Host: Welcome to our Star Trek Book Club chat with "Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" author Heather Jarman! Pocket Books editor Marco Palmieri is with us today as well.

Heather Jarman: Hello everybody, glad to be here today. Hope everyone's having a wonderful morning or afternoon, whatever it may be!

dan: To Heather. How did you come up with so many details about Andor and Andorian culture? Was it just your imagination, or was a collaborative effort?

HJ: I find my inspiration in many places. Most of the inspiration for Andorian culture comes from places I've visited, books that I've read, people I've known, movies that I've bought. I think life is a great resource and every opportunity can provide material for a story.

MBritton: Were there any particular Earth religions from which you drew some inspiration for the Andorian cultural beliefs and rituals? 

HJ: Not so much. I have taken multiple classes in world theology and religion, I've lived in multiple places around the world and my interactions in those cultures inspired me to take bits and pieces from lots of different religions. I did draw on some Pagan traditions and monotheistic traditions.

Serebii1701: How did you become the writer for the segment on Andor? Did you choose it, or did someone at Pocket Books assign you the segment?

HJ: (laughter) When I met Marco the first time, he had already provided me with the bible for the DS9 relaunch and there was a paragraph or two on the Andorians that intrigued. I remember sitting on a couch in a hotel lobby and telling Marco, "Whatever you do, I want the Andorians!" I provided him with outlines describing my view of what the culture and gender interactions would be and I must have pursuaded him. And Danielle Perry did some work in her novels that provided springboards for ideas that we developed since then.

Bruno: Do you feel that your book speaks to the modern political situation of the world, and if so, what is the heart of the message?

HJ: (laughter) Not intentionally. As I have spent the last two years writing, the world has been in flux and we've seen the political landscape evolve and perhaps on a subconscious level, as I wrestled with some of those questions, it infused my work. But I don't intend to make political statements with my books but I do hope it encourages dialogue and allows people to see perhaps current situations in new ways. Isn't that what Star Trek does best?

Prunes: What planets/races are next for the "Worlds of Deep Space Nine"?

Marco Palmieri: Volume 2 will feature stories about Trill and Bajor. Volume 3 will feature stories on Ferenginar and the Dominion.

klingonbob: Why did you become an author, particularly a Star Trek author?

HJ: I don't remember a time in my life when I wasn't writing. I gravitated to science fiction before I was a teenager and wrote my first story about giant mutant rats when I was nine. So becoming a fan of Star Trek was a natural outgrowth of lifelong interests. So when I began working on becoming a writer full-time in my late 20s and I'd immersed myself in the current Star Trek's on television, exploring that universe was a natural place for me to go.

HJ: And I just practiced, practiced practiced, and persisted and I was lucky enough to find work in something I love!

ScottB: Were you limited or constrained in any way when writing ["Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"] "Paradigm" by the half-novel format? Would the story have been any different if it had been a full novel instead?

HJ: The primary limitation would be the amount of material that we could cover and the depth with which we cover it. "Paradigm" would be like a cross-section, like a geological cross section, in the sense that it shows small, intense pieces of Andor, not a wide variety, but in-depth. Given a longer format, we might have seen more characters, an expansion of some of the themes and more exploration of their culture. I felt we only scratched the surface of that. But I feel like what we did is very satisfying and should whet the appetite for more, instead of feeling like we answered all the questions.

ShimmyShimmy: Is there a plan for other series of books about worlds, like "Worlds of Voyager" or "Enterprise"?

MP: I think we're going to wait and see before how the series as a whole before we decide to do any more like it. However, it's also fair to say that Star Trek stories delving into different worlds in the Star Trek universe didn't start with "Worlds of DS9" and it most likely won't end with it either.

JimJ: Heather, congrats on all your recent and upcoming Trek work. Are you working on any non-Trek projects?

HJ: Yes, I am working on a non-Trek project. I'm writing a young adult spy novel for my daughters, who are huge Alias fans. And they would love to see themselves as 15-year old Sidney Bristows, so I'm writing a book that they can share with their friends.

vulcan3324: Do you have a favorite Star Trek series?

HJ: That's like asking if I have a favorite child. I like every series for different reasons, I would have have to say DS9 is probably my favorite because of its richness and complexity. But I also love Voyager and the the Original Series for their themes of exploration and the drive of the human spirit to explore and learn about other places.

Chris in Indiana: When will Volume 2 be out? I like reading about the Trill!!

MP: Volume 2 will be out in January. It was originally scheduled for November, but we bumped it a couple of months.

Mr.Snickers: How much do you write in one sitting? Do you write in long chunks or small bits? How long does it take to write a Star Trek book?

HJ: Both. I will take my laptop with me in the car and while I travel, and can often spend 20 minutes waiting in line someplace and work. But I've also been known to write 12 hours at a time. Most of it depends on how well I can concentrate and how inspired I am and how severe the deadline is! (laughter)

MichaelS: Judging from your previous stories ("This Gray Spirit" and "Balance of Nature") you seem to enjoy world-building quite a bit. What is it that appeals to you so? And do you want to build some original world of your own one day?

HJ: Excellent question! I love world-buillding because I love understanding what makes a world tick, whether it is the geology, the culture, the geography, the elements that combine together give a people a personality. It's like a deductive puzzle where you start with the end and you work backwards. For example, with Andor, we knew they had four genders, sexes, and so the question I asked myself was -- What kind of culture supports four sexes, how to they live, how do they divide child care duties, what kind of religious beliefs inspire a culture with four genders or sexes? Do they see themselves created in their god's image? What kind of education would they have, and so forth. Then you work from there. What kind of environment would they live in, what would their houses look like, what would their morals be like. And the more questions you ask, the more branches of questions arise until you discover that you've built a world, and interconnected web of situations and circumstances that is alien to the world we know.

As for building my own world, yes, I have several original sci-fi and fantasy ideas that I have developed and will write novels from when the time is right. But I figure if [J.R.R.] Tolkein and [C.S.] Lewis and other great world-builders can take decades, what's the rush for me. I want to do it right and not borrow too heavily from what's been done before and create something original.

Bruno: Who are some authors whose work has influenced you?

HJ: [Ursula K.] Le Guin, very heavily influenced by Le Guin. I love Orson Scott Card, I like Isaac Asimov, I like the first few "Dune" books by Frank Herbert, but I have a very strong background in the classics of English literature. So while you may not see directly the influence of writers like Dickens, Austen, Hawthorne and Fitzgerald, the way those writers create characters and settings has a huge impact on my work.

darrik: Have you ever done any conventions?

HJ: Yes. I go to Shore Leave in Baltimore in July.

Jimbo: This is for Marco -- I'm still relatively new to Star Trek books, and since, especially with the Deep Space Nine books, there seems to be a lot of older novels that set the stage for the newer ones. What books should I go back and read so that I can enjoy these newer ones?

MP: If you are interested in stories that continue the DS9 stories beyond the TV series, start with "A Stitch in Time" by Andrew J. Robinson and then the "Avatar" books 1 and 2. If you like those, there are a dozen other books, so far, that continue the story. The "Avatar" books are by S.D. Perry, by the way.

Slibbery Slub: Since books are more like movies than a series, what's your favorite of the Star Trek movies? 

HJ: "Wrath of Khan"  and "First Contact."

MP: I guess I'll go with "Wrath of Khan" as well.

Steve M: In "Paradigm's" acknowledgments, you mention the Inklings. What did you mean by their influence on "Andor's neoromanticism"?

HJ: There were a group of professors at Oxford University in 1940 and 1950 who met together at a local pub and shared their writing with each other. The most famous of the group were Tolkein and Lewis. The Inklings were distressed by the modern era and the technology that they perceived as destroying a pastoral way of life that had been uniquely English for centuries. In their personal writings, they discuss a longing to preserve the last remains of pre-Industrial England. And that concern about progress and the consequences of technology were ideas that I transposed into my development of Andor.

GMac: What was the first Star Trek novel you read? Which other Trek authors do you like or admire?

HJ: The first Trek novel I read was "Imzadi." I love the relaunch authors, S.D. Perry, David George, Mike Martin, Andy Mangels, Jeff Lang. I also love Keith de Candido and Andrew Robinson's "Stitch in Time" is brilliant. I've read all of Christie Golden's Voyager books and a lot of Peter David's Next Generation books. But "The Final Reflection" by John M. Ford is one of the best.

vulcan3324: Seeing that you enjoy writing about the Andorians, would you ever be interested in writing a novel about Shran?

HJ: Yes! I'd enjoy writing a story about Shran. I'm sure Jeffrey Combs would give me plenty of backstory ideas.

Daniel Berry: Your books introduced a lot of the Andorian terms. How do you go about inventing words like that?

HJ: I let my editor do it. (laughing)

vulcan3324: Would you be interested in seeing Andor included in a movie?

MP: I'd go!

HJ: I'd go! It's a two pronged answer, as a fan I'd be first in line. As a writer, on behalf of other writers who enjoy working with Andor, it's kind of nice keeping the sandbox to ourselves because we can do what we want, within reason.

CaptainDennis: Who from Star Trek would you compare yourself with? What Star Trek character are you most like?

HJ: At different times in my life I've related to different Star Trek characters. When I was younger, I was a little B'Elanna Torres, but as I've gotten older I'm probably most like Kira Nerys. I relate to a lot of Kira's personal struggles and her desire to honor her faith and her people in the face of a changing world.

MP: I'll pass on that question!

MichaelS: Which DS9 character was the easiest for you to write?

HJ: Hmmm ... let me think ... I would have to say that Quark was surprisingly easy to write as was Ro Laren, because I'm a pretty good mimic and I can capture their voices. Kira is the hardest to write because I sometimes personalize her too much.

JimJ: Given the opportunity, would you pitch ideas to Paramount for Enterprise? Does screenwriting hold any appeal to you, or do you prefer prose?

HJ: I spent several years primarily focused on screenwriting and have written original screenplays and with my writing partner pitched ideas to Voyager during the fifth and sixth seasons. I would be interested writing for Enterprise if I felt I had a compelling story to tell.

vulcan3324: Do you ever find it difficult to stay within the confines of Trek canon?

HJ: Yes and no. I've written two stories, "This Gray Spirit" and a short story for the "Prophecy and Change" anthology that had very strong boundaries set by canon. And while I wouldn't call them difficult, I would call them challenging and it requires that deductive process to go backwards from what we see onscreen and figure out the spaces between the words and the scenes we don't see and how to make those plausible. So while it's challenging, it's like attempting a complicated crossword puzzle or a thousand piece jigsaw and does require some analysis and persistence.

Guest: Do you have any Star Trek memorabilia?

HJ: Yes! I have action figures, I have Hallmark ornaments, I have t-shirts, I have autographed pictures, I have one that has every actor from the Voyager cast except Kate Mulgrew. Had to go to four conventions to get that one!

Guest: Do you ever get writer's block?

HJ: (laughter) Yes!! Underlined! Exclamation point! And you say to the computer "I can write, I can die or my editor will kill me!" And then you work until something comes out.

Steve M: What can you tell us about your story in the upcoming "Tales of the Dominion War"?

HJ: I will say this about the story -- people who know my work will be surprised to discover that I can be funny and not as angst-y as most of my other projects have been.

Serebii1701: This question is for Mr. Palmieri. In your time as Star Trek editor at Pocket Books, what are some of the favorite books you've had a hand in working on and authors you've supervised?

MP: I loved working on "The Lives of Dax," all the post-finale DS9 fiction has been satisfying and very exciting. I take the most amount of joy that I can from every project I work on.

TrekkieGirlIsabel: Do you start writing directly into the computer, or begin with pen and paper?

HJ: Both. I like handwriting, I often am in the car taking care of my family, and because you never know when an idea will strike, I usually keep a notebook in my purse so if the characters start speaking I can write down the ideas or dialogue before I forget. I have been known to wake up in the middle of the night and start writing on the inside pages of books because they were the only thing available.

GMac: A question for Marco -- Have you got a long term plan or direction for the Relaunch novels, or do they evolve gradually as each story is written?

MP: I have both long term plans, and I keep my options open.

TrekkieGirlIsabel: Do you think that you have to be a true Trekkie to write a really good Star Trek novel?

HJ: I think it helps to have passion for your subjects. Because if you are indifferent, you aren't invested in the outcome. So while I may not be able to quote chapter and verse of every episode like some fans can, I love the universe. And I am so eager to explore new corners of it that I believe my enthusiasm makes up for my lack of encyclopedic knowledge.

MP: Ditto. If you don't love it, why would you want to do it?

Host02: This will be our last question.

Guest: Would you like to live in the Star Trek world you wrote?

HJ: Hmm. Yes, I would. Because I'm always eager for new experiences and to have the resources available of the Star Trek universe, the possiblities are virtually limitless. I mean, why settle for Rome when you could go to Andor?

Host02: Thank you Heather and Marco for joining us today and all our participants.

HJ: Thanks to everyone for coming, and I hope everyone is excited about the upcoming year of Star Trek fiction and thank you for your loyalty and ongoing enthusiasm for the projects and I hope to meet some of you someday, come up and say hi at a convention!

MP: Thank you, it's great being here again. Hope we can do it again soon!

TrekkieGirlIsabel: Thanks so much

Daniel Berry: Bye!

Bruno: Thanks Heather and Marco, we really appreciate the time you've taken. Best of luck! God bless!

vulcan3324: Thank you so much for coming today! Keep up the fantastic writing and editing! :)

MichaelS: Cheers!