I’ve been talking with other people.

Are you okay with that? We’re still special, you and I, aren’t we?

I’m not going to excuse what I’ve done but I owe it to you, I owe it to both of us, to be completely open with you. I talked with RadioTimes.com. Yes. Yes. I talked with them about Doctor Who, which is usually our thing, isn’t it? One of our things. We’ve got a lot of them. But we’ve always had Doctor Who and we always will. It’s just that this time, I wrote a piece for RadioTimes.com about the show’s fiftieth anniversary and, actually, I really want you to see it. Just because I had such a good time writing it and – I can tell you – I also think it came out rather well.

I’d simply slip you a copy or post the text here but that would be stealing so instead, let me give you a link. Here’s Radio Times with the Bluffer’s Guide to Doctor Who – I mean, How to be an Instant Doctor Who Expert.

Doesn’t that feel like I’m trying to push something on you? Get you here, sit you down, try to sell you something.

No.

This does.

Also out this week is my new book: “Self Distract – from Doctor Who fan to Radio Times and Big Finish“. (That’s the UK link: if you’re in the States at the moment, this one on Amazon USA will do you better.)

It’s an ebook on what it’s like being a Doctor Who fan inside Radio Times and then being with fellow fans at Big Finish plus it includes a major new interview with the Restoration Team. Doctor Who is forever special and I have always been a nut for radio drama so you know it is a privilege to write for Big Finish and you can guess that it’s an immeasurable pleasure to hear the productions. It’s immeasurable or I’d have measured it for you.

Self Distract is my attempt to quantify it in some way and tell my disbelieving teenage self how far that decision to watch The Invisible Enemy would take me. Plus, I did once say to Steven Moffat that I thought The Snowmen was magical – the TARDIS in the clouds? Gorgeous – and he thanked me but said my other review was funnier. He meant ‘Live Blogging Doctor Who at Christmas’, a piece I wrote mocking the real live blogs of this world. So naturally, that’s here in the new book.

And naturally I want to tell you about it.

Um.

I’d also like to see you.

If you’re in Birmingham tomorrow (Saturday 23 November) at the annual Writer’s Toolkit, come say hello and I’ll buy you a cup of tea.

And we can get back to nattering madly about drama and writing and OmniFocus and everything.

William