Andy didn’t leave me with a choice. He’s always dragging me into things. I want to say he ‘invited’ me, but he was very adamantant that I’d write for the series. Which is a compliment, and Andy has a way about him, so one day I just emailed a first draft of the manuscript to him without any warning.

It did come out of the blue, but it was a nice surprise. So, I had the book in my files for almost a year before I found a suitable place for it, and then it all came down to finding a way to make it fit the ongoing narrative, tweaking it here and there, and suggestion a few changes to Sharon. In fairness, beyond series continuity, there wasn’t much to do. Sharon has always had a good grasp of story, and knows how to mix good character work with layers of meaning and emotional resonance.

I'm not a writer who consciously considers theme in a first draft. It's something that presents itself to me sometimes as much as three-quarters into a preliminary version. It's hard to choose a defining one in this book. The book questions the keeping of secrets, outmoded beliefs, what can happen if people never question their convictions. I also wanted to explore human behaviour in a macabre setting. The dictionary defines macabre as: disturbing and horrifying because of involvement with or depiction of death and injury. It seems to fit. One thing I was certain I wanted to incorporate was Edison's talking dolls. The problem I stumbled into was the 'why'. I know I wanted to use the doll but a writer cannot simply use a great idea if it doesn't fit the story. I not only constructed an answer, I formulated one that provided me with a well-rounded end to the book.

This book has a touch of The Daemons about it, in regards the atmosphere it creates. Perfect reading for a night in front of the fire, with a storm raging outside. It gave me the creeps in places, and I don’t even have a fire to read in front of!

I've always wanted to do a cover for a horror type novel. I love the old Hammer horror films so I wanted to do something in that vein… with my own twist.

The latest Yearbook is out a little later than usual because we wanted to complete our coverage of the Twelfth Doctor’s stories by including Twice Upon a Time. This issue covers more episodes than any previous Yearbooks, but there are many other fantastic articles in there too. We hope this is a great souvenir of an incredible era.

'Somewhere in the multiverse, its always 1972'

The unofficial Doctor Who 1972 annual is a fan-produced homage to those old Dr Who annuals originally produced by 'World Distributors'.

Before there was VHS, before there were DVDs. Fans would eagerly await the yearly arrival of the Doctor's new adventures, in many ways very different to those that played out on screen. However, for the Xmas of 1971, no such adventures arrived.

The unofficial 1972 annual is entirely fan-produced, and will almost definitely be loss-profit making. But don't worry, the only investment we want is your time and talent. Although the annual is well underway, including a contribution from Ian Levene, we still need more contributions.

We need stories that feature the 3rd Doctor, his new assistant Miss Josephine Grant, and U.N.I.T. We are looking for stories that don't necessarily have to be too serious. In fact the more fun the better. We want the 1972 annual to be humorous (but family friendly) and maybe just a little bit daft, but always fun.

If you want to be a part of something special, please email: doctorwhoannual@aol.co.uk

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