MASTER PIECES AUTHOR INTERVIEW - Simon A Brett

Why did you decide to pitch a story for Master Pieces?

The honest answer? I wanted to work with Paul Driscoll. He's been such a steady source of support and friendship since the original Seasons Of War project and I wanted to support him in some way. Even if it meant undermining the standards of his latest project(!) Having the opportunity to write for John Simm's Master was a happy coincidence. I suppose I don't like going for what some might think is the obvious choice of incarnation and I've always been a massive fan of the actor, so the opportunity to put words into his mouth was very attractive. ("Lickspittle" being one of my favourites)

What are you most proud of about your story?

I would hope that the story offers enough imagination and ambiguity that readers might not automatically assume that it's about "this" or "that" which I guess is a danger when you approach such a politically charged scenario (The story is set in number 10 after all!). If I remember rightly, Paul suggested that he'd like to see someone cover the Master's time as Prime Minister and a challenge like that tends to offer up an amount of pressure, but also the opportunity to do something readers might not expect. So, while I say it's staged in number 10 Downing Street, it's not quite the place as we know it. Maybe what I'm most proud of is that in the current political climate I've looked at things in a more oblique, emotionally charged way (Which, if a reader is determined to assume that I have some hidden agenda is probably what I'm saying). There are no bad guys as such. Just characters with their own nuances and focusses. Whether they're seen as protagonist or antagonist is up to the reader...but isn't that just politics in a nutshell?

Can you give us a little taster of what the readers can expect from your piece?

Lots of Latin. And the word "Lickspittle".

How did you find the writing process?

I found that I was constantly double checking how I was approaching the Master's alien perspective. He interacts with Earthlings in a manner that suits his own purposes. The Simm Master behaves like a morally corrupt businessman who moves into a town and looks to see how he can use its resources for his own benefit. If anything doesn't fit his plans, then it's bye-bye. If I ever get the chance to write for the Doctor again, it'll certainly influence how I approach his/her relationship with planet Earth. Both the Doctor and the Master have a huge enthusiasm for the minutae of human beings, but for different reasons.

The biggest challenge as I mentioned before was to approach an obviously political set-up in a different way. I won't deny that I own a fairly strong moral compass, so to try and reach past party politics and get into the heads of such extreme characters was a new thing for me. To date, I don't believe I've ever written a proper through-and-through bad guy in any of my stories, so the Master is the closest I've come.

Where else we can find your work?

I've contributed short stories to Seasons Of War, Time Shadows 2 and various other anthologies. My Iris Wildthyme story, Timepiece is in the Obverse Books anthology, A Clockwork Iris and  recently contributed an interview with illustrator, Alan Willow for the Doctor Who Magazine Target Books special. I was also lucky enough to write a short audio play for Sounds Of Thunder towards the end of last year starring Toby Hadoke. I'm currently in the process of writing my first book as well as a fairly substantial article for the next edition of Vworp! Vworp! Magazine, which has become very special to me. I can't say much about it other than it's been a real journey as a writer and illustrator. There are links to both my writing and artwork either via my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/simonbrettart/ or my website at www.simonbrett.co.uk

What’s your favourite Master story?

I suppose I should choose a John Simm story, but in true backstabbing Master style I'd have to say Terror Of The Autons. It's just so much fun and Roger Delgado hits the ground running from his first appearance.

Who do you think should play the next Master and why?

Lucy Punch. I mean, I know that she's kind of cut out a niche for herself playing nasty pieces of work, but oh my word, she's so good. So...well, nasty.