Dan Coxon

Forget any other news reports you may have seen this week. As we approach Saturday, 23 November, there's one news item that's slowly, insidiously taking over the public consciousness. Sure, it's the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy... but it's also the anniversary of the very first episode of Doctor Who . You can't say you hadn't noticed. Fifty years deserves to be a milestone of epic proportions for a TV show. Not only has Doctor Who been running for longer than most of its viewers have been alive, but it's gradually worked its way into British culture. Even those who don't know their 4th Doctor from their 8th can tell you what a Dalek looks like, or the Tardis. At some point Doctor Who stopped just being a TV show - it became an institution. My essay Lost in Time and Space: Growing Old with Doctor Who (readable online at The Weeklings ) looks at the programme's phenomenal history, and also revisits one of its classi

I've never thought of myself as a horror writer. I've tried my hand at many genres over the years - crime, fantasy, science fiction - but never horror. Until now. There must be something about being a Dad that makes life just that little bit more scary. In the last month I've had two new short stories published, in two different publications - and each is, in some way, a work of horror fiction. I've never been into supernatural tales, so you won't find any ghosts or ghouls. At least not the traditional kind. There aren't any witches either, or vampires, or werewolves. There aren't even any zombies. 'Suffer No More' appears in the inaugural issue of Hellfire Crossroads , a new magazine started by Trevor Denyer. Trevor gave me some of my earliest publishing credits with The Third Alternative back in the 90s, so it felt only right that I should repay the favour with a story for his latest project. Hellfire Crossroads advertises itself as "

It's been a while since I've posted anything new on here. Life got away from me once again, sapping both my energy and my time, pulling me into its relentless flow. I guess that's what being a Dad is all about. It may come as a surprise to hear that I still occasionally find time to write, however. Maybe I can't clock up the word counts I used to pre-fatherhood, but I still know how to put pen on paper (or finger on iPad touchscreen, at least). That's why I decided to write a short piece for The Good Men Project's One Month of Thankfulness series. Because, at the end of the day, I find I'm still thankful for every tiny opportunity that comes my way. You can read my piece here: ' A Month of Thankfulness: Jacob, My Son '. In it I'm thankful for beer, and for nights out, and for peace and quiet. And all the other things I struggle to find any more. Oh, and for Jacob. Thanks, son.