I answered a few questions for Doctor Who
Magazine for the “Talking Books” item that accompanied their review of Kursaal.
They wrote this up into a short article, illustrated with a photograph of my
1970s comedy hero Basil Brush. Some people subsequently suggested that this was
the standard of special effect that the BBC would have achieved had they ever
created the Jax for a TV version of Kursaal.
The author of Kursaal on putting together that difficult first novel…
“A number of my friends had written books
already—Andy Lane, Gary Russell, Justin Richards, Craig Hinton—and at one point
Craig, Justin and I had adjacent desks at the computer company where we all
worked. Some of these authors were flatteringly kind enough to ask me to read
their early drafts and make rude comments.
“So as well as my thoughts on published Doctor
Who books I’d read and critiqued, I also had some insight into the writing
process. When Andy and Justin subsequently asked me to submit proposals for
short fiction in their Virgin [Publishing] Decalog books, I came up with
several ideas, including a handful which would be more suited to novels.
“Justin and I wrote a Doctor Who story outline
called ‘Vrolak Wakes’ in about 1989. Although the story is now quite different,
the seeds of Kursaal are in that outline.
“If I’m honest, there are a couple of other
reasons for writing Kursaal. Being paid for my hobby is a good one.
Another is the chance to use all my favourite dreadful old jokes,
some mine, some by other people. BBC editor Steve Cole made me take out the
worst examples, including one he recognized from a 1975 Basil Brush Show!”
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revised: 07 March 2002