Friday, November 22, 2019

MASTER PIECES AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Daniel Tessier



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

I'd been really impressed by Paul Driscoll's work on Seasons of War so was keen to be involved in a project with him. Plus, the idea of a collection of stories about the Master seemed like a brilliant idea, and it seemed odd that no one had done it before. Then the BBC went and brought out The Missy Chronicles, the cheeky so-and-so's.


What are you most proud of about your story?

I feel that I've managed to write a story that works on its own merits as a fun, spooky adventure, but also one that should be a lot of fans of classic Doctor Who and certain Big Finish releases.


Can you tell us a little bit about what we can expect from your story?

It's a twist on a fondly remembered Master serial from the 1970s, but taking place a few universes to the left. It features that old Doctor Who staple, the tremendous evil from the Dawn of Time - maybe more than one.


How did you find the writing process?

I always find writing fiction thoroughly challenging, but this story came easier than most. I suppose that's an advantage of spinning off from a well known story. The biggest challenge was not to make it too obvious to readers what was going to happen, but hopefully I managed to keep it surprising.


Where else can we find your work?

Currently I'm working on another Doctor Who-related story for a forthcoming anthology, but you can find most of my previous fiction on my blog, "Immaterial," at danieltessier.blogspot.com, along with lots of reviews of films, books, comics and TV.


What is your favourite Master story?

It might upset some purists, but I loved "Twice Upon a Time" and "The Doctor Falls." I thought it was a fascinating exploration of the different facets of the Master's character. It's easy for the Master to become a generic villain, but their incarnations are actually very different to one another, much more so than with the Doctor, even if the Simm Master was written there as a kind of combination version of the earlier Masters.


Who would you like to see cast as the next Master?

Everyone thinks he should play the Doctor, but Benedict Cumberbatch would make a fine Master. Alternatively, if we were to have another Missy, Tamsin Greig.

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