Fires of the Starmind was Marc Platt's earliest submitted story idea to the Doctor Who production office, proposed for Season 13.
Featuring the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, and Harry Sullivan, the story involved a sentient star invading Gallifrey through Time Lord libraries with information stored on light particles. Robert Holmes replied favourably to the story, but rejected it in part due to the conflict with the yet-to-air story The Deadly Assassin.
Platt would later submit more stories, including The Werelings, Warmongers, Cat's Cradle, Shrine, and Lungbarrow, before eventually finally writing a televised Who story with Ghost Light.[1]
Platt's pre-Deadly Assassin view of Gallifrey would influence his later depictions of the planet's ancient history, with Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible featuring details in the Academia's library evoking this story.