Archive for Cover Unveiling

THE DOMINATOR RETURNS!

Candy Jar Books is proud to announce book four in its anniversary series of Lethbridge-Stewart novels, The Laughing Gnome: Rise of the Dominator.

Following on from The Laughing Gnome: The Danger Men, book four sees the team get back together when they all arrive in 1973 and face off against the Dominator, Director Vaar!

Rise of the Dominator sees the return of popular Lethbridge-Stewart author, Robert Mammone, who previously wrote two short stories for the range, and the first of the Travers & Wells novella range.

Robert says: “When Lethbridge-Stewart range editor Andy Frankham-Allan reached out to me and asked if I was interested in being a part of the latest run of Lethbridge-Stewart books, I was, of course, surprised, ecstatic and to be honest, a little daunted.  Writing my Travers & Wells novella had been a relatively smooth affair, but a 40,000 word novella is a different beast to a full novel.  There were a few times during the writing process where I wondered whether I had bitten off more than I could chew but, thankfully, Andy talked me off the ledge and here we are!”

Rise of the Dominator sees the return of Director Vaar, the Dominator behind the nuclear machinations in the 2015 novel, Mutually Assured Domination (a special edition of which is due publication to tie-in with Rise of the Dominator). Andy talks about why it took so long for the Dominator to return: “The Dominators, in particular Vaar, was originally planned to return in 2017 but sadly that novel fell through, and then it was planned for 2018 with a different author, but the cessation of the ongoing narrative put it on hold once again. The Dominators are, of course, the main antagonists behind the Travers & Wells range, as seen in the short story, Time and Again. But the idea of bringing Vaar back as a gangster in 1970s London has been on the backburner for a couple of years, and when it was decided that The Laughing Gnome would be set in the various decades of Lethbridge-Stewart’s association with Doctor Who, it seemed the time was right to finally do a Gangster Dominator story.”

Robert talks more about the development of his gangster story: “I’d long had a story idea lurking around in the back of my head for a while about alien knowledge that looks like black magic, with Nazis thrown into the mix, which I readily adapted to this new storyline. The setting was the key for me, and early ‘70s Britain, with its Satanic rituals in cemeteries, and the tabloid coverage of it, seemed the place to be. There’s something about the grit and grime of the 1970s that is inherently appealing, against the rather slick and superficial modern day we’re forced to endure. 1970s London is set, is a case in point. I’ve strived for verisimilitude for the most part – sideburns, flares, corduroy, The Sweeney, end of empire ennui, three-day weeks, uncollected rubbish, criminal gangs, Soho are all there, but so are an alien warlord on the make and a lurking Nazi.”

As well as alien warlords and Nazis, Rise of the Dominator finally reunites the Brigadier, Bill and Anne Travers, who have been separated since the end of book one, Scary Monsters. This was Robert’s first time writing for the Brigadier, who was absent in his previous works: “I really enjoyed writing for Anne Travers and Bill Bishop in my short story for Candy Jar, Eve of the Fomorians, so it was a pleasure to return to them in far different circumstances. And the chance to have Lethbridge-Stewart front and centre in the novel was something I could barely have thought possible. He was a lot of fun to write, in what is effectively a dual role. I hope that in my hands, the stoic, upright soldier with a twinkle in his eye still shines strongly through.”

The 1970s setting carries with it something special for fans of Doctor Who. Head of Publishing Shaun Russell explains: “As this range is a journey through the Brigadier’s association with Doctor Who (each book is set in a decade that featured him on the television series), setting a book during the UNIT era was a forgone conclusion. Of course, UNIT and the Doctor do not appear, but there are plenty of fan-pleasing nods to that era.”

The cover is by regular Lethbridge-Stewart artist Adrian Salmon, currently best-known for his work on the recent Doctor Who DVD animations, including the forthcoming The Macra Terror. Adrian says: “Illustrating Dominator Var as a cross between Al Capone and Reggie Kray was probably the best thing I’ve ever been asked to do by Candy Jar Books; I mean how can you go wrong? Once I’d settled on the central image, which included a menacing Golem from the story, I worked out the car chase. This being the ‘action scene’ of the cover, it needed to be dramatic and exciting, breaking out of the design template. Finally, I created a suitably seedy London street at night (think Soho), resplendent with neon lights and noir shadows. Eagle-eyed viewers might even spot that a certain film, which was doing the rounds at the time the book is set, is showing at the private cinema club.”

Blurb:

London 1973 – A man in police custody burns to death with no known cause of ignition. Anne Travers and Bill Bishop find themselves catapulted into the middle of a police investigation into the rise to power of the newest criminal godfather – the Big Man, aka, the Dominator, Dominic Vaar!

A Spanish safe cracker lands on the English coast and is whisked away to a secret meeting with none other than Vaar. His mission?  To liberate a priceless sword forged when Sumer was young, a sword whose unshakeable thirst for life threatens the existence of all life.

And lurking in the background, plots a fugitive Nazi, using Vaar’s rise to power and his own knowledge of the occult as cover for his plans to build a new Reich on British soil.

Lost in time and brought together by destiny, can Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, Dame Anne Travers and Brigadier Bill Bishop stop Britain being pitched into a new age of darkness?

The Laughing Gnome will continue in April and May with books five and six. Lucy Wilson and the Bledoe Cadets by Tim Gambrell, with On His Majesty’s National Service by David A McIntee.

NB: IF YOU HAVE A SUBSCRIPTION THE LAUGHING GNOME SERIES IS COVERED BY THIS. THIS BOOK IS ALSO INCLUDED IN THE LAUGHING GNOME SIX-BOOK BUNDLE.

The Laughing Gnome: Rise of the Dominator is available for pre-order now for £8.99 (+ p&p). The book is due for release at the end of March.

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

LETHBRIDGE-STEWART FREE CHRISTMAS STORY

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce this year’s free Christmas short story!

The Case of the Missing Fairy by Steven Walton is now available free on the Candy Jar website.

Talking about The Case of the Missing Fairy, Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen says: “When Shaun told me he wanted a Christmas story, I groaned and said, ‘well, I don’t have time to write one,’ but then I re-thought and realised that I may have a man who did. So I turned to a young writer I know who wanted to write for the series. Enter Steven Walton. He jumped on board with barely a second’s hesitation, and I then tasked him with sending me a few ideas set within the period that Lethbridge-Stewart served as maths teacher in Brendon School, a period of his life we’ve not really touched upon yet. Steve sent me a few ideas, but that one that appealed to me the most was the whimsical notion of Lethbridge-Stewart investigating the disappearance of a Christmas tree fairy.”

Steven Walton says: “I’ve always considered the Brigadier to be the Doctor’s Watson, but as this range has him in the lead role I thought why not make him Sherlock Holmes? Set in a time when he can’t remember the Doctor, the story focuses on those mini adventures in his everyday life. And what a better time to do a silly but fun detective story than at Christmas.”

Shaun Russell, head of publishing at Candy Jar, says: “Our seasonal short stories have become something of a tradition, and it was important to me that this year be no different. Steven had produced a lovely, and amusing, little ditty for Christmas, and in quick time, too. Perfect reading after a hearty Christmas dinner!”

The Case of the Missing Fairy will be available for free on the Candy Jar website over Christmas.

Candy Jar also has a Christmas sale on at the moment, covering many of their varied titles, including several Lethbridge-Stewart titles. Perfect for Christmas presents!

A limited edition range of series five novels will be available early 2018, beginning with A Very Private Haunting by Sharon Bidwell. And later in the year the novella range continues with The Lost Skin by Andy Frankham-Allen. Pre-order A Very Private Haunting and The Lost Skin here.

Recently Candy Jar Books announced that, for the forseeable future, there will be no new editions of The HAVOC Files. Editor Andy Frankham-Allen issues this statement those who submitted story ideas through this year’s open submission window: “There are several logistic and legal reasons behind our decision, however, please note we are not cancelling the range, just resting it for the forseeable future. So to anybody who submitted a story idea to us, please be aware that there are two options open to you; you can either retain your idea and repurpose it for other use, or you can allow us to hold on to it and look at it again if/when we do another HAVOC Files release. Please drop us an email at havoc@candyjarbooks.co.uk to let us know which option you wish to take.”

NEW NOVELLA ANNOUNCED

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce a new addition to its limited edition Lethbridge-Stewart novella range!

The Lost Skin by Andy Frankham-Allen, features Professor Edward Travers, Harold Chorley and Samson Ware, in a mystery that takes them to John o Groats and the Orkney Islands.

Originally intended as a novella, Candy Jar previously published parts one and two of The Lost Skin in The HAVOC Files 2 and 3, and will now be completed (with 50% new material) as the novella was original designed to be. Read More →

NOVELLA SCHEDULE CHANGE AND NEW TITLE

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce a new title to its limited edition Lethbridge-Stewart novella range!

Travers & Wells features, as the title suggests, Edward Travers teaming up with the grandfather of sci-fi, HG Wells in what may be the first in a series of adventures exploring the inspiration behind many of the Wells’ classics. Read More →

Brand New Short Story Free Download

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce its latest free pdf-only short story, The Cruel Oil by Harry Draper. This can be downloaded from the Candy Jar website.

Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen introduces the story: “The Cruel Oil is a result of our recent short story open submission window. It was a simple but fascinating pitch; When disaster occurs at a North Sea platform, and dead bodies preserved in tar from the spillage begin to disappear from their morgues, Lethbridge-Stewart and Anne Travers discover just how cruel the oil of Earth can be… Upon reading the full outline I just knew it contained a ‘classic era’ feel, and would be better suited to Anne Travers and Bill Bishop. Which led me to another idea…”

At only twenty years of age, Harry Draper is one of the youngest authors to write for the Lethbridge-Stewart range. Originally from Bristol, he nows lives in Ormskirk, West Lancashire, and explains a little of his long-standing desire to write some Doctor Who related material: “Just over ten years ago, I read my first Doctor Who book in my local Waterstones. Naturally, having failed to grow up all this time later, I leapt at the opportunity to submit a pitch to the Lethbridge-Stewart short story opportunity. When Andy suggested the idea of depicting Anne Travers and Bill Bishop’s first date, and Anne coming to terms with her father’s death, I knew then we had a story worth telling. Now, at long last, it has materialised! And no one is safe from the Silhouettes. Here’s to never quite growing up.”

The Cruel Oil is set shortly before the novel, The Dreamer’s Lament, released last month. Dating is never straight forward when you work for the Corps, especially for the ever-inqusitive Anne Travers. It will be released in our paperback short story collection, HAVOC Files 4, which is still available for pre-order direct from the Candy Jar store for £8.99:

To download this story visit:http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/bumpersummersale.html

Also out now, for only one month, preview copies of the new Lethbridge-Stewart spin-off, The Lucy Wilson Mysteries. The start of a new series of adventures focusing on Lethbridge-Stewart’s granddaughter, who carries on his legacy from the small Welsh coastal town of Ogmore-by-Sea. The book is released commercially early 2018, but a very limited number of preview copies can now be ordered only from the Candy Jar store until the end of September, for only £7.99:

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

HAVOC Files 4 Up for Pre-order

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce its latest volume of The HAVOC Files, collecting short stories from early 2017 (in print for the first time) and brand new exclusive material!

The HAVOC Files 4 contains three short stories only previously available in digital format and released early 2017: United in Blood by Mark Jones; The Runaway Bomb by Nick Walters, and The Two Brigadiers by Jonathan Macho (runner-up of the South Wales short story competition 2015). It also contains five brand new stories, including the final episode of the three-part novella, The Lost Skin by Andy Frankham-Allen (episode one and two of which were published in The HAVOC Files 2 and 3).

Of HAVOC 4, Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen says: “This is probably our most exciting volume yet, because it features five stories that are a direct result of our recent open submission period. We had such an amazing response and received so many varied ideas, most of which made it as far as the one-page outline stage. Many of those led to a commission, and HAVOC 4 presents the first five of those commissions, all by authors new to the range and, some, completely new to profesionally published fiction.”

Among the authors new to range are Andrew Allen (not to be confused with Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen), who is a Brighton-based writer, actor, director and workshop leader, as well as the co-founder and Artistic Director of Cast Iron Theatre. This collection also introduces to the range, Wink Taylor, who was a writer/actor for both Sooty and Basil Brush, as well as creator of the popular childrens’ character Theo the Mouse. He is also well-known for his voice impersonations of various Doctor Who characters, notably the Third Doctor and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

The cover has been designed by Richard Young. He says: “Shaun had promised me The HAVOC Files cover since book two came out, so I was over the moon when he said that I was doing book four. I’ve always had the idea of using the Brig and a filing cabinet, but my initial ideas just weren’t working for me. I then came up with another idea, but it was felt that this new idea was too similar to another cover I had done. Shaun and I then bounced several other concepts back and forth, trying to make the ‘4’ the main element, and after some very minor adjustments just to tighten things up, we had something we both liked.”

Blurb:

Strange goings on in a small English village, training for new members of the Fifth Operational Corps, and the two Brigadiers meeting up to take on the most notorious aliens in the galaxy…

Lethbridge-Stewart encounters a unicorn in Linfield, Anne Travers and Bill Bishop go on their first official date…

Just some of the strange tales that make up HAVOC 4, which features five brand new short stories, including one by Wink Taylor, who has written for both Sooty and Basil Brush. Plus three stories previously only available in digital format, including one by popular author Nick Walters, and the final installment of the exclusive three-part novella, The Lost Skin, by Andy Frankham-Allen.

A collection of short stories from the classic era of Doctor Who, starring Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Anne Travers, based on the characters created by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln

The HAVOC Files 4:

  • The Contented Mind by Wink Taylor
  • The Runaway Bomb by Nick Walters
  • United in Blood by Mark Jones
  • The Cruel Oil by Harry Draper
  • All the King’s Men by Alyson Leeds
  • The Great Magician and the Spirits of the Vasty Deep by Gareth Madgwick
  • The Slow Invasion by Andrew Allen
  • The Two Brigadiers by Jonathan Macho
  • The Lost Skin: Episode Three by Andy Frankham-Allen

Like the previous volumes, The HAVOC Files 4 is only available direct from the Candy Jar Store for £8.99, and is a strictly limited-print run. Pre-order now to avoid disappointment.

The HAVOC Files 4 is available from: http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/bumpersummersale.html

HAVOC 1 and 2 are sold out, but Candy Jar still has a handful of copies of HAVOC 3 left.

The HAVOC Files 3 is available from: http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/bumpersummersale.html

HAVOC 1, 2 and 3 are also all available for digital download on Kindle.

Candy Jar is also pleased to announce that the upcoming Lethbridge-Stewart Quiz Book will contain an exclusive story written by Tim Gambrell.

Lethbridge-Stewart is called back to Bledoe to help an old friend he barely remembers, and memories of quiz night with the Bledoe Cadets soon surface…

The Lethbridge-Stewart Quiz Book is available from: http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/bumpersummersale.html

The next novel in the series, The Daughters of Earth, is currently at the printers.

New Details on forthcoming novel

 

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce the third Lethbridge-Stewart novel of 2017.

The Dreamer’s Lament sees Lethbridge-Stewart team up once again with Harold Chorley, to investigate the case of a missing train. The trail leads to the Keynsham Triangle, and the year 1815. Together they are thrown into a story of body snatching, slavery and animals that refuse to stay dead.

It is written by newcomer to the range, Benjamin Burford-Jones, who previously wrote the children’s novel Beware of the Mirror Man for Candy Jar Books.

Range editor Andy Frankham-Allen says: “The Dreamer’s Lament started off as an unpublished Second Doctor Doctor Who novel that Ben wrote some years ago. Shaun (Russell, head of publishing) brought the story to me during the early days of the series, but it took me a while to get to it. I was impressed by the core story, and realised that an almost page-one rewrite would be needed, but there were enough key elements contained in the original story for me to see how it would fit Lethbridge-Stewart. The hardest part to work out was the time travel aspect.”

Ben, who now lives in Manchester, has had an extremely varied career that has ranged from clerical work, television production to puppet making. He was more than happy to rework the story, and collaborate with Andy in how to turn it into a Lethbridge-Stewart novel. Ben says: “When I was asked to adapt my unpublished book, how could I resist the challenge? It was an honour to add to the continuing adventures of Lethbridge-Stewart. Of course, I couldn’t resist setting the adventure in my home town of Keynsham.”

The cover art is by Martin Baines, doing his second piece of Lethbridge-Stewart work after last year’s Times Squared. Martin says: “I really wanted to do justice to such imaginative story. The mixture of voodoo and time travel, plus zombie animals makes this a story a gift for a cover artist. Coming from an advertising background I usually draw cute dogs and cats, so I found that the main focal point of the cover was a real test for me having to make them as horrific as possible.”

Ben has this to say about the cover: “When I first saw the wonderful artwork, I was over the moon. The cover sums up the story perfectly. It was almost as if Martin had read my mind.”

The Dreamer’s Lament has a foreword by Candy Jar’s Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell. He says: “I’ve known Ben for thirty-two years, after a chance meeting at a Bristol sci-fi shop. Alongside Doctor Who, Ben has always had an interest in all things zombie. He has even made his own zombie puppet. It seems quite natural for him to combine his two loves in this book.”

Blurb:
While visiting his mother, Lethbridge-Stewart is a little perturbed when Harold Chorley calls to ask for his help. A train has gone missing near Bristol, and Chorley is convinced it has something to do with the Keynsham Triangle, where over fifty people have vanished without trace since the early 1800s.

Elsewhere, Anne Travers is coming to terms with a loss in her family, and sets about preparing for a funeral. However, news reaches her that both Lethbridge-Stewart and Chorley have gone missing, and her help is required to find them. And, hopefully, solve the mystery of the Keynsham Triangle.

What connects the missing train to the Triangle, what has it got to do with a Wren from World War II, and just why does it appear that Lethbridge-Stewart and Chorley are in the village of Keynsham in 1815?

The answers lie in the Dreamer’s Lament, and a strange being called the Loa.

The Dreamer’s Lament is available for pre-order now, for £8.99 (+ p&p). You can pre-order it individually or as part of the discounted UK bundle for only £26.25 (including postage), saving £9.72, or an international bundle for only £45.00 (including postage), saving £5.97. Or, you can buy it as part of our yearly subscription offer. Order early to avoid disappointment.

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

Candy Jar is also launching its very first Candy Jar Summer Bumper Sale. Deals include:
• 2 for 1 on selected Lethbridge-Stewart novels
• 2 for £10 on selected Candy Jar titles
• Low-low discounts on selected other books
• Plus a couple of freebies available too!
For more information please visit: http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/bumpersummersale.html