Candy Jar Authors - Candy Jar Books

Geoffrey Abbott (1922-2015) retired from the RAF after thirty five years service in 1974 with the rank of Warrant Officer and then, on becoming a Yeoman Warder ('Beefeater') lived in the Tower of London.

Geoff retired to the Lake District, where he wrote twenty five books on his specialised subjects of history, torture and execution, some being published internationally. He appeared as a consultant in more than twenty documentaries and historical programmes on UK, American and French television channels alongside Tony Robinson, Rory McGrath, and Helen Skelton, and by invitation has written the entries on torture and execution for the latest edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. His opinion was also sought by the New York Times regarding the gruesome hanging of the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and his half-brother Barzan el-Tikriti.

Click the following link for more information about From Butcher's Boy to Beefeater.


Michelle Briscombe was born in Cardiff but now lives in Barry, South Wales, with her husband and two children. For the last twelve years she has worked in a primary school in the Vale of Glamorgan and has a BA in Primary Education.

Michelle enjoys walking and often takes walking holidays with her family who all have a keen interest in the natural world. The idea for the Silent Mountain story came from her son’s interest in birds of prey when he was very young. Michelle has always written when ideas come knocking and still has several stories in the attic that she wrote when she was a child.

Click the following link for more information about Silent Mountain and The House on March Lane.


Benjamin Burford-Jones was born and raised in Bristol along with his five brothers and sisters. With little money in the family, Ben and his siblings would play together and let their imaginations take over. Whilst working late nights at the BBC as a runner, Ben would often spend his time thinking of stories and ideas, one of which being that the people on the television were in fact in the television.

Ben, who now lives in Manchester, has had an extremely varied career that has ranged from clerical work to puppet making. When he isn’t thinking of new tales to tell, Ben works in the television industry.

Click the following link for more information about Beware of the Mirror Man or Lethbridge-Stewart: The Dreamer's Lament.


Mark Carton was raised in Birmingham, the son of a cleaner and a sheet metal worker, he scraped through school with enough grades to go ‘up north’ to university, and has spent the last thirty years doing every job from an unsuccessful NCP car park attendant to a top performing ‘foam hand’ salesman on the Radio One Roadshow.

Whilst working at weekends on a market stall at the Newcastle Quayside, just below the iconic Tyne Bridge, he took along his netbook and started writing a story. It was a longer version of a bedtime story he had made up for his daughter a couple of years earlier.

Click the following link for more information about The League of Red Nosed Gentlemen or The Book Spy.


Cherry Cobb lives in Somerset with her family and two cats. As a former lecturer she appreciates the importance and value of children’s literature. She has won several poetry competitions, attributing her success on her wild and vivid imagination. The idea for Will’s War came about one day when she visited a ghost village evacuated in 1943 during WWII. She is never without a notepad and pen and a head full of ideas.

Click the following link for more information about Will's War.


Terry Cooper was born in London in 1969 and moved to South Wales in 1980. After a brief stint in the music industry with his band Best Shot, supporting East 17 on tour around the UK, Terry went back to his artistic roots and worked for various film and television companies. Terry released his first book Kangazang!: Remote Possibilities in 2008. He has since released two more instalments, completing the trilogy and the children's book Monsters Next Door. He is now working on his second feature film.

Click the following links for more information about Kangazang!: Remote Possibilities or Kangazang!: Star Stuff.


Rick Cross is the senior media writer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and a lifelong fan of Doctor Who and other British and American science fiction, fantasy and horror. This is his first novel.

Click the following links for more information about Lethbridge-Stewart: Times Squared.

Angela Douglas is best known as an actress and for her roles in the iconic Carry On films. Throughout the ‘60s and ’70s she made numerous appearances in feature films and hit TV series, including: The Avengers, The Saint, Z-Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, Doctor Who, Holby City, Coronation Street to name a few. Her glamorous showbiz journey saw her working with, and meeting, the likes of Michael Caine, Shirley MacLaine, Kirk Douglas, Steve McQueen and Neil Armstrong. In 1962 she met Kenneth More. They fell in love and married in 1968, remaining together until More’s death in 1982. In 1987 she married acclaimed Theatre Director Bill Bryden. Josephine’ is Angela’s first work of fiction. Her autobiography, Swings and Roundabouts, was published in 1982 to great critical praise. Click the following links for more information about Josephine: An Open Book.


Colin Edwards is a retired local government officer and royalist-at-heart, Colin has dedicated much of his spare time to photographing members of the Royal Family at public events. Travelling across the country, Colin has collected a number of unusual, intimate shots. He now lives in Ruthin, north Wales and often exhibits his photographs to raise money for charity.

Click the following link for more information about A Personal Portrait of the Royal Family.

Simon A Forward was born in Penzance in 1967. From a very early age he dreamed of writing for Doctor Who. Now he dreams and writes quite a bit between nightly periods of not sleeping much at all. He has authored several Doctor Who books, a novella, short stories and audio dramas, as well as three novelisations for the BBC’s Merlin series, and has founded his own Evil empire. He has two cats and a host of other dreams to write.

Click the following link for more information about Lethbridge-Stewart: Blood of Atlantis.


Andy Frankham-Allen, Welsh-born, spent his formative years in London. His passion for writing began with a love of Doctor Who and he's been writing as long as he can remember. He's been working professionally since 2004 and his work includes short stories, novellas, novels and audio dramas for such franchises as Doctor Who, Space: 1889 and The New Counter Measures. He is also the creator of The Garden series of novels, although the second book in the series is still unfinished (despite demand for it!). He is also the range editor of the Lethbridge-Stewart series.

Click the following link for more information about The Forgotten Son, Night of the Intelligence,  The Lost Skin and The New Unusual.

Peter George (26 March 1924 – 1 June 1966) was a British author, most famous for the 1958 Cold War thriller novel Red Alert, also known as Two Hours to Doom, written under the pen name Peter Bryant. The book was the inspiration for Stanley Kubrick's classic film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Click the following link for more information about Dr Strangelove or Pattern of Death.


Peter Grehan  was chairman of the Welsh Speculative Writers Foundation, which published ‘Beyond the Boundaries’ magazine and in that capacity he was a panellist at the European small press science fiction convention, held in Dublin (October 1997), and the UK Year of Literature and Writing 1995 Swansea arts festival .

In April 1999 he was commissioned by 'BBV Productions' to write an audio script their first Sontaran story. He now works as a freelance writer and at the Penarth Pier Pavilion Cinema.
Click the following link for more information about: Connecting Who: Artificial Beings or House of Ushers: Dead Man Dancing.


Sue Hampton is already the author of 20 novels, mainly for children and teenagers (but also ARIA, an e-book and audiobook for adults). TRACES made the top three in the People’s Book Prize 2012 and FRANK won Bronze in the Wishing Shelf Award 2013. Michael Morpurgo has called SPIRIT AND FIRE “enthralling”, JUST FOR ONE DAY “terrific” and THE WATERHOUSE GIRL “beautifully written.” Sue, who used to teach, has visited over 300 schools to inspire pupils with writing workshops. She is proud to be an ambassador for Alopecia UK.

Visit Sue Hampton's website.
Click the following link for more information about Thinner Than Water or The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: Avatars of the Intelligence.


Brian Jones lives in the West Riding of Yorkshire and spent the first part of his working life becoming a qualified engineer. However, his true passion always lay in the stars. He was five years old when he first looked through his father’s binoculars and pointed them towards the sky. There began his love affair with the night sky and all things in it.

Click the following link for more information about The Stars Night by Night.

Philip Martin worked in all aspects of drama that included plays and series for mainstream TV. His early work included regular series such as Z Cars in the late 1960s/early 70s, but his most famous work is the postmodern television series Gangsters.

As well as other series work such as Doctor Who, Philip had productions of his stage plays at the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre, the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, the Liverpool Playhouse and his local theatre, The Duke’s Playhouse, Lancaster. Philip had written numerous crime adaptations and original plays for Radio 3 and 4, including "Dead Soldiers", voted best radio play of the year.

Click the following link for more information about Gangsters.


Iain McLaughlin is a Scottish author well known for his Doctor Who audio scripts and creating Erimem, the Egyptian Pharaoh compainion for Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor. His Doctor Who debut came in 2001 with the Big Finish audio drama, The Eye of the Scorpion, which introduced the Erimem. He went on to write several audio plays and short stories for Big Finish, as well as a novel called The Coming of the Queen, the origin story of Erimem. In 2015 he launched his own Doctor Who spin-off series of fiction, based on the now amnesiac time travelling Erimem. In 2004 he also co-wrote two scripts in Big Finish's UNIT series, both of which featured Nicholas Courtney as Brigaider Lethbridge-Stewart.

Click the following link for more information about Lethbridge-Stewart: Mind of Stone.


Alistair Moore was born and bred in London. He works with numbers as a freelance data analyst, but words are his real passion. He has written a number of short stories and an award-winning short film, Kickoff [2012] directed by Zoran Trajkovic and starring Steven Waddington (Sleepy Hollow, The Sweeney, Last of the Mohicans). It played at Raindance, Sundance and several other film festivals, winning 'Best British Short' at the 2013 UK Film Festival. He downshifted to Berlin in 2013-2015 to escape the grind and spend more time on his writing projects. The Release is his first published novel. Click the following link for more information about The Release.


Brian Moses was born in Ramsgate and is best known for his children’s poetry. He has over 200 published works and is a Reading Champion for the National Literacy Trust. Brian was asked by CBBC to write a poem for the Queen’s 80th birthday and, in July 2007, was invited by HRH Prince Charles to speak at the Prince’s Summer School for Teachers.

Click the following link for more information about Keeping Clear of Paradise Street.


Ralph Oates was born in Hornchurch, Essex. As a former amateur boxer he has always been interested in the noble art. He is recognised as the leading compiler of boxing quiz books in the country and, for the last eighteen years, has contributed articles and quizzes to the highly regarded The British Boxing Board of Control Boxing Yearbook. For three years Ralph had his own weekly ‘Boxing Corner’ column in the Essex Courier and, in 2012, produced a question list for the BBC’s National Lottery programme Who Dares Wins. Currently Ralph is the boxing consultant for Guinness World Records.

Click the following link for more information about The World Champions Boxing Quiz Book.


Anthony Ormond was born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire and raised in Milford Haven. Having studied Law he qualified as a solicitor in 2004 and he now specialises in Criminal Defence/Litigation.

Tommy Parker: Destiny Will Find You! is Anthony's debut novel. He is passionate about children's literature and hopes to play his part in keeping the genre fresh, exciting and dangerous. Anthony is a loyal fan of Tottenham Hotspur and lives in Cardiff Bay with his wife, Helen. He is also a keen fundraiser for the research and development of both the Hoverboard and the Flux Capacitor.
Click the following link for more information about Tommy Parker: Destiny Will Find You!


John Peel is not without some Doctor Who pedigree. In the late 1980s, early-'90s, he was the only author given permission by Terry Nation to novelise the Dalek serials from the 1960s. In 1991 he wrote the very first original Doctor Who novel, for Virgin Publishing, and was the first, and only, writer allowed to write full-length original Doctor Who fiction featuring the Daleks between 1991 and 2005. He has had a long career of writing original and tie-in novels for science fiction and fantasy, including for such successful franchises as Quantum Leap and Star Trek. The Grandfather Infestation his is first Doctor Who related novel in almost twenty years.

Click the following link for more information about The Grandfather Infestation.


Marc Read was born on the channel island of Jersey in 1971. Having always been interested in history and science, Marc has studied these fields extensively which have granted him a Masters degree in physics and philosophy, and a PhD in history and the philosophy of science. He currently lives in Newcastle-upon-Tyne with his wife and two children. After a teaching career that has taken him from London to Washington DC, Marc now teaches physics and philosophy at the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle. When he is not working and the weather is good, he enjoys taking his motorbike out for a spin.

Click the following link for more information about New Stars for Old.


Griff Rowland is a drama director who works on television shows including Hinterland, Holby City, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks.

Ths is his first book. Click the following link for more information about The Search for Mister Lloyd.


Professor Chris Stephens OBE became Deputy Chairman of the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain just before retiring in 2002. Through this he was asked by the Woodland Trust if he could assist them in the restoration of the walls of Dolebury Warren Wood in North Somerset. He soon discovered that these had formed part of the boundary of the 1000 acre estate of the Reverend Dr. Thomas Sedgwick Whalley whose ruined 18th century mansion lay close by. The magic of the place and the unravelling of the story of this unusual man over the past 10 years has proved to be a source of great delight and a fascination for Professor Stephens, inspiring his fantastic new book.

Click the following link for more information about The Reverend Dr Thomas.


Roger J Simmonds was born in a small mining village in South Wales. He has been involved in the music industry for over 57 years. Starting in 1958 at the birthplace of British rock ‘n’ roll he has worked in every sector of the music industry, from writing and performing to producing and management.

Click the following link for more information about Standing On The Sidelines.


Alan Stott grew up in Birmingham. He studied at Bishop Lonsdale College, Derby, and Nottingham University to become a teacher with a B Ed degree.  He became a Football Association Coach at this time. He taught in Derby, Solihull and inner city Birmingham before going into industry for a few years, later returning as a supply teacher.  Following this, he taught in Sutton Coldfield as Head of Maths and PE in a middle school where he helped to introduce ‘Football in the Community’ with Ron Wylie of Aston Villa. As a musician, he can often be seen entertaining audiences all over the country with his wild Oompah Band.

Click the following link for more information about Those Kids Next Door.


Joanne Teague has lived in the Vale of Glamorgan for the last 16 years. She trained as an occupational therapist and is married with three children. Joanne’s life changed when she became seriously ill and was diagnosed with Vascular Ehlers-Danlos – a rare and still incurable, life-threatening condition. Notwithstanding, she continues to work, to travel and to have lots of fun.

Click the following links for more information about her book See You In September.


Nick Walters is the author of several Doctor Who novels including the Doctor Who Magazine award-winning Reckless Engineering. He has also written numerous SF and horror short stories. He lives in Bristol with his bike and his cat, his favourite band is The Fall, and his favourite Doctor Who is Tom Baker.

Click the following link for more information about Lethbridge-Stewart: Mutually Assured Domination.


Sammy Winward was born in Bolton, Lancashire 1985. She is an English actress, singer and model who attended Bolton's Turton Media and Arts College in Bromley Cross. She is best known for playing Katie Sugden on the soap opera Emmerdale from 2001-2015. It was during her training as a ballerina that Sammy was picked by her agent to attend the Emmerdale audition. Click the following links for more information about her book Princess Phoebe Meets the Tudors.


Eileen Younghusband (1921-2016) was born in London in 1921. After serving and defending her country she had a successful career in the hotel management and catering industries. She ran a wide variety of businesses, from selling herbs to supplying thousands of tons of scrap metal to a company in Spain.

In more recent years Eileen moved to Sully, Wales. At the age of 87 Eileen graduated from the Open University as one of its students of the year. An avid campaigner on health and education issues, Eileen was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2012 for services to adult education, and won the People's Book Prize 2012/13 with her autobiography One Woman's War.

Click the following links for more information about One Woman's War, Men I Have Known and Eileen's War.