If you’re a regular reader of The Doctor Who Companion, you’ll know the name, Tommy Donbavand – the author wrote the 2013 Doctor Who novel, Shroud of Sorrow, but he’s recently been going through a difficult time. He overcame throat cancer in 2016, but has now had the terrible news that he has a tumour in his lung. As a result, he continues to be unable to do the school visits which generated much of the income he needs to support his family.
But you can help him. Not only by going through his Just Giving crowdfunding page, but also by buying a collection of Doctor Who short stories, A Second Target For Tommy. This is a sequel to 2016’s A Target for Tommy, written by a selection of fans who really want to support their friend. It was immensely popular, so this second volume is a lovely addition to all libraries.
This is actually an extra-special release too – because, for the first time ever, it features the script of a crucial scene from an early draft of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor – featuring the Ninth Doctor, Christopher Eccleston. It’s kindly provided by outgoing Who showrunner, Steven Moffat! Here’s the final cover, with art by the superb Nigel Parkinson (Beano):
With stories from over two dozen writers, every penny of profit raised will go to support Tommy while he works on making a full recovery. Here’s the full list of stories and their respective writers:
EYE OF ORION? – JAY EALES
THE HANGOVER OF INJUSTICE – ANDREW LAWSTON
THE CATERPILLAR ROOM – KATE ORMAN
3AM ETERNAL – PAUL CASTLE
NIPPING OUT FOR SOME BITS – IAN POTTER
THE MISADVENTURE OF MARK THORNE – ANDY FRANKHAM-ALLEN
WHEREVER AND WHENEVER – CODY SCHELL
FROM SKARO WITH LOVE! – NICK CAMPBELL
SEASONS OF WAR – HORDE OF TRAVESTIES PROLOGUE: THE MAN IN THE TREE – DECLAN MAY
WHY THOUGH? – IRA LIGHTMAN
THE RUNAWAY HI-FI – PAUL MAGRS
EYEBROWS AND FISH – MATT BRIGHT
THE XANTHOUS KNIGHT – BLAIR BIDMEAD
REPEAT PRESCRIPTION – EDDIE ROBSON
DOCTOR WHO: THE SPECIAL – STEVEN MOFFAT
THE WATCHER – NICK WALLACE
COLLATERAL DAMAGE – MATT BARBER
THE ENVELOPE PLEASE – JONATHAN DENNIS
THE THIEF OF JOY – JON ARNOLD
DOCTOR WHO AND THE EXILE FROM HELL – SIMON BUCHER-JONES
WHEN IRIS MET BILLY – STUART DOUGLAS
THE SAME OLD ROAD – IAN POTTER
WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES – JAY EALES
FAIR – NED NETHERWOOD
FEARMONGER REDUX (EXCERPT) – JON BLUM.
At the moment there are no plans for an ebook version of the book, and we’re certain the paperback will sell out very quickly.
Pre-order yours now, from Obverse Books!
