Dave Stern: Hi everyone, thanks for coming to the chat!

klingonbob: What made you write Enterprise books instead of one for other series?

DS: To tell you the truth, Margaret Clark, who was my editor on a couple of movie tie ins, asked me to write an Enterprise book. They were looking for writers for books for that show.

Jennifer: Why was publishing of "Daedalus' Children" pushed back to June in the UK?

DS: That I don't know. Must have had something to do with publication schedules. Lead time, things like that.

DavidN: Are you as excited about "Zero Hour" tomorrow night as the rest of us are?

DS: Yeah, I'm pretty curious. I got to read the script to "Countdown" a couple of weeks ago, because I'm working on a plot for a Hoshi novel. Just in the beginning stages, so nothing firm on that yet. But I have been curious for a few weeks actually.

vulcan3324: Thank you so much for coming today! Did you enjoy writing "Daedalus" or "Daedalus's Children" more?

DS:  I think my favorite part to write was in "Daedalus," the part where Trip discovers Professor Brodesser. But overall I think I did enjoy writing "Daedalus' Children" more because I was able to bring to a close a lot of things I had started.

vulcan3324:  It was very interesting to develop the characters of Lee and his mother. Did you have a particular inspiration for this?

DS:  No, actually, I did not. For the character of Lee I had in mind Archer confronting The Road Not Taken. That is for him to see what it might be like to have a son. But I have to say that I really had no particular person or actor in mind as I wrote.

Sambo41: This was an excellent book! As was book 1. Do you have anything new you're working on? Can you give us a story preview?

DS: First of all, thank you very much. I am, I just started last week, working on an outline for a novel featuring Hoshi, but I'm the only one that's seen it, so who knows what'll happen with that. I am working on an original horror novel right now that I believe will be called "The God of the Green Light," but don't hold me to that. But that's from a company called Emmis Books, update uncertain at the moment.

klingonbob: Do you prefer to develop characters or do you like it when they are already developed?

DS: This answer is going to sound like a cop-out, but there are advantages to each. Certainly, one of the things that's nice about working in the Star Trek universe is not just the fact that the characters are already developed for you, but that the rules of the universe are already developed. So in that sense, a lot of the work is done for you.

But obviously there are limitations that work being done encloses. For instance, you basically have to return the character where you found him or her. Whereas, when you create your own characters, you can kill them! That's an extreme example, but you get the point. There's pluses and minuses to each.

Xeen: Why did you choose Trip Tucker to be the central character in Daedalus ? Any particular reason ? Was it your choice or the publisher ?

DS: Yeah, I have to say that was my choice. I think he probably is my favorite character on the show at the moment. And I think a lot of that has to do with the actor. He's a really good actor, plus there's just a little bit of Dr. McCoy in him, which I enjoy greatly.

He's certainly - I wouldn't say he has the most personality, but he has maybe the only personality on the show you can capture in verbal shorthand easily - probably that Southern thing.

DavidN: Do you read the Harry Potter books?

DS: Yes.

T'Pop: When researching this book, did you also read the other Enterprise novels, like "Surak's Soul" and "By the Book?"

DS:  No, I didn't, although I really want to read "Surak's Soul." I was the Star Trek editor for a number of years in the late 80's and early '90s and worked closely with J.M. Dillard, and she's a really good writer. I always liked her stuff, I did read her novelization of "The Expanse," I liked that.

NothingDoohan: Did this start as one novel and then become two? How did the planning for this story take place?

DS: It was always intended to be two novels. the funny thing is that as I started writing it, I thought maybe I should have made it three novels. It's been a while since i thought about this book since I finished it long ago, and when I went back and reread it, I thought, at the end of both books, I could have spent more time with the ulitmate showdown. But that's the way it goes, you're never 100% satisfied with how it goes.

darrik: What is your favorite Star Trek era?

DS:  Interesting question. I would say probably it's the Original Series era, because that's my favorite show. but I know that one of these days I'm going to get around to watching Deep Space Nine, which I never did. I'm always impressed when I see an isolated episode on TV, it looks like a really smart show, I want to check that out.

XindiWilliams:  I've really liked the Xindi this season, will there be any Xindi novels?

DS: I do not know.

DavidN: Would you like to do, or be involved in, a series of novelizations of Season 3's Xindi storyline?

DS: I could say maybe, depending on, I guess we have to see how it all shakes down. See how much there really is left to explore.

Spock: How do you feel, talking to your fans?

DS: Well, funny I don't necessarily think of them as fans as opposed to just fans of Star Trek. We're all sort of captivated by the same thing, by the shows that Gene Roddenberry and Rick Berman and company have created over the years. That's really why, I think people are coming to these books, to read about Star Trek, not because they're my fans. We're all talking about something we like.

Xeen: Was it more fun to write about Trip or Malcom?

DS: I would say Trip. Just because he, as I said, he's my favorite character on the show. And they have shown a little bit more of his background than most of the other characters.

TheEnsign: Is the parallel universe in the Daedalus books related to the Mirror Universe? I'd love to see Mirror Universe versions of the Enterprise crew!

DS: No, it's not intended to be related. Obviously it's the same conceit, that there is a way to get into parallel universes, and I agree that might be kind of fun to see, I'm sure it would be a hoot for the actors to do something like the Mirror, Mirror episode for the actors on Enterprise.

DavidN: Which of the Trek music composers would you like to work with if one of your books were made into an on-screen story?

DS: How about James Horner, why not go for the gold.

vulcan3324: Did you ever plan to have other characters than Trip and Hoshi escape in the cell ship?

DS: In fact, I did. I actually, there's an Ensign Ryan who appears in the beginning of Daedalus and my original intention was to have him escape an then actually die from the allegies, so to speak, in the parallel universe, but as I got into it, I realized that it would leave Hoshi absolutely nothing. There was no reason to have two people get really sick.

vulcan3324: I've noticed that the Enterprise books seem to focus on a certain character in contrast to the entire ship. Why was the Daedalus duology different in that respect?

DS: I did focus mostly on Trip in the first one, then in the second one used more characters. But I think one of the reasons writers to that is the you try to limit the number of point-of-view characters in a book more often than not.

Just because it makes more, I think, better storytelling. Although some will disagree. Whereas on TV you're not restricted to a certain number of point-of-view characters, the camera doesn't restrict that.

Bart: What would you think of writing a MACO novel?

DS: I think I'd have to know a lot more about those characters.

Xeen: Is there a significant difference in writing when it comes to Tomb Raider or Star Trek universe?

DS: Yeah, I think they're both PG, I guess. Not that much difference there. I guess you can be a little more colloqial there, but again you're dealing with somebody else's characters. You're limited in the same ways.

JohnnyGo: How did you start writing, did you always want to be a writer?

DS: I think always did want to write. I was an editor in publishing for a number of years and so a number of opportunites came my way to dosome writing. I did a number of young adult books, series books like The Hardy Boys and some other YA fiction.

Then I left publishing for a while and needed a way to make some money so writing seemed like a logical thing to do, so I sort of moved into it full time. And I'm only now getting around to trying to find out what it is I want to write on my own. But there is something fun about just doing a story with characters or in a universe that you know and really like.

Giant: I've been buying Star Trek eBooks lately, what do you think of the eBook revolution, will they ever replace hard copies of books?

DS: I don't think so, for a little while. The big thing is if the readers ever become as portable as easy as a regular book, but I think that's a long ways away.

Bart: What would you think of Captain Kirk being related to Trip?

DS: It's intriguing, you know, you'd have to find a story reason to do that. I guess a plot, you need to find something more beyond a slight physical resemblance.

everythingsroses: I loved the character of General Makandros. Why did you chose to make him and Archer alike in so many ways?

DS: First of all, thanks. It wasn't so much a choice as the way that Captains are. One of the problems I ran into was finding ways to differentiate between the various military personnel.

Guest: What do you think differentiates Enterprise the most from the other Star Trek series? In what ways is Enterprise more interesting or far-reaching?

DS: I think that as the creators intended, this is a show where the main characters are a little more like modern day humans. The technology is obviously not so evolved. I think that it's more intesting, the evolution between different races. I think they've done a great job with the Andorians, they're my favorite race on the show. And I like that the Vulcans and Humans have conflict.

And I think their intent may be to be far-reaching with showing how races learn to get along or not get along. I can't say that I find it far-reaching yet, in how it relates to us in present day situations. But maybe they're trying to draw a parallel between the Xindi and Iraq, I don't know. That said light-heartedly, because I just don't know.

Xeen: Are you aware of the fanfiction phenomenon and do you ever read any?

DS: In my job as a Star Trek editor I was aware of the fan fiction going on at that time, 15 years ago. And I did read some then. But I have not ready any since.

everythingsroses: I was shocked at Sadir's last stand. Why such an end for such an evil Character?

DS: It was the end of the first book, and as I said in a previous answer, I am kind of unsatisfied with what I'd done there. I kind of ran out of space. I would have loved to have had more time on the ultimate scenes of both "Daedalus" and "Daedalus' Children."

vulcan3324: I especially enjoyed reading about the ''fate'' of Porthos. Did you ever think of including what Makandros had been calling him??

DS: (laughter) You should say that, because in preperation for this chat, I was rereading the book, and I got to that part, and I said to myself, 'I should have put in what Makandros called him!'

DavidN: Are you into Astronomy?

DS: A very little bit.

everythingsroses: Duvall and Dr. Trant were interesting characters with real between a Rock and a hard place storylines, how did you come up with such heart-rending stories?

DS: Thank you. It took a long time. But it was fun.

vulcan3324: Did you plan to have Dr. Trant and Cptn. Duvall die from when you first started writing?

DS: Duvall, yes. Because I knew that the only way to put Archer in the position of being a father, of having to be a father, was to get rid of Duvall. But when I originally outlined the book, the Trant character was not really in there. It was just an officer for Trip to deal with.

And then of course, when they met- Well, after they'd met( I had to go back and change it) I thought it would be fun to have a star-crossed romance in there.

JumboHolster: Does your family read your books? Are they fans of Star Trek as well?

DS: My wife, who was my girlfriend when I was Star Trek editor, got enough of Star Trek then to last a lifetime. My kids are still too young, they are 3 and 8.

But my brother, who watched the Original Series with religiously when we were growing up, I think maybe he reads them now and again.

Bart: Dave, what is your favorite book?

DS: Wow. The answer changes all the time, but now I'll say "Time and Again" by Jack Finney. My answer changes all the time, but that is such a great 'What If?' story.

vulcan3324: What are some of your other hobbies besides writing?

DS: At the moment my biggest hobby is mowing the lawn. We have a lawn the size of Cleveland it seems. And being a father, too.

DavidN: What do you think of Audio Books?

DS: I've heard some really good ones, I've heard some... really bad ones.But I think it's a potentially very exciting medium. But I really think a lot of people listen to them in their car during their commutes, and my commute is about 50 feet, so I don't really listen to them very much.

DavidN: Have you ever tried to read Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History Of Time"?

DS: Yes, in fact I think it made it a few chapters in. And actually, for Daedalus, there's a book by Fred Alan Wolf that's called, I believe, "Parallel Universes," that has a lot in there that I tried very hard to understand, and a lot that was very easy to understand and very helpful. Helpful in trying to add scientific legitimacy, or the smell of it, to my story.

Tachyon: Do you believe that alien life exists?

DS: Yes. Whether it's multi-cellular, whether it's intelligent, whether it has space ships, I don't know. But I do believe that there is life of one sort or another, somewhere else.

RCKTFAN: How do you come up with ideas for your writing? What brainstoming techniques work best for you?

DS: Coffee. Donuts. And actually, I have to say, I don't know if you've seen the movie "Adaptation," but the book that they ridicule in that film, called "Story," I find tremendously helpful. For brainstorming technique and just the 'where it is' for story, might fall short structurally. I think you have to come up with the ideas, but there's always a point when I'm trying to think up a story, where I have no idea what to do next.

And because for these Star Trek books, you have to show Paramount an entire outline of what you're going to do, that book really nails down the basics of dramatic structure. At least for me.

PhloxRules: How much science do you have to know to write books like these? Are there special science consultants who help the Star Trek book writers?

DS: I think you have to be conversant with the basic Star Trek scientific principles, it helps to have an editor like Margaret Clark, who is way conversant with those principles, it helps even more to have a resource like the "Star Trek Encyclopedia," which is way, way too conversant with all those principles.

And then, once you know what area your story is going to focus in on, you really have to call on friends or make acquaintances or use the Internet, for that smell of scientific legitimacy. But there is no "scientific" expert for the Trek book writers.

Xeen: T'Pol is underused in both "Daedalus" and "Daedalus's Children." Was it a conscious choice or writer's muse?

DS: I guess a little of each. My problem with T'Pol is that whenever I write the character, I always find myself thinking of Spock, and so I never felt like I really captured anything essentially 'her.' And again, in the structure of the story, it was deliberately mostly Trip and Captain Archer. So I didn't really need her.

DavidN: Do you have a website? Can't find it on Google!

Dave Stern: No, I do not currently.

RCKTFAN: Hey - you mentioned Cleveland - are you an Ohioan?

DS: No. I've been there.

DavidN: Would it be easier to write about T'Pol now she is messing about with emotions?

DS: Yes, I think it would be. I think that's a very good point.

darrik: Have you ever done any convention appearances, and what is it like?

DS: No. When I was an editor I did the 20th Anniversary convention, I guess that was 1987.

Host: This will be our last question...

Bart: Have you given any thought to the impending Romulan War and how that might be an epic story idea?

DS: I haven't, but I know that Margaret has big Trek milestones firmly in mind all the time, when she thinks about Enterprise. So I think that the same things that probably a lot of the Trek fans want to see she has plans for. Again, it's hard to make those epic plans with a show that's still on the air, because they're probably thinking about a lot of the same things too.

One of the reasons for doing Enterprise was to show how the Trek universe got where it is. Sooner or later, someone will do that story.

Host: Thank you, Dave, for chatting with us today!

vulcan3324: Thank you so much for coming today! I loved the Daedalus duology!!!!!

DS: Thank you all very much for coming today and for reading the book!

Host: And thanks to all of you for your great questions. Remember to join us on June 29 for our next Book Club event. The book is "Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" by Heather Jarman and Una McCormack.

Bart: Thank you Dave.

DavidN: Thanks very much for coming and answering our questions Dave. Live Long And Party!

everythingsroses: Thanks ! I love the books! : )

Psiqueue: Thank you Dave

Techie: Thanks! Your Daedalus books were excellant!

Xeen:  thank you for being here with us ! great books !!

Smeagul: I loved the book!