I’ve dropped hints about this for a while, but now it’s official and on the record! I have an essay in the forthcoming Chicks Unravel Time, a follow up to the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords. Woot! This is my last essay for books from Mad Norwegian Press, so I’m really glad it will be in such an awesome book.

This one is different to the first in that editors Deborah Stanish and L M Myles asked each contributor to consider a specific series of Doctor Who and to explore it in any way we liked. So, not every essay could be classed as “a celebration”, but they’re all written by women who clearly love Doctor Who and who have intelligent and deep thoughts on the show.

Also, the cover art is awesome! Katy Shuttleworth once again being all badass.

Here’s the full table of contents so you can get a taste of what everyone is talking about:

• Regeneration – Shaping the Road Ahead by Barbara Hambly
• The Doctor’s Balls by Diana Gabaldon
• A Dance With Drashigs by Emma Nichols
• No Competition by Una McCormack
• Identity Crisis by L.M. Myles
• The Still Point by Anna Bratton
• For the Love of Tom by Sarah Lotz
• Donna Noble Saves the Universe by Martha Wells
• I’m From the TARDIS, and I’m Here to Help You: Barbara Wright and the Limits of Intervention by Joan Frances Turner
• I Robot, You Sarah Jane: Sexual Politics in Robot by Kaite Welsh
• Between Now and Now by Juliet E. McKenna
• What Would Romana Do? by Lara J. Scott
• The Women We Don’t See by K. Tempest Bradford
• The Ultimate Sixth by Tansy Rayner Roberts
• Maids and Masters: The Distribution of Power in Doctor Who Series Three by Courtney Stoker
• Robots, Orientalism and Yellowface: Minorities in the Fourteenth Season of Doctor Who by Aliette de Bodard
• David Tennant’s Bum by Laura Mead
• Superficial Depth?: Spirituality in Season Eleven by Caroline Symcox
• The Problem With Peri by Jennifer Pelland
• All of Gallifrey’s a Stage: The Doctor in Adolescence by Teresa Jusino
• All the Way Out to the Stars by Iona Sharma
• Build High for Happiness! by Lynne M. Thomas
• Nimons are Forever by Liz Barr
• Ace Through the Looking Glass by Elisabeth Bolton-Gabrielsen
• Hey, You Got Science in My Fiction! by Laura McCullough
• Seven to Doomsday: The Non-Domestication  of Earthbound Doctor Who in Season Seven by Mags Halliday
• Harking Back and Moving On by Jenni Hughes
• Anything Goes by Deborah Stanish
• How the Cold War Killed the Fifth Doctor by Erica McGillivray
• Waiting for the Doctor: The Women of Series Five by Seanan McGuire
• Timing Malfunction: Television Movie + the BBC Eighth Doctor Novels = A Respectable Series by Kelly Hale
• Guten Tag, Hitler by Rachel Swirsky
• Reversing Polarities: The Doctor, the Master and False Binaries in Season Eight by Amal El-Mohtar

There’s one essay for each series of the show, classic and current, plus the TV movie.

My essay is about Series 13. When Deb first asked me to be in the book and told me the premise, I loved the idea right away. I let her pick a series for me since I’m not very familiar with classic Who and she hoped to get some fresh perspectives on the older stuff.

At the time, the series I would have chosen for myself is #3 of the modern era. Deb rightly pointed out that my CDTL essay was pretty much an exploration of Series 3 through the lens of my love for Martha. The only other series I have many FEELS about is #4. After that my ability to deal with Doctor Who flies out the window.

The choice of Season 13 ended up being a good one. Tom Baker’s Doctor is the only one of the classics I’m familiar with. I’ve seen some of Series 12 and a few of his adventures with Romana. But I came into #13 fresh.

I won’t spoil the essay for you, but I will say that I was a little surprised at some of the things I found there, despite knowing in advance that I would see some problematic stuff. What I found very interesting, and only touched on a bit in the essay, was how much of new Doctor Who I saw in those old episodes. I can tell that some writers have been influenced by those episodes for good and for bad.

I now also have a full appreciation for how eye-roll worthy it is that the Doctor’s race is called the Time Lords, as if there are only men running around on Gallifrey. This plays out in interesting way during this series.

Chicks Unravel Time is out on November 13th, and you’d better believe that I’m going to remind you several times before the actual day. I should also note here that it’s almost a 100% done deal that I’m attending Chicago TARDIS over Thanksgiving weekend so I can take part in the panel about the book! I’m just waiting to see if I can get a press pass.

Until then, pre-order and spread the news!