Hayden has written and published nine books in the last ten years. From crime/thrillers to horror novellas, a science fiction series to a autobiographical look back on youth, he has explored a number of genres…and has many more in the works!
Here you can check out his bibliography to date. Don’t forget to buy and leave a review!
The Benton Files 4 (available for pre-order now!)
Join retired Sergeant Major John Benton as he recounts more tales of his exploits from yesteryear.
In Rotten to the Core by Hayden Gribble, young Corporal Benton is driving back from manoeuvres in Norfolk when he finds a patch of burnt countryside. But is it really burnt? And what secrets are concealed within the strange alien pod in the wood?
In Ian Ball’s Scrapped Plans, Benton has been promised some classic cars for JB Motors. But when he arrives at the scrapyard, he finds it’s been damaged by fire. Or so it seems. And the effect of the fire appears startlingly familiar. But who can he trust? And how did his favourite customer, Ted, get stuck in the mud?
Read these hair-raising adventures to find out…
UNIT: The Benton Files 4 features characters created for Doctor Who by Derrick Sherwin. This is a Candy Jar Books publication.
Pre-order it here!
The Captain Random Adventures – Volume 2 (coming in 2025)
The final three Captain Random adventures – together for the first time!
Find out what happens when the destructive Stratos wreaks havoc across the universe, how the crew manage to fall between realities on more than one occasion and how the adventures of Random, Anji, Jake and Skateboard come to a climactic end when they face the terrifying Kalor Maloso on the one planet never wanted to visit again…his own…
With a life like his…no wonder he is called Random!
Pre-order it here!
The Captain Random Adventures – Volume 1 (coming 2025)
The first three Captain Random adventures – together for the first time!
Discover why Random left his war-torn planet of Rodas, how he met his Earth friends Anji and Jake and how they started out on their quest to save planets and species and find evermore inventive ways of getting into danger!
With a life like his…no wonder he is called Random!
Pre-order it here!
Don’t Panic! The Unauthorised Dad’s Army Handbook (coming in 2024)
For nearly six decades the adventures of the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard has delighted generations of viewers. Classic quotes such as, “Don’t tell him Pike!” have been copied time and again as more and more people have tuned in through repeats that continue to this day.
In this unofficial book, through an in-depth episode guide, favourite lines, memorable moments, behind-the-scenes stories from the people who made the programme and much more, Hayden Gribble discovers what really makes Dad’s Army one of British television’s greatest creations.
Pre-order it here!
Captain Random #6 – The Battle for Rodas (coming in 2024)
For many years Random has dreaded the moment that destiny brought him home to Rodas. When he and his friends enter a planetary battleground they are shocked by the devastation that greets them. The Crimson Empire have brought their enemies, the Sapphire Regime, to the brink of extinction and time is running out to save the rest of the universe from the threat of Kalor Maloso and his army.
As the crew of the Venus II help where they can, it dawns on them all that for once, they might not get out of this one in one piece, and for Random, he faces the horrible consequences of taking on an evil that could end all things…
This is the SIXTH and final Captain Random adventure. Pre-order it here!
Captain Random #5 – Journeys In The Randomverse (2023)
The adventures of Captain Random continue in this special collection of FIFTEEN new stories.
Join Random, Anji, Jake and Skateboard as they encounter a planet that gets inside the mind, giant bug-like creatures on a mysterious world, alternate realities, holiday planets as relaxing as being stuck in a cupboard during a fire alarm and the Oracle of Fate.
This is the FIFTH Captain Random book. Pre-order it here!
Captain Random #4 – The Stratos Conundrum (2022)
From the darkest depths of space comes an enemy of the universe that plans to wreck havoc across the stars.
In his blood thirsty quest for revenge he will crush entire star systems and his name will make all who hear it shudder in terror.
Whilst the biggest threat the cosmos has ever known forms his master plan the only person who can possibly stop him is lying in a coma on a hospital moon that orbits a planet that is in his line of fire.
Random, Anji, Jake and Skateboard face a race against time to save the lives of all who stand in his way whilst trying to unwrap the mystery of who he is and why, in particular, he wants Random to watch the universe suffer.
His name is Stratos…and he is the destroyer of worlds…
This is the FOURTH Captain Random adventure. Buy it now here!
Captain Random #3 – The Rainbow Chasers (2021)
The Zedron Flux is the most powerful energy source in the known cosmos. In the right hands, it has the power to end all suffering. In the wrong hands, it could bring an end to all things. After a narrow escape from an army of ancient gods, Random, Anji, Jake and Skateboard crash land on the beautiful planet of Spectronia, a paradise of colour and home to a peaceful race ruled by the elegant Solenia and her Valkyries. Upon recovering they ally themselves with a band of explorers led by Lon, who is hell bent on finding the Flux after it was taken from his grasp by a rival archaeologist. But nothing for the crew of the Venus II is ever simple. As the quest continues, danger is not far away and, as the Flux gets closer and closer, Random is left with a terrible choice that will have major consequences, not just for him and his friends, but for the entire universe…
This is the THIRD Captain Random adventure. Buy it now here!
The Lurking (2020)
Rob is a hopeless loser in the game of life. With work, his relationship with his long suffering girlfriend Claire, with everything in general. Tonight he will change for the better, make a fresh start by taking it to the next step and propose to her.
But fate has other intentions.
After an accident that leaves him stranded, Rob takes shelter in an abandoned aircraft hangar and soon discovers that he is not alone. There is something lurking in the darkness, taunting him, haunting his every movement.
Soon trapped in a living nightmare, Rob must learn the terrible truth of his tormentor and escape its clutches before it is too late…
Hayden’s first horror novella is available to buy here!
Captain Random #2 – The Eater of Souls (2019)
Following their explosive battle with the Sandman, and struggling to come to terms with life out in space, the crew of the Venus II decide to throw themselves into a spot of retail therapy on the friendly planet of Genocia.
But almost as soon as they arrive, they realise that this new world is not all that it seems. Outside the splendour and vast wealth of the Grand Chamber lies a neglected wasteland where terror lurks within the poisonous gloom whilst deep within the bowels of the planet lies a terrible secret.
At the very heart of it all is the ruthless leader Consula, whose designs for supremacy mean ultimate devastation to all of those who oppose her. But the greed and corruption of the government is nothing compared to what lurks in the shadows for Random and his friends. Separated and fighting for their lives, Random, Anji, Jake and Skateboard must work quickly to save the lives of the prisoners stuck in the mines deep below the surface, where death is very close by…
What is the Soul Destroyer? What part does it play in Consula’s diabolical plan? Will Anji ever see her friends again? One thing is for sure. The Eater of Souls is hungry…
This is the SECOND Captain Random adventure. Buy it here!
Captain Random #1 – Vs the Sandman (2018)
Rodas. The scorned planet of Ursa-17. Ravaged by centuries of war between two factions, the villainous Sapphire Regime and the ruthless Crimson Empire.
The reason behind the conflict of red and blue? The people of Rodas were unable to make the colour purple.
Until one day, when two rebels, one from either side, combine to create the ultimate warrior. A being who could put an end to the battle of ages and bring peace to the volatile planet of Rodas once and for all.
There is one tiny drawback. The warrior is a boy.
Fleeing to Earth in a stolen spaceship with a talking skateboard, the boy is pursued by his greatest enemy and has to integrate with the help of two teenagers in a bid to stay undercover and try and pass for human, whatever the hell that means, before his nemesis finds him.
Who is the Sandman? Who is the saviour of Rodas? Why does he own a Skateboard with a mind of its own and will he ever go home to fulfill his destiny? With a life like this, no wonder his name is Random…
This is the FIRST Captain Random adventure. Buy it here!
Child Out Of Time: Growing Up With Doctor Who In The Wilderness Years (2017)
For 26 years, DOCTOR WHO was a British institution, capturing the imaginations of generations of children. But then, in 1989, it was cancelled. The Doctor and his on-screen adventures were no more. There was no longer a hero, a champion for the outcasts who struggled to fit in. It was as though he had walked into his TARDIS and set his controls for dematerialisation, never to return: a whole generation lost to the powers of Science Fiction’s greatest creation. It was in this Doctor-less world that I grew up. This is the story of how one little boy would try to find the Doctor in any way, shape or form and the obstacles he faced in doing so. This is the story of growing up without Doctor Who in the Wilderness Years…and how I lived through it.
This book is a love letter to a very special television phenomenon and can be bought here!
Tales From Another Me (2015)
From 2007 until 2010, author Hayden Gribble documented his thoughts, dreams, nightmares and desires through a collection of poems. This selection illustrates how the world looked through the eyes of a teenager – lost in the noisy digital age – trying to find his way in an exciting yet confusing world against a backdrop of friendships, romance, work life, sex, drugs, alcohol, the rise of Facebook and the stranglehold that the economic recession had on a youth of the time.
The proceeds from this book will be donated to Mind UK, who provide support to those suffering with their mental health. You can buy it here!
The Man In The Corner (2014)
An unnamed assassin wants out of his life as a cold and ruthless killer but must face one last assignment before he flicks the escape switch.
As he closes in on the biggest criminal mind in the country, he is reminded of what he left behind and how getting closer to the light at the end of the tunnel might also reunite him with a person from his long and distant past.
Who is the Big Chief? Why must he be brought down and will it be the end, not just for himself and his superior, but also to the only link to the life he has lost.
This brilliant crime/thriller was Hayden’s first novel and can be bought here!
Front cover artwork for all books © Hayden Gribble, Anthony Moorin, VC Covers, Paul Magrs and John Galantini.
Hayden Gribble 