When I was first asked to take part in Forgotten Lives, I was both surprised and flattered. When I was asked to come back for a second book, the same. Now we're closing in on the third and final volume for these "what if" Doctors, and I'm to the point of being proud, and I guess a bit sad.

In my head, the Hinchcliffe Doctor has an impossible untold number of adventures. Some I came up with in great detail; others are vague "wouldn't it be cool if" concepts. When Philip Purser-Hallard reached out to us about the third volume, there was no indication of it being the final installment. There was also no indication of there being further ones, of course. Each was its own self-contained thing, and each realization that there was another chance to tell these stories was a pleasant and exciting surprise.

That said, there was a concept. A really good one. The second book had initially had a concept: regeneration stories. This was walked back when the time came to get writing, though some writers chose to stick with those ideas. While I had a story mapped out, I didn't really want to write the regeneration. And since we didn't have to, I didn't. This time, though, the concept was something different. It's an appropriate one, and an interesting one. PPH had general ideas for the sorts of things each story could entail, given our Doctors' themes and placement along this imaginary prehistory. And it just so happened that the idea he had for my Doctor fit with an idea I'd had floating around for a bit.

The Swan and the Flame is not a regeneration story, because I still don't fancy writing that. I would call it more a season opener. In terms of modern Who, it's sort of the mid-era soft reset where the Doctor sticks around, but things have changed irrevocably in some way. A story arc has closed, an arc word has been explained, and a new challenge lies ahead.

My Doctor has changed a lot over time. In The Swan and the Flame, he's still the arrogant, irritated swashbuckler; but he's also seen some things and lost some things. He's in a pivotal moment in this life, where the fire of his rebellion could either flare up brighter or go out entirely. I love to imagine this Doctor as The Doctor's intrusive thoughts personified, and that's something I leaned into even more in this story. I think, if anything, the show he's putting on is becoming a lot more meaningful to him. Less a masquerade and more an aspiration.

In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't know this was the end of the project. It means I wrote with further adventures in mind; in fact, the closing pages introduce a new menace that I'd hoped other writers might have fun playing with. I know I'm not the only one who closed out that way, and that makes me happy. It feels like these Doctors have more life to them, even beyond us.

I can't say much more, because so much of this story is tied up in the overarching story the anthology tells. But I will leave you with three out-of-context lines:

I will also leave you with three keywords, in the tradition of BBC teasers: Revolution, Citizen, Exedra.

The rest will have to wait 'til the book is in your hands. But I do hope you'll enjoy it.

Forgotten Lives 3 is now available for pre-order—and only for pre-order—with all proceeds going to Alzheimer's charities. It would mean a lot to me if you supported this book and all the wonderful people who have worked on it.

And if you're a fan of my Forgotten Lives stories, please consider picking up my Black Archive installment on Heaven Sent. It includes an entire chapter devoted to analyzing the psychology of the Doctor, and the research I put into this book played a major role in creating "my" Doctor for these stories.