Term 3, 2024 — WOW, what a term! The busiest speaking term I have EVER had. Yesterday I had my last speaking gig for the term, so I thought it a good moment to reflect. I visited 20 schools and attended 3 festivals. I spoke to so many engaged and enthusiastic students and some pretty […]
2023 was a good year for my writing. I had a novel, four school readers and an essay published. One of my books won an award (I also made it onto a couple of short lists) and another one of my books went overseas. I wrote a few things and did heaps of speaking. Yep… […]
I’m a professional writer. More importantly, I’m a slightly obsessive fanboy. If ever my writing world collides with my fannish obsessions, it makes me deliriously happy. It’s happened a few times. I’ve been lucky enough to write in, amongst others, the universes of The X-Files, Night Terrace and Doctor Who, as well as the world […]
Despite the constant threat of Covid, 2022 saw everything opening up and a return to face-to-face festivals and school visits. It was good to be back! On the publishing front, I had one novel, four school readers and a number of short stories come out. A very satisfying year! The Mystery of Lucy Wilson: Memories […]
They’re here! They’re finally here! I was so exited when my Lethbridge-Stewart novel, Fear Frequency, was released. So it was an odd feeling not having my copies. Due to Candy Jar Books being in the UK, and the vagaries of international deliveries, it was over three weeks between publication and my copies arriving. I had […]
I am super excited to reveal the cover for Fear Frequency, my upcoming novel in the Lethbridge-Stewart range of Doctor Who spinoff books. The cover artwork is by the wonderfully talented Adrian Salmon (check out his blog). This is all finally starting to feel real, although I don’t think I will 100% believe it until I’m holding a copy in […]
Well, hasn’t 2020 been one heck of a year? Back in January I had no idea that a pandemic was on it’s way, that I would find myself in lockdown, twice, that schools would start cancelling speaking gigs and that I’d have to learn to switch over to virtual presentations. It was challenging, both on […]
Wow! My short story, “Pure History”, from the Lethbridge-Stewart anthology The Havoc Files: The Laughing Gnome has made it onto the shortlist for this year’s SCRIBE AWARDS. These awards are organised by the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers (IAMTW) and are described in the official blurb as follows… “Acknowledging excellence in this very competitive field, […]
Life in Australia has become rather strange since the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic. Social distancing has become a thing, hand sanitising is now the norm, and panic buying of toilet paper has hit insanity levels. But schools have also been affected. Many have closed due to staff or students having contracted the virus. States […]
I’ve been obsessed with Doctor Who since I was about ten years old. As a kid, the series got me into reading and writing. As an adult it continues to inspire me, influencing my writing. So I greet each new season with much eagerness and enthusiasm. I will often comment on each new episode on social […]
One of my all-time favourite characters from DOCTOR WHO is Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, head of U.N.I.T. during the Pertwee era, as portrayed on screen by the late, great Nicholas Courtney. So it is with much excitment (and not a little bit of disbelief) that I now find myself writing the character. In 2015, Candy […]
It’s the New Year! It’s the New Decade! It’s time to celebrate and look forward to 2020, which has such a lovely science-fiction ring to it. But it’s also a chance to look back and celebrate the past as well. My BIG publication for 2019 was The Australia Survival Guide, released on 1 October by Puffin […]
A couple of weeks ago, one of my writing heroes passed away. Terrance Dicks was best known for his association with Doctor Who. He was a script editor and writer on the classic series. He also wrote dozens of the Target novelisations. And he continued to write Doctor Who stories after the series was revived, his final […]
A new Doctor. New companions. A new TARDIS interior and a new sonic. A new showrunner and a heap of new behind the scenes people. Welcome to the fresh new series of Doctor Who. Series 11 sees Jodie Whittacker step into the role of the Doctor, the first time that this regenerating Time Lord has been […]
Tom Baker’s first season as the Doctor in Doctor Who has been released as a Blu-ray box set. Season 12 comprises 5 stories made up of 20 episodes. Rather than trying to review the whole thing all at once, I’m dividing things up over a number of reviews. In this review, I’m wrapping things up. The […]
Tom Baker’s first season as the Doctor in Doctor Whohas been released as a Blu-ray box set. Season 12 comprises 5 stories made up of 20 episodes. Rather than trying to review the whole thing all at once, I’m dividing things up over a number of reviews. In this review, I’m looking at the fifth and […]
Tom Baker’s first season as the Doctor in Doctor Whohas been released as a Blu-ray box set. Season 12 comprises 5 stories made up of 20 episodes. Rather than trying to review the whole thing all at once, I’m dividing things up over a number of reviews. In this review, I’m looking at the fourth story, […]
Tom Baker’s first season as the Doctor in Doctor Who has been released as a Blu-ray box set. Season 12 comprises 5 stories made up of 20 episodes. Rather than trying to review the whole thing all at once, I’m dividing things up over a number of reviews. In this review, I’m looking at the […]
Tom Baker’s first season as the Doctor in Doctor Who has been released as a Blu-ray box set. Season 12 comprises 5 stories made up of 20 episodes. Rather than trying to review the whole thing all at once, I’m dividing things up over a number of reviews. In this review, I’m looking at the […]
The BBC have released an utterly gorgeous video with school kids getting a preview of DOCTOR WHO Series 11 and a surprise visit from the 13th Doctor herself, Jodie Whittaker (see bottom of post) Just look at the excitement on the faces of these kids. Anyone ranting against the decision to cast a woman as […]
Tom Baker’s first season as the Doctor in Doctor Who has been released as a Blu-ray box set. Season 12 comprises 5 stories made up of 20 episodes. Rather than trying to review the whole thing all at once, I’m dividing things up over a number of reviews. Having written an Overview, it’s now time […]
This box set is a thing of beauty! But there is SO MUCH in it (20 episodes plus HEAPS of extras) that it will take me some time to watch and review it all. Rather than wait, I’ve decided to do multiple reviews – starting with this overview, continuing with one for each story, and […]
The legendary, abandoned Doctor Who story penned by Douglas Adams, “Shada”, finally sees the light of day (yet again), this time with the missing bits recreated with animation. But is all this time and effort actually worth it? My opinions are forthcoming, but you could win a copy and make up your own mind. “Shada” […]
The 2017 Doctor Who Christmas Special, “Twice Upon a Time”, in which Capaldi hands on the baton to Jodie Whitaker, can be summed up with the thirteenth Doctor’s first words – “Aw, brilliant!” Following on directly from the Series 10 finale, Capaldi’s twelfth Doctor is refusing to regenerate. Arriving at the South Pole, he bumps […]
I’m still so excited about the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor in the TV series DOCTOR WHO, that I went to the local park today and did this… ‘Cause, guess what? Men and boys can, you know, have women as role models. Many thanks to my talented wife, Kerri Valkova, for taking […]
So… I woke up this morning to one of the most exciting pieces of casting news ever! Jodie Whittaker has been announced as the 13th Doctor in the long running British sci-fi series DOCTOR WHO. I’m VERY, VERY, VERY excited about this. Let me tell you why… I’m a huge Doctor Who fan. I love […]
Grab your Coal Hill Academy ID, pack your sonic lipstick and strap on your vortex manipulator… it’s time to spin-off through a fracture in the time/space continuum to a live discussion of all things not quite Doctor Who. If you’re a Doctor Who fan, chances are you’ve heard of the SPLENDID CHAPS podcast. This awesome […]
Okay… so I’ve been a die-hard, nerdy/geeky fanboy for a lot longer than I’ve been a professional author. Way before my first book hit the shelves in 1999, I was attending sci-fi conventions, joining fan clubs and dressing up in costume. I wrote appalling Doctor Who fan fic (bashed out on a manual typewriter) and […]
Fun! Informative! Educational! Literary! Overwhelming! Awesome! A total BLAST! What am I talking about? Voice On the Coast Youth Literature Festival! I was lucky enough to spend three days at this wonderful festival, organised by Immanuel Lutheran College in conjunction with The University of the Sunshine Coast. Although there were public events either side, the […]
2015 is shaping up to be a busy one in terms of speaking and travelling. I’ve hit the ground running with my first school visit and a radio interview last week. And there’s lots more coming up. The visit was to Berwick Grammar, where I got to talk to all the Year 8 boys about […]
Armageddon was awesome! Let me repeat that, just in case I haven’t quite made myself clear: ARMAGEDDON WAS AWESOME! For those of you who don’t know, Armageddon is a HUGE pop culture expo. Their latest event was held at the Melbourne Showgrounds this past weekend (18/19 Oct). I was lucky enough to be invited along […]
Two exciting announcements to make (well, they’re exciting to me)… I’m going to be at the Melbourne Armageddon Expo on 18/19 October. I’ll be at the Dymocks stand most of the weekend. Dymocks will have my You Choose series and Gamers trilogy in stock, and I’ll be ready with an assortment of pens and stamps […]
As an author, I do lots of appearances — school visits, writing workshops, library talks, lit festivals and bookstore signings. Sometimes, I’ll get a thank you gift from the organisers. I’ve been presented with all manner of interesting and generous gifts — from bottles of wine, to boxes of chocolates; from coffee mugs, to Turkish […]
Okay… if you’re a regular visitor to my little corner of Cyberspace, you undoubtedly know about my little Doctor Who obsession. I watch it often. I buy all the DVDs. I collect the sonic screwdriver toys. I put Doctor Who references into my books. And, whenever given the opportunity, I write about the show. Last […]
Ballots for both the Ditmar and Chronos awards have now been released. And I’m on both! I’m pleasantly surprised and extremely happy. 🙂 The Ditmars are the Australian Science Fiction Achievement awards, decided by popular vote and presented each year at the National Science Fiction Convention (this year it’s Continuum X in Melbourne). They include […]
Okay… so you all know about the You Choose books I’ve got coming out with Random House Australia this year? Interactive kids’ books where the reader gets to make decisions about how the story progresses — like the old Choose Your Own Adventure novels from the 1980s. The first two don’t come out until May, […]
Look! I’m in the Chelsea Mordialloc News! This interview was done to promote my talk at the Mentone Public Library this Saturday. You can see the entire edition of the newspaper here. More info about the talk here.
I know this is meant to be my writing blog, but I simply cannot let the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who go by without a post. And so, with the anniversary weekend now over, here are my personal highlights… 1. The special programmingI loved watching “The Night of the Doctor”, “The Last Day”, “The Day […]
On Wednesday 13 November 2013, I was one of several people to perform at the Melbourne Library Service’s event “Not Quite the Big Finish: An Evening of Doctor Who Spoken Word”. I decided to read out a letter to showrunner Steven Moffat, respectfully requesting a writing gig on Doctor Who. 😉 And yes, I was […]
Steven Moffat should let me write an episode of Doctor Who! Why? Come along to Not Quite the Big Finish: An Evening of Doctor Who Spoken Word to find out… ‘cause that’s what I’m going to be ‘spoken wording’ about! The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who is fast approaching. And the Melbourne Library Service is […]
It’s been a long week of speaking gigs — six sessions over four days. With Book Week now over, I can sit back, relax and assess how things went. But only for a short time, ‘cause on Monday I’m at it again. Mooroolbark College was first cab off the rank, with two sessions — one […]
Last month, a book called Doctor Who and Race was published. I’ve got an essay in it and I’m rather proud of it. The editor, Lindy Orthia, has created a website for the book. I decided that I needed a new publicity pic to accompany my bio on the site — one in which I’m […]
Last weekend I attended Continuum 9. Like those that went before it, this convention was awesome. Lots of great panels, so many interesting discussions and a really friendly, engaging vibe. For me, personally, it was special for a number of reasons. Firstly, I got to launch my new novel, Gamers’ Rebellion (third book in the […]
I’ve had a fairly quiet first half of the year in terms of speaking… which is a good thing, I suppose, given how many writing projects I’ve had on the go. But things are hotting up. I’ve had a string of bookings recently, with more on the way. Three days during Book Week have already […]
Anyone who has even a passing acquaintance with me will know that I am a Doctor Who fan. And if you’ve ever visited my website, you will know that I love writing about the series. I’m rather excited about my Doctor Who writing at the moment. You see, with the 50th Anniversary of the show […]
Here’s the rather wonderful cover of Outside In: 160 New Perspectives on 160 Classic Doctor Who Stories by 160 Writers. This is a book of essays edited by Robert Smith?, and I’m lucky enough to be included in its pages. The book gets released on 23 November 2012. For more info, check out the publisher’s website. […]
Lots of Doctor Who stuff in my near future. 🙂 Most excitingly, I’ve just had an article accepted for OUTSIDE IN: 160 New Perpsectives on 160 Classic Doctor Who Stories by 160 Writers. Edited by Robert Smith? (yes, that question mark is deliberate), the man responsible for books such as Braaaiiinnnsss: From Academics to Zombies, it […]
If you happen to read my DVD/Blu-ray reviews blog, Viewing Clutter, you’ll probably notice that I’m a Doctor Who fan. I review lots of Doctor Who discs, and I’m currently running a DVD giveaway for copies of the recent Doctor Who Christmas Special, “The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe”. I’ve even posted My Doctor […]
Today, 48 years ago, the first episode of Doctor Who went to air in the UK. So I thought it would be a good day to tell you a little bit about my relationship with the program, and how I approach reviewing it. I discovered the series in late primary school, back in the 1970s. […]
