Cwej: The Midas Touch - Author Interview

Editor Hunter O’Connell interviews author James Hornby about the first instalment of Cwej: Hidden Truths, The Midas Touch.

Q: What can you tell us about the book?
A: The core of the story is a race against time to save Larles from a parasite that has given her powerful telekinetic abilities, but is also killing her. The rest is a fast-paced adventure across time and space.

Q: How did you find the writing process?
A: An absolute blast. Hunter gave me the initial concept of Larles and the parasite, beyond that I was free to do anything I wanted with the story. At the time I thought The Midas Touch might be my only shot at writing something in the universe of Doctor Who, so I pulled upon everything I’d wanted to see in a Doctor Who book whilst growing up: fun, mystery, and above all, adventure. Funnily enough, I finished writing The Midas Touch back in 2020, the day the UK lockdowns started. The book has been pushed back quite a bit due to scheduling reasons, but I hope it’s been worth the wait!

Q: What should readers expect from The Midas Touch?
A: In the past I’ve called The Midas Touch my love letter to the Eighth Doctor Adventures. That’s certainly true in a lot of ways: it features some characters I really wish we’d have seen more of during that series. It’s also the story I created Dionus for, who has since gone on to appear in lots of other stories.

Q: What are you most proud of about your story?
A: Using characters created by Lance Parkin. When I became a fan of Doctor Who, his books were some of the first I read, and most definitely shaped the Whovian I am today. I was nervous at first about getting in touch with Lance to use his concepts, but I shouldn’t have been. Lance was so kind and generous; I remember jumping up and down with excitement on my break at the day job when I received his reply. I guess sometimes you should meet your heroes! 

Q: Is there anything else we should know about The Midas Touch?
A: There is, and it’s something you won’t find in the book: at one stage during the writing process I, very temporarily, was allowed a Fitz Kreiner cameo by BBC Books. A draft did exist of this version, before someone higher up decided it wasn’t to be. 

Q: Where else can we find your work?
A: I’ve done a lot of work for Arcbeatle Press, some other stories for Cwej that take place before this one, and I’m also the range editor for the SIGNET series. 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.