Star Trek Host : Welcome to the Star Trek Book Club chat event! Today we'll be chatting with Peter David, author of the latest New Frontier novel "Gods Above." Also in our chat today will be Paula Block, Executive Director of Publishing, Viacom Consumer Products.

Question: Mr. David,  I am an avid New Frontier fan, and I have thoroughly enjoyed every New Frontier story (including "Double Time").  When did the idea to use The Beings first pop into your head, and how hard was it integrating them into two novels?
Jonathan

Peter David: Well, let's see. The Beings were supposed to be my version of the classic Star Trek super-powered individuals. Of course, as in keeping with the New Frontier tradition, I tried  to make them as skewed as possible. And as far as trying to use them in a variety of circumstances, that's really kind of the  purpose of creating characters, you want to try to make them as versatile as humanly possible.

Q: Since you have Star Trek and screenplay experience, would you ever consider taking over a writing position for Enterprise?
Karl

PD: I would not be interested in taking over a writing position, because to do so would require me to move to California. I'm happily residing in New York and have no interest in relocating to the West Coast, not because I don't like California, but I simply love New York. Plus it really wouldn't be fair to uproot the rest of  my family. However, if Enterprise were ever interested in using me freelance, as Bablyon 5 did, I would certainly answer the call.

Q: How did the New Frontier series come about? Did you have it all figured out or did you work with Simon & Schuster on it?

PD: The core concept of New Frontier originated with John Ordover. John, [former] Star Trek book editor, conceived the idea of a totally original book series set within the Star Trek universe. By going in this direction, it meant that we could tell stories  in which main characters could grow up, grow old, marry, live and die. In other words, we'd have far more latitude than we could possibly have dealing with the classic characters.

As much as I enjoy writing about Jean-Luc Picard, at the end of the day, he naturally has to be just as he was at the beginning of the day. Once Paramount approved the basic concept, John came to me and asked me to write the series. I was the one who developed all of the original characters, and fleshed out some of the story aspects regarding the situation in which the Excalibur found itself. Paramount suggested that we incorporate several existing characters from the Star Trek universe who were not actively in play. As a result, Shelby, Selar and Robin Lefler were the first characters in the series that we settled  on. Everybody else came from me.

Q: Ms. Block, how actively involved are you in working with the "Star Trek" book series?
PPatters

Paula Block: As the executive director of publishing I review all the proposals for all the licensed Star Trek books that Pocket submits to Paramount. I review them for consistency with the Star Trek universe, making sure the characters act the way they acted on screen or on television shows. And to make sure that the fiction maintains the plausibility factor that it does on the TV show. In other words, the technology works the way we have come to expect it to in the Star Trek universe. We don't want people acting out of character; we know the fans want to hear Jean-Luc Picard sound like Jean-Luc Picard.

New Frontier was an opportunity to bring some characters into the Star Trek universe who didn't have defined, pre-existing behavior. Thus it gave authors like Peter the opportunity to have a little bit more freedom in what they had their characters do and say and behave. Although they are still Starfleet officers for the most part, so there is a certain amount of behavior that is expected of them.

Q: Peter, what book are you working on now?
Multitronic

PD: I'm working on the first book of the next New Frontier trilogy. It's entitled "After the Fall." And in the sort of unexpected develpments that fans have come to expect from New Frontier, we're taking our entire storyline and jumping three years into future. The fans will see all of their New Frontier favorites in very different places from which they are accustomed to seeing them. Just about the only thing that hasn't changed is MacKenzie Calhoun himself. Everything else is very different. That should be coming out late in 2004. And, as an aside, I want to mention that "Stone and  Anvil" has gone back to press due to the overwhelming enthusiasm and support of the  New Frontier fans. So give yourselves a collective pat on the back.

Q: Will Q be making another appearance in the New Frontier, going head to head against Calhoun?
Shadowcards

PD: Funny you should ask that: no.

Q: Do you have any Star Trek books planned that are not New Frontier?
shuttlepod_one

PD: I'm actually in discussion with the fine folks at Pocket Books about doing a non-New Frontier book. But it's going to have to wait until my schedule can accomodate it.

Q: Who's your favorite Star Trek captain (not including Calhoun!) and why?

PD: It has to be Kirk. Certainly the Kirk influence can be  seen in Calhoun. He was so iconic that you just have to love the guy. How can you not appreciate someone who saw the  Prime Directive as the thing he quoted right before he ignored it, only to have Starfleet pipe in at the end of the show and say "we trust you, do whatever you want." Picard is great, they're all great, but Kirk's a legend. To me, one of the defining Kirk moments came in "Star Trek Generations" when Picard faced Soran at the bridge on the planet, the audience collectively thought, "I wonder what will happen now?" When they replayed that scene, 15 minutes later, and it was Kirk facing Soran, the audience collectively thought, "Soran's about to get his ass kicked!" Kirk's my guy.

Q: Peter, what was your inspiration for the Imzadi books?
noodle

PD: My inspiration in both cases was Pocket Books coming to me and saying, "Would you be interested in writing these books?" In the case of "Imzadi," they asked if I'd be interested in writing about the history of Riker and Troi. In the case of "Imzadi II," they wanted to know if  I  would write a book that covered the period of time between the end of TNG and Worf showing up on DS9 without Deanna and looking very pissed off. Or should we say, more pissed off than normal. In both cases, the story seems filled with potential and I really couldn't pass them up. If you're interested in reading detailed discussion of the origins of the stories themselves, I direct you to the trade paperback reprint "Imzadi Forever,"  which features both books plus an introduction by me and an interview about the books' origins. And since it's called the Signature Edition, you will find my signature imprinted on the title page. Which I know will be a boon to counterfeiters everywhere.

Q: What made you want to re-visit characters like Shelby and Lefler?
noodle

PD: Well, as I said earlier on, both Shelby and Lefler were suggested to me at the series beginning as likely candidates for the crew. The nice thing about the characters is that we had a strong sense of who they were, but they did not come with tons of backstory that would hamper my development of them.

Q: Ms. Block, have you ever received a book that had so much that needed changing that you had to shelve it altogether? (For example, the whole story had the characters poorly written?)
PPatters

PB: I don't get the books until Pocket Books has gone through them. What I get initially is a proposal. A proposal is as long as that author takes to get his story idea across, anywhere from five pages to 20 pages for a novel. It depends on how complex the storyline is. There are times that I ask for more detail if it's some plot development and I want to understand what they have in mind. Sometimes I wish there was a little less of a proposal. Sometimes there is a proposal that just has so many things wrong with it, meaning it's out of character, doesn't fit in the Star Trek universe, the author isn't up to date with what the characters are doing, then I'll recommend they not do it. That does not happen very often, I don't usually get things that are that off the mark.

Q: How did you get started as a writer?
Multitronic

PD: My father was a reporter for a great metropolitan  newspaper and he very much influenced me. I knew from my youth that I wanted to be a writer. It was only when I got older that I decided that being a reporter wasn't the line of work that I wanted to go into. I derived more enjoyment from writing fiction, which you can't really do as a reporter, the New York Times notwithstanding. I had a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from NYU. I wound up developing a career in publishing sales, before I eventually wound up working in the sales department at Marvel Comics. From there, I drifted  over towards the writing side until I was eventually able to become a full-time writer. That's the short version.

Q: Who is your favorite character to write about in New Frontier?
shuttlepod_one

PD: It's going to sound like a cop out, but whoever I'm writng about at that moment is my favorite character. It really is like being asked to choose who  your favorite child is. You just can't ... despite what my four daughters think.

Q: Other then yourself, who is your favorite Star Trek and/or sci-fi writer?
BranicXerosea

PD: Probably my favorite writer of speculative fiction — because if I refer to him as a  sci-fi writer he'd kill me — would be Harlan Ellison.

Q: Who came up with the names for the new characters in New Frontier?
shuttlepod_one

PD: It's funny you should ask that: yes.

Q: PAD, you write more material every month than anyone I know. What's your daily schedule like?
cmdriker

PD: (laughter) My daily schedule is chaotic. In addition to the simple act of writing, I have to juggle everything from phone conferences to editorial meetings to family obligations. I generally get in 5-6 hours of writing a day, although that will generally increase if I'm really on a roll. On average, I usually work til about 2:30-3:00 in the morning. It helps that I can type 120 words a minute and  function on four hours of sleep.

Q: What made you want to write for Star Trek?

PD: What made me want to write for Star Trek is that I love the  characters. It's as simple as that. My first writing for Star Trek was fanzine work that I  produced when I was 16 years old. Later, I produced  my own fanzine dedicated to Star Trek fan fiction. In terms of how I got involved professionally, Bob Greenberger, the  editor of the Star Trek comics hired me to write for them because he knew my work and was a friend  of  mine. Dave Stern, the then-editor of the Star Trek novels, liked my work on the Star Trek comics and  invited me  to write for Pocket Books. So one thing really did  lead to another.

Q: Is Paula Block the same person who co-wrote the "Deep Space Nine Companion" with Terry Erdmann?
teppo

PB: Funny you should ask that: yes!

Q: What happened to Tania from the StarFleet Academy series you wrote?
Shadowcards

PD: Funny you should ask that: She will be appearing in "After the Fall" joining the crew of the Excalibur.

Q: You use two characters from the Animated Series, were you a big fan of those episodes?

PD: I liked the Animated Series, but the reason that I was enthusiastic about incorporating them into the novels was because I had written them when I was first writing the Star  Trek comics for DC. So this seemed  like a good opportunity to continue their stories. Plus, it had been a  while since I had  incorporated any telecast Trek characters as regulars into the New Frontier.

Q: What did you write for Marvel?
Multitronic

PD: I wrote the Incredible Hulk for 12 years. I wrote Spider-man and  a series called X-Factor. Plus a variety of limited series and one shots. Currently I write a  series  called  Captain Marvel for Marvel comics. Since we're talking comics, I also write a  series  called  Fallen  Angel for DC.

Q: What is your favourite book that you have written?
shuttlepod_one

PD: In terms of Star Trek, "Imzadi" without a question. It certainly had the most impact of any Star Trek novel I've written. In terms of my original fantasy, a book called "Sir Apropos of Nothing," which tells the story of a rogueish, would-be knight and his questionable adventures. I've written three books about that character and loved all of them, but that's my favorite.

Q: If the classic Trek series was "Wagon Train to the stars" and the Next Generation was more of a "United Nations in space," what would you say was the inspiration and direction for your own series with the Excalibur crew?
Jess_Heinig

PD: The fall of the Soviet Union. Seriously. When the  Soviet Union fell, the  country disintegrated into a lot of  smaller nations, many  of which promptly started going back to war with each other after a break of a hundred years. That was the direct inspiration for the concept of the Thallonian Empire.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring Star Trek writers, or even just writers in general?

PD: I would tell aspiring Star Trek writers that the first thing that they should be doing is write anything but Star Trek. The  reason is that they should work  on developing their own vision and  their own voice before attempting the often challenging endeavor of writing in somebody else's world and universe. I  had over a half dozen titles published before I wrote a single Star  Trek novel. Certainly writing Star Trek fan fiction can be an excellent learning experience in terms of structure  and  story. And I heartily encourage it. However, if you're interested  in producing books to get published, you would be well advised to develop your own characters and own situations. If nothing else, it gives you a far greater range of publishers to whom you can  send  it in hopes of getting it published.

Q: Paula, are there any plans to bring the Starfleet Academy books back out, perhaps in an omnibus edition?
PCG

PB: If you want to see it, you can certainly write to Pocket Books ...

Q: Have you written any New Frontier screenplays?

PD: No, because it would be a waste of time. The Star Trek franchise is run by Paramount. If Paramount said  to me "Peter, we want you to work on developing New Frontier for movie and TV" I'd be there in a heartbeat. But until, and unless, such a thing occurs, it would really be a waste of time  because there'd be no market for it. If I'm going to write original New Frontier material, I'll do it in book form so everyone can read  it.

Q: If you could only recommend one of your novels to someone, which one would it be?
BranicXerosea

PD: I've more or less answered that — Star Trek novel "Imzadi," non-Trek "Sir Apropos." I am reminded though, of the guy who, upon learning that I was a writer, asked me if I had written anything he might have read.  I  said to him,  "I don't know. What do  you read?" He replied, "Nothing."

Q: How long does it take you to write a New Frontier novel?

PD: It really depends upon the story. In general, several months.

Q: Do you have an overall plan for the New Frontier series, is it going to ever end or is it open-ended?

PD: I am contracted for three more New Frontier novels. Beyond that, if Pocket Books wants to keep doing them and  wants  me to keep writing them, I'd be happy to continue.

Q: Are there any more plans for any Knight Life or Sir Apropos novels?
PCG

PD: I am  in discussion with Penguin-Putnam about a possible  third King Arthur book. As for Apropos, Pocket Books is no longer publishing original fantasy, so I don't have a  publisher for it. I am looking around though, if any of you are interested. Also, I have a new fantasy series in negotiation with Tor Books which I will probably be announcing formally at PhilCon in December.

Q: What news on the 'Howling Mad' movie?
Q420

PD: The book is currently in development with Beacon Pictures and they are, to my understanding, in negotiations with a  potential director for the film. I have read an early script draft and liked it very much. Beyond that, things seem to be moving along at a decent pace.

Q: Have you ever thought of doing a Section 31 book in New Frontier?
BranicXerosea

PD: Funny you should ask that: no.

Q: Since Paramount has been allowing a little cross-talk between licensees, do you have any desire to connect the NF continuity with the Star Trek role-playing games?
Jess_Heinig

PD: Oh good lord, no. If the role playing games people approached me and wanted to develop New Frontier modules, I wouldn't be averse to it. But it's not something I'm actively seeking out.

Q: What themes do you feel run through all the New Frontier books?

PD: The most consistent theme of the New Frontier is  the theme of Star Trek itself,  which is  exploration. MacKenzie Calhoun and  the crew constantly find themselves in new and  dangerous situations and  must rise to surmount them. I suppose the recurring theme is mankind's incredible ability to overcome whatever obstacles may be thrown at them.

Q: If you were to make a New Frontier film, who would be your choice to play Calhoun?
aaronpc032972

PD: Oh, that's easy — Mel Gibson. To some degree, Calhoun was  based  on "Braveheart." That much should be obvious; a young warlord who winds up freeing his people from an oppressor. To a  certain degree, Calhoun is a vision of William Wallace, had he lived rather than  being executed. The difference of course is that Calhoun in the  book is much closer to Mel Gibson's real age than William Wallace was. But that's definitely who I would cast.

Star Trek Host: Thank you for joining us today! 

PD: I want to  thank all  the fans  for coming by, and listening to  me pontificating for the last hour. I invite  any and all  of  you to swing by my web site at www.peterdavid.net and chime in about whatever we're  discussing that day. Thanks for everything and keep reading. If you have any other questions, fans can go to my site and I will be able to answer them!