with the writing while I worried about the future.

The characters were interesting – Professor Travers, explorer and scientist, matched with a young and somewhat naive Herbert George Wells – possessing great imagination, but very little actual experience. They're still learning to act as a team, and being thrown into bizarre and dangerous situations. And the challenge of writing something that would have the vague flavour of Wells' stories without actually copying him was intriguing. Writing the story was… interesting also. The two books had to have separate plots that interlinked, and yet still made sense if read alone – which obviously took a bit of planning! And the last couple of chapters (the wrap-up) had to be the same, obviously, but told from two different perspectives. The only way I could imagine doing this was to write both books together as a single manuscript, so that I could be sure that the pacing worked out and the overlaps occurred at the same time in each tale, and then leave the two respective editors to disassemble the manuscript into two books. Hey, I wasn't going to do all of the work! I was expecting the process to be challenging, but because the editors and I had worked it out beforehand, it actually proved to be a lot smoother and easier than I had feared. And also a great deal more fun.

Being presented with two books, one not a Lucy Wilson, was interesting. It took a bit of wrangling to work out how to edit them. Andy edited both first, with his main focus on the Travers & Wells story, and then I primarily focused on the Lucy Wilson story, making sure everything still linked. We tweaked things in places, playing around with the respective perspectives. I think we’ve all pulled it off, and as this crossover sets up a big shift in the Lucy Wilson books, I’m looking forward to seeing what people make of it.

When it became apparent that the themes and events depicted in Spheres of Influence too closely echoed current events, Andy Frankham-Allen and I quickly came to the decision that to release it at this time would be, at the very least, insensitive. Putting it on hold did mean bringing forward the rest of 2022’s books, and finding a replacement. Fortunately, Andy quickly solved that problem by commissioning a third Brendon novel, turning the first three titles into a loose trilogy. For myself, I decided it would be a nice idea to reprint The Forgotten Son with a new cover, to hopefully make up a little for the delay. I must stress, however, that the content remains the same from the previous revised version.

This is another of those books which started an idea that came up through discussions with Shaun – a good two years ago, at least. It was a while before I realised it was the perfect fit for Sarah. I’d been wanting to do another novel with her, and she came back for a short story in The Laughing Gnome: The HAVOC Files, so it was great when she agreed to do another novel for us. The only real prerequisite, other than the core idea, was that it had to be set during the Brig’s time at Brendon when he’d lost all memory of the Doctor.

I adore writing for the Brigadier, and being able to explore different facets of this much-loved character has been great fun. When I was offered another novel in the series, this one set in 1979 and during the Brig’s post-army career as a school teacher, I immediately said yes. It’s an honour to be asked to contribute a novel to the final season of Lethbridge-Stewart novels, which has proved to be a terrific series of stories.

I wanted to explore how he deals with strange goings-on when he has forgotten so much, and when he doesn’t have his soldiers to call on to help. My brief was to write a psychological thriller, in which the Brig’s identity and life is stolen from him. The novel allowed me to explore the nature of identity theft, and memory loss, and the combined uneasiness of not being able to trust your own mind. I added a set of identical twins to the mix, a boy at Brendon, and a girl at a local comprehensive. They are at the cusp of their own change from creepy kids who enjoy playing tricks on people, to young adults facing choices.

The setting was apposite because of the feeling of being on a cusp of change, but without knowing its direction. In that, it parallels much of today’s politics. I found it cathartic to explore similar themes of being seduced by the apparent certainty of authoritarianism — even with the attendant feeling it could turn on its own to destroy at a moment’s notice. 1979 proved to be a watershed year in Britain. The full assault on the unions, LGBTQIA people, and appeals to jingoism of the worst kind were all yet to come; and for a while the political turmoil that brought much of the UK to a standstill ceased. It’s hard to think that in this day and age of TV-on-demand, the stations that are now ITV were off air for much of the year. 1979 was an amazing year for British pop music. Punk began to segue into the New Romantic movement, and rap, reggae and disco attracted huge numbers of fans. It was fun delving into the music of the time through a few of the kids who are important during the story.

I was partially inspired by a German poster of a classic British film. My last Candy Jar cover I did was for the UNIT anthology, Operation Wildcat. It was very flash, bang, wallop. Because of this, I enjoyed tackling a more psychological concept for this book.”

I love situations like this, because they focus everyone’s creative energies. It started with a quick conversation with Shaun Russell just before Christmas. Shaun felt we needed to add a bit more value for our readers, and I was keen to make sure we weren’t just replicating the (successful) formula of the Lethbridge-Stewart HAVOC Files books. So, the collection has expanded from 9 stories to 13. But we didn’t want to delay the publication, as it had already been announced for pre-orders, so I had to work quickly.

What are a writer’s second-favourite words to hear? Would you like to write me a story about…? (The writer hopes that they are attached to his absolute favourite words: Here’s an inordinately large amount of money, but they so rarely are!) So, when I was asked, "Would you like to write a UNIT story, with dinosaurs in it?", how could I refuse? (As you can see, I couldn’t)

Then came the inevitable dance of what the editor liked and what I felt happiest writing. “Would you include this?” “Can I use that instead?” That continued until we were both comfortable. Then it was time to buckle down and do the actual writing – which, for the writer, is where the fun really begins. Getting into the mood, resurrecting beloved characters and doing horrible things to them…

I had an idea for a story to act as a coda to Invasion of the Dinosaurs. John, being the great writer he is, turned that on its head and came up with Here We Go Again, set just before Invasion of the Dinosaurs! However, Ian Ball – who is the second of three new writers in the collection – ran with some of the ideas I’d pitched to John, while developing some threads set up in Here We Go Again. Ian has written The Ptower Bridge Pterror, so we’ve ended up book-ending Invasion of the Dinosaurs.

It's simple. When UNIT calls, you answer! Honestly, what writer could resist the chance to craft their own corner of this world and leave a footprint in the sand next to the Brig? For my story I wanted to explore what happens in the aftermath of a UNIT adventure, the price paid by ordinary soldiers who defend Earth alongside the extraordinary heroes we know about, and what happens when one of them doesn't quite measure up to the high standards we expect. It’s a little dark, a little weird, but hopefully a part of the world of UNIT you’ll enjoy discovering.

 

Chris immediately came back with a cracking idea that put the Brigadier centre stage. It felt like I’d lit the blue touch paper – he produced the goods really quickly! As with John’s and Ian’s stories, I was also able to ensure some minor continuity between Chris’ Honourable Discharge and Martin Parker’s Old Fowlkes’ Home.

Martin had pitched a story for the Lethbridge-Stewart range, which was unused. It became clear the story could be adapted relatively simply to work as a UNIT story instead. It’s not always easy to adapt stories in this way. You’ve got two choices, basically: you adapt / re-write as you go along, leaving alone what already works – which can be fiddly and frustrating, or you put aside everything you’ve already written and start the piece again from scratch. Neither option is necessarily any quicker to deliver. But there was a lot I liked about the story as it was, and I was keen not to lose that. So, I encouraged Martin to concentrate on the aspects we agreed needed wholesale re-writes.

It’ll be great to get my story out there with readers. It’s a bit longer than the others in the collection, I think, but we’ve worked to keep it tight and focused. I had to learn not to be precious about the story as it already was. Best of all, I can imagine it being on TV. I think when you’re writing material like this, with established characters, that’s the most important thing – to be able to picture it easily in your head. I hope the readers will, too.