Paul Ruditis, author of the "Star Trek: Voyager Companion," has become quite prolific in recent years splitting his time between fictional novels and short stories, or behind the scenes and companion-style books, all based on established television shows.

As one who is devoted to the medium of television, his writing talents make a nice fit for his career in writing. But the pleasures of working in both the fictional world and the non-fiction can depend on the day, literally. "If I'm in the middle of a particularly difficult interview where the subject is not giving me anything I can use, then I'd rather be working on fiction," he confesses.

"However, if I can't come up with the right scene or dialogue, or, lord help me, resolution to a story, then I'd rather be doing some non-fiction. On the flip side, writing fiction is fun simply because I love creating original work or as original as I can, considering that I'm often working with someone else's characters and universe. Non-fiction is also great because I've been fairly addicted to television all my life and these books really give me the chance to delve into a series and see what makes it tick."

Writing a book as extensive as the "Voyager Companion" doesn't necessarily follow the same writer's process as a novel. The time can be more spread out, sometimes to fit the run of the show. In Paul's case, it was much shorter than that. "From the point I first sat down at my iMac to the time I typed in the last word on my iBook, it was just under two years," Paul explains. "Of course, during that time I also worked on some other projects because I'm rather fond of eating and paying rent! Well not so much the paying rent part, but the resulting shelter is nice. Then the book took a year to actually become a physical reality, because the production process is so incredibly involved. I'm amazed at all the work my wonderful editor, Margaret Clark, puts in on these projects (and I say that even though I really have no reason to suck up to her at the moment).

Off course, with great work comes great rewards. After watching lots of Voyager, and compiling interesting facts and nuggets, what did he find of particular interest?

"Tuvix."

The "Star Trek: Voyager Companion" is available now.