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Q: Requiem was originally an audio drama. What can you tell us about that?
A: It was! Requiem was part of the Audio Visuals series of fan made Doctor Who audio plays. The series features lots of writers and actors who have since worked on official Doctor Who media. Andy Lane, Requiem's author, was coincidentally the creator of Doctor Who companion Chris Cwej, the protagonist for this adaptation of the original play. Q: Do readers need a working knowledge of Cwej: The Series to read Requiem? A: Not in the slightest. The plan for Requiem was for it to be a new introduction to Cwej: The Series for readers. To help with this, Requiem takes place before the first book, Down the Middle. Q: How did you find the writing process? A: Writing Requiem was far different to how I usually tackle a book. First, as Andy Lane no longer has a copy of Requiem’s script, I used a program to create one from the Audio Visuals drama itself. Of course, this led to a script littered with flaws, so I still had to listen to Requiem several times over to make sure I had the dialogue correct, but it made the task much simpler by having something to work from. Justyce Served, an amazing reference book on the Audio Visuals, was also a massive help. It made sure I had the spellings of the planets and key concepts correct to how Andy originally intended them, as well as being a cracking read in the first place! Q: What should readers expect from Requiem? A: An exciting, fast paced story from the mind of Andy Lane. He's written some incredible stories in the past, Chris' introduction in Doctor Who: Original Sin for a start. I'm just lucky enough to have adapted this one into a new medium. Q: What are you most proud of about Requiem? A: I think I'm most proud of keeping this adaptation as true to the original Audio Visuals play as was possible. Whilst I've had to change some narrative elements to make the book part of Cwej: The Series, the majority of Andy's original dialogue remains in place. Q: What was the most difficult part of adapting a story about music into prose? A: The concert itself, I would say. In the original audio we hear Glasst’s performance, something I couldn’t translate to prose. I had to find a way to explore how it feels for the characters to hear it, digging into their emotions and thoughts. Q: Whose style, besides that of Andy Lane, was your biggest inspiration when working on Requiem? A: It's not something I'd really thought about when writing the book, but, at least on a subconscious level, I'd have to say Terrance Dicks. He's the champion of novelisations, never to be beaten. I hope Requiem lives up to the high bar he set. Q: Where else can we find your work? A: I’ve done a lot of work for Arcbeatle Press; I'm the range editor for SIGNET series, and author of its opening story, Night of the Yssgaroth. I also authored an upcoming instalment of Cwej: The Series, which hopefully will see the light of day later this year. Beyond Arcbeatle, I’ve written some Doctor Who charity stories for Altrix Books, Pencil Tip Publishing, and a UNIT short story for Candy Jar Books. Q: Do you have any closing remarks for the readership? A: Thank you for taking the time to read this interview! I pour my heart and soul into the work I do for Arcbeatle Press. The loyalty of our readership means the world, and it will be rewarded. Over the next few years we have some real treats in store, just you wait and see.
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Cwej: The Series returns on 23 April with a prequel novel, taking place before Down the Middle, adapted by SIGNET creator James Hornby. The novel, complete with a fun and vibrant cover by Jacob Addyman, is adapted from the Audio Visuals range of fan-made audio dramas from the late 1980s. This particular audio, Requiem, was written by none other than Andy Lane, the creator of Chris Cwej.. In this adventure, a massive wave of temporal energy rips through the cosmos, all due to a music composition beyond its power. Chris and friends find themselves in peril once again, and he must make an ultimate sacrifice to save the universe and put things to rights. "Requiem is a new beginning for Cwej," says Hornby, "It's been written as a new jumping on point for readers. I can’t think of a better way to start exploring these characters than through a story written by his creator, Andy Lane. It’s been a blast writing Requiem, and I hope that enthusiasm is shared by our readers." "It's been a tremendous honor to see James work tirelessly to bring our readership the greatest possible adaptation," says range editor Hunter O'Connell. "Cwej: The Series has never felt more adventurous and daring than it does in Cwej: Requiem." Cwej: Requiem will be available for print and Kindle on 23 April, 2024 in most territories. Preorders for the Kindle edition are now open, with the print version available for sale on the day of release. Future Cwej releases will follow in a bi-yearly schedule, beginning late 2024.  You thought we were joking, didn't you? Well, April Fools! It’s not a prank, it’s an actual plan. Click below to download an exclusive crossover anthology from the Worlds of Arcbeatle Press, presently under metafictional attack from none other than the Noodle Man. Edited by Aristide Twain, The Noodle Incident spans fifteen exclusive, noodly vignettes — plus extras — and puts the spotlight on the self-aggrandising spaghetti-man… whether any of our other characters like it or not. Penned by L. Alves, Ismaeel Clarke, Ostara Gale, James Hornby, Lena Mactíre, Theta Mandel, Callum Phillpott, Plum Pudding, Shergar Sahcahgar, Aristide Twain, and James Wylder, the stories feature exclusive glimpses into the reams of Auteur, Dionus, 10,000 Dawns, Academy 27, Starlight Endeavours, Castaways of Ishiok, The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids, The Magic Island, and Jenny Over-There: The Nine-Two-Five Universe, all under attack from the same inexplicable menace. Sharp-eyed readers might even spot connections to past 10,000 Dawns April Fools’ Day events — and perhaps a few more clues about what really lies ahead… though the extended Noodle Man Adventures print run might have to wait. Click below to download The Noodle Incident as a PDF or an ePub file.
 “THE NOODLE INCIDENT”: BRAND-NEW “THE NOODLE MAN” SERIES LAUNCHES WITH EXCLUSIVE ARCBEATLE PRESS CROSSOVER SERIAL ON APRIL 1ST By Aristide Twain In recent years, Arcbeatle Press has continued to blaze a trail for independent science-fiction and fantasy publishing, launching multiple new projects spanning a variety of universes. In line with our commitment to quality over quantity, we have naturally decided that the optimal thing to do at this time is to launch yet another one. As soon as we decided to add even more prose to our editors’ workload, it became obvious that there could only be one focus character worthy of the endeavour: we speak of course of the Noodle Man, created by Plum Pudding and memorably used in such notorious successes as “that time they joked about him with friends once”. Some might believe that anchoring a long-running book series on an untested, unpublished character whose premise begins and ends with “he’s a man made of noodles who hums to himself a lot” is, to name a few, “insane”, “a really bad idea”, or “an April Fools’ joke… gotta be… right? right?!”. If you recognise yourself or a family member in one or more of these statements, we can only recommend therapy, meditation, and of course a healthy diet of noodles and chocolate eggs. The rest of you can look forward to “The Noodle Incident”, an exclusive crossover serial featuring such Arcbeatle hallmarks as 10,000 Dawns, Auteur, Dionus, SIGNET, Starlight Endeavours, Coloth, and many more. The Noodle Man deserved an introduction in style, and we could think of nothing better than a clipshow-style compilation of disparate vignettes held together with the barest excuse for a connective thread. “You might think that we’re using these established series with crass, cynical commercialism,” says The Noodle Incident editor Aristide Twain, “that we’re exploiting their existing fanbases to forcibly establish the largely unknown Noodle Man as a central character within the worlds of Arcbeatle Press overnight. It’s certainly always a risk, with big corporate-driven crossover events, that you lose sight of the artistic integrity of each individual project, in favour of the entire cosmos bending around the new guy with something to sell. That’s certainly been known to happen, so I understand why people would be concerned that it might occur with The Noodle Incident. It’s a very sensible fear to have. But, on the other hand, I seem to have forgotten what I was going to say after the ‘but’.” “The Noodle Incident” will be released today, April 1st, 2024, on the present website as an exclusive ebook. In addition, the first book of “The Noodle Man: Arc 1: The Book of the Noodle Man”, provisionally entitled “Book 1: A Really Incredible Character’s Kaleidoscopically Reimagined, Out-there Lasagna Life”, is now available for preorder. Inquiries may be sent to [email protected]  |
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