Amazon.co.uk: Where did your interest in Doctor Who
initially come from?
Justin Richards: I think Doctor Who
was just part of growing up, really. Before videos and multiple-television households, the whole family sat round on a Saturday night and watched pretty much whatever was on. And it really was better programming in those days. So Doctor Who
was part of one's life. Some of us had our imaginations well and truly captured and stretched by the experience--remember there was nothing else like it on the box in the 60s or early 70s. In fact, the competition that was any good--like Thunderbirds
and, later, Star Trek
--has survived as well. That said, I was a Dalek fan before I was a Doctor Who
fan--there's just something about Daleks. They are compulsive viewing for children of all ages--from two to two hundred!
Amazon.co.uk: What qualities do you look for in a Doctor Who
book sent to you by a
budding author?
Richards: There are three things really, broad things.
First, we're looking for a darned good adventure story. Doctor Who
is not
science fiction, or at least it isn't "just" science fiction. It's broader
and more interesting that that. We're in the business of telling stories, we're after plot as a major ingredient alongside situation and character.
Second (and note that I'm not prioritising these), the quality of the
writing is important. The story may be brilliant, but that has to come out
in the way it is told. Don't think that "Who" is an easy touch or a soft
option--we're looking for the absolute best. But we're lucky to have the
flexibility and scope (and patience!) to look further afield for it than
other publishers.
Third, and most difficult to define, it has to be "Doctor Who
". It's been
said that the scope of Doctor Who
's format is so broad that you can produce
anything and call it Doctor Who
. I don't actually subscribe to that view.
There is an almost indefinable quality to Doctor Who
--something more than
just its breadth that makes it unique. And that's what we're after. Having
said it's indefinable, I'll go out on a limb and say that it's something to
do with pushing ideas beyonfd their logical limits, something to do with the
juxtaposition of apparently irreconcilable ideas and plots strands that can
only work for Doctor Who
. And--most important--it's to do with the
character of the Doctor himself. He's a loner, a wanderer, Renaissance man,
Merlin, James Bond
, Sherlock Holmes
and just about every other hero you
can think of rolled into one. He is--and has to be--the central
character. It is about the Doctor that the story revolves. He motivates
it, drives it, and resolves it.
Amazon.co.uk: How many scripts do you receive a year and what's the vetting process?
Richards: We get about five hundred unsolicited novel proposals every year.
In addition, we invite contributions from established authors, and
established authors can also short-circuit the reading process. But every
one of those 500 or so is read--in its entirety--and every one gets a
reply. OK, most of the replies have to be form letters, unfortunately.
But about half a dozen a month come to me on the recommendation of our team
of readers. Each of those will get a detailed critique and comments. I
make every effort to be encouraging and point out the strengths as well as
the weaknesses of the material I see. I think it's fair and proper and
"good" to encourage any writer who has ability. Equally, it's just as fair
to make someone without that ability aware of the fact!
Amazon.co.uk: What opportunites are there for first-time authors to break in?
Richards: We publish 22 Doctor Who
novels a year--two a month with a break
in December, which is really to let the editorial and production teams get
their breath back in the summer! In the last year (to March), we published
three novels written by authors who had not previously had a novel
published, and another three by authors who had only written before in
partnership. In the next year we'll publish six novels written, or
co-written, by new authors.
We're deliberately and consciously on the look-out for new talent. Partly
that's to keep the range fresh, of course, but partly it's out of a desire
to promote and encourage new writers who deserve the break that is
increasingly difficult to get these days.
Amazon.co.uk: How do you avoid the problem of Doctor Who
books becoming
stale?
Richards: New writers undoubtedly bring new ideas. And we do have the
advantage that, despite my previous comments, the format really is extremely
broad. That's partly why we attract the interest of so many new and
established writers of course. One month we might do a comedy of manners,
the next a classical tragedy. One month we might have hard sf, the next a
whimsical fantasy. One month we do a political thriller, the next a
historical romance. The limit really is just the writers' and editor's imagination. There's far more leeway in what we do than in other format
series. That's probably why we are in The Guinness Book of World Records
and they aren't!
Amazon.co.uk: What do you have in store for the Time Lord in 2001?
Richards: As ever we have a variety of challenges for the good Doctor. In the Past
Doctor Adventures
range he'll be caught up in a medieval murder mystery,
battling for survival in Roman times, sorting our psychic problems at a
university and becoming a big wheeel in 30s Hollywood, as well as
other things. The Eighth Doctor
continues his travels through time and
space, striving to find out who and what he is. He'll meet intelligent
tigers, possessed wasps, and an assortment of other creatures and villains
as well as becoming uncomfortably familiar with the New Orleans city of the
dead... So, something for everyone!
Amazon.co.uk: Finally, Any word of encouragement for budding authors?
Richards: Keep at it. Don't give up. Keep punching the jelly, as they say. Sol
Stein says that a writer is "someone who cannot not write"--if that's you,
you'll know it. And if you follow your instincts and develop your talents,
and sharpen your style, and renew your determination, you'll get there.
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