LIVE CHAT With "

LIVE CHAT With "Star Trek: Vulcan's Heart" Authors Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz,

With Pocket Books Star Trek Editor John Ordover. July 15, 1999.

<SteveKrutzler> Welcome to tonight's chat with the authors of "Star Trek:
Vulcan's Heart," Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz, along with Pocket Books
Star Trek Editor John Ordover

<Arman> yay!

<Arman> Sorry :-)

<Josepha> <waving at the crowd>

<JOtrekeditor> yay us

<SusanShw> <grin>

<SteveKrutzler> First question...

<SteveKrutzler> From "Jim" (what a handle): Vulcan's Heart is great. When
do you expect to get started on a Vulcan's Soul?

<Josepha> John...?

<SusanShw> ???

<Josepha> Over to you, John!

<SteveKrutzler> rather... on Vulcan's Soul, hehe

<JOtrekeditor> we're chatting about it already

<Josepha> Get started on a Vulcan's soul, eh?

<SusanShw> Very cool blues music, I can tell you. Or maybe green.

<JOtrekeditor> LOTS of wave functions to collapse on ths one.

<JOtrekeditor> *
<SusanShw> *
<Josepha> *

<SteveKrutzler> Ok
<SteveKrutzler> Now I am ready :-)

<JOtrekeditor> go ahead

<Josepha> <waiting patiently>

<SusanShw> <doing nails>

<SteveKrutzler> From MartinKahn: I am a writer myself. Oddly enough,
<SteveKrutzler> I contributed a story to "Strange
<SteveKrutzler> Worlds II" that takes place several
<SteveKrutzler> months after Kirk's death on the
<SteveKrutzler> Enterprise-B. The story was about
<SteveKrutzler> how Spock had to choose who he was
<SteveKrutzler> going to marry (would you believe
<SteveKrutzler> Saavik vs. Christine Chapel?!).
<SteveKrutzler> Anyway, as a fellow (aspiring-to-be
<SteveKrutzler> published) writer, I was curious how
<SteveKrutzler> you developed the backstory for
<SteveKrutzler> Spock to marry Savvik?

*** wysiwyg (adamb@***.xnet.com) has joined channel #trekweb.com
...And what an entrance it was!

<Josepha> It was a process of Logic!
<Josepha> There were only a few possible choices.

<SusanShw> Very. There weren't too many ladies he -could- logically
marry.

<Josepha> John?

<JOtrekeditor> I"ll take this...
<JOtrekeditor> okay, first off, we knew that Picard was at Spock's
<JOtrekeditor> wedding from TNG
<JOtrekeditor> because we deny Sybok's existence.:)
<JOtrekeditor> So obviously, it would have to be someone who lived long
<JOtrekeditor> enough to marry Spock when Picard was a lieutenant,
<JOtrekeditor> or someone we just made up
<JOtrekeditor> making someone up was not really a good option,
<JOtrekeditor> since I didn't think we could introduce a character worthy
<JOtrekeditor> of Spock in just one book
<JOtrekeditor> So, choosing only from those who were introduced on the
<JOtrekeditor> series, and whose life-span was such that they could marry
<JOtrekeditor> spock and have a real life with him
<JOtrekeditor> that left Saavik and the Rom Com from Enterprise incident

<SusanShw> Presumably, Valeris is in prison or something.

<JOtrekeditor> and so we decided to marry Spock to the "good girl"

<Josepha> Susan: He would hardly marry VALERIS!

<SusanShw> I know. But I just thought about her.

<JOtrekeditor> besides, everyone loves Saavik.:)

<SusanShw> awwww

<SteveKrutzler> When she was Kirstie Alley (sp?)

<JOtrekeditor> and withwhatever happened or was implied to happen on the

<SteveKrutzler> (nothing against Robin Curtis)

<Josepha> Steve: When she was Saavik! <G>

<Arman> She got plastic surgery, right? :-)

<JOtrekeditor> genesis planet... it worked for us.:)

<JOtrekeditor> *
<SusanShw> *

<Josepha> Steve: Feel free to picture Saavik any way you want! <G>

<SteveKrutzler> Dr. Evil: riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight
<SteveKrutzler> ok... From Jan: I liked your short story in the
<SteveKrutzler> Amazing Stories magazine, will you do
<SteveKrutzler> another one?

<Josepha> We are about to send them an idea for one.

<SusanShw> We'd like to.

<Josepha> Susan and I have to go over that.

<Josepha> *
<SusanShw> *
<JOtrekeditor> *

<SteveKrutzler> From Brad: You both provided background voices
<SteveKrutzler> for the "Vulcan's Heart" audiobook,
<SteveKrutzler> right? Were they just the
<SteveKrutzler> miscellaneous crowd voices, or are
<SteveKrutzler> there places where one of your voices
<SteveKrutzler> can be clearly recognized?

<SusanShw> I can hear separate voices. I heard mine.

<Josepha> LOL! Yes, we were background voices! I honestly haven't
LISTENED to the tape yet!

<JOtrekeditor> I was there too - all our voices can be picked out of the

<Josepha> Been too busy!
<Josepha> That is WAY KEWL!

<SusanShw> Of course, I mostly heard Peter David.

<JOtrekeditor> background at one time or another

<SusanShw> *
<JOtrekeditor> *
<Josepha> *

<SteveKrutzler> From ChiefOps: Josepha, I enjoyed "Visitors", your Buffy
the Vampire Slayer book. Are you planning to write any more Buffy books?

<JOtrekeditor> Yeah, Jo, do

<Josepha> Yes, Laura Anne Gilman and I are working on DEEP WATER even
now! It comes out in Feb.

<JOtrekeditor> BUFFY DOES BOSTON!

<Josepha> And glad you liked it.

<JOtrekeditor> :)

<Josepha> John: DOWN, boy!
<Josepha> *

<SusanShw> No, that's FAITH.

<SteveKrutzler> haha

<SusanShw> *

<JOtrekeditor> Faith Does Frisco.
<JOtrekeditor> *

<Berserker> Poor Faith, rip

<SteveKrutzler> that finale was good, btw.. even if the fight seen was
made out to be more than it was

<JOtrekeditor> BUT BACK TO VH....

<Josepha> Anyone NOT seen the finale?
<Josepha> Oh, yeah. VH. <G>

<SusanShw> topic drift!

<JOtrekeditor> Hey, let's sell Vulcan's Heart, then talk BUffy
<JOtrekeditor> *

<Josepha> <snicker>

<Berserker> i didnt like the finale that much... oops, off topic

<SteveKrutzler> From Tony: Have you been approached to write
<SteveKrutzler> scripts for Voyager?

<SusanShw> No

<Josepha> Nope.
<Josepha> *

<JOtrekeditor> that's a subject for buffyweb.com:)

<Berserker> voyager woould never be so wise

<JOtrekeditor> Sold one treatment first year of VGR, wasn't produced

<Josepha> Voyager now has Ron Moore. This is a Good Thing.

<JOtrekeditor> did TWo DS9s though

<SusanShw> He left, Jo.

<Arman> He left

<SteveKrutzler> hahaha

<JOtrekeditor> Jo, Ron left

<Josepha> Susan: RATS!
<Josepha> There goes VGR, then.

<SusanShw> You're telling me.

<SteveKrutzler> someone who DOESN'T know about Ron

<Berserker> Aw, Josepha, what you havent heard...

<Arman> LOL

<SusanShw> <flush>

<JOtrekeditor> BUT BACK TO VULCAN'S HEART

<SteveKrutzler> yes

<Berserker> NO COMMENT

<SteveKrutzler> :-)

<SteveKrutzler> From Jim: Vulcan's Heart is very consistant
<SteveKrutzler> with the TV series and even some of
<SteveKrutzler> the novels. How long did it take to
<SteveKrutzler> get that consistancy?

<JOtrekeditor> :)

<SusanShw> A LONG time. That's why the book was moved back in the
schedule for a year.

<Josepha> It took us over a year, the CHRONOLOGY, and John Ordover's
amazing memory!
<Josepha> Mr. Ordover is a fount of things ST!

<SusanShw> TOUGH duty. Had to re-watch lots of episodes for continuity
and accuracy.
<SusanShw> Making notes, which is pretty funny.

<JOtrekeditor> Since we -started- with certain keypoints - NIII and Spock's
<JOtrekeditor> marriage, the general points
<JOtrekeditor> or parameters, rather, were locked down from the start
<JOtrekeditor> we knew the book was set in 2344; the Trek Chronology provided
<JOtrekeditor> lots of ideas of things that happened that year.
<JOtrekeditor> But getting the specifics right was time-consuming
<JOtrekeditor> we found that working things out on AOL chat rooms with

<SusanShw> We knew it would be put under an electron microscope so we
wanted to do it right.
<SusanShw> As well as for its own sake.

<JOtrekeditor> the "log" function turned on worked wonders
<JOtrekeditor> *

<Josepha> Yes, the "log" is a good and wonderful thing.

<SusanShw> *
<Josepha> *

<SteveKrutzler> From MartinCahn: You're touting "Vulcan's Heart" as a
<SteveKrutzler> sequel to "Vulcan's Forge." While
<SteveKrutzler> the action seems to take place
<SteveKrutzler> after "Forge," doesn't "Heart"
<SteveKrutzler> really stand separately from the
<SteveKrutzler> first story? I didn't think Saavik
<SteveKrutzler> was even in "Forge", or at least not
<SteveKrutzler> prominently, and certainly not in
<SteveKrutzler> any way that would lead to Spock's
<SteveKrutzler> marrying her.

<Josepha> It's a stand-alone sequel.

<SusanShw> It's not a -direct- sequel except in the plot/character arc
that leads Spock to work toward Unification.

<Josepha> The continuation of Spock's life.

<JOtrekeditor> We haven't been pushing this book as a sequel, just the

<SusanShw> In VF, he runs into what we find out are Romulans and, as an
adult, runs into more of the same.
<SusanShw> In VH, he has prepared himself to take action, and tries.

<JOtrekeditor> "Next book from the criticly acclaimed authors of Vulcan's
Forge."

<SusanShw> And, to some extent is rebuffed, and to another extent develops
allies.
<SusanShw> He marries in.

<JOtrekeditor> Ruanek carries over from VF

<SusanShw> But you can read VH without reading VF.

<JOtrekeditor> *
<Josepha> *
<SusanShw> *

<SteveKrutzler> From ChiefOps: Why did you decide to put Chekov on the
Excelsior with Sulu? How do you feel now that other authors (L.A. Graf in
"War Dragons") have used this idea in their stories?

<Arman> We're chatting with the authors of the awesome Star Trek Novel,
"Vulcan's Heart," and Pocket Books ST Editor, John Ordover. If you have
any questions, please send them to me or Steve.

<Berserker> Which is actually what I did, reading VH before VF

<SusanShw> Seemed logical that they'd serve together. Good officer for
Captain Sulu; good opportunity for Chekhov.

<Josepha> Exactly.

<SusanShw> *
<Josepha> *

<JOtrekeditor> Actually,l was aware of what LA Graf were going to do,
<JOtrekeditor> and we followed it.
<JOtrekeditor> *

<SteveKrutzler> From Jason: Was Vulcans Heart harder to write
<SteveKrutzler> than Vulcans Forge or easier?

<Josepha> Much more difficult!

<JOtrekeditor> Harder
<JOtrekeditor> and I'm just the editor

<Josepha> It's a longer, much more complex book!

<JOtrekeditor> :)

<SusanShw> Much harder. Much more complex story.

<Josepha> John: <G>

<JOtrekeditor> Far more complex

<SusanShw> And also, it went right up the center of the core stories.

<Josepha> *
<SusanShw> *

<JOtrekeditor> VF has straight-forward plotting. VH is like a complicated
<JOtrekeditor> jigsaw puzzle
<JOtrekeditor> first we had to polish the pieces, then make sure they all fit

<SteveKrutzler> From Jim: Is there any possibility of you
<SteveKrutzler> writing a novel set in the original
<SteveKrutzler> series frame say the 1st or 2nd five
<SteveKrutzler> year mission?

<SteveKrutzler> (oops, jumped the gun, sorry)

<JOtrekeditor> It really wouldn't have worked with authors of less skill,
<JOtrekeditor> dedication, and patience than Jo and/or Susan.:)
<JOtrekeditor> *

<Josepha> Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

<SusanShw> You forgot masochism.
<SusanShw> But thank you!

<JOtrekeditor> Yes, that too!

<Josepha> Re writing in TOS: Who can say? Never say never!

<SusanShw> What Jo Said.

<SusanShw> *
<Josepha> *
<JOtrekeditor> *

<SteveKrutzler> Let's try Jim for 600: You seem to love Romulan
<SteveKrutzler> characters. Is there any chance
<SteveKrutzler> that we will see a novel that is
<SteveKrutzler> primarily concerning Romulans?

<SusanShw> Oh, TWIST my arm.

<Josepha> Yes, but not from us! Diane Duane is doing one, right, John?

<JOtrekeditor> UH = Vucan's Heat DOES primarily concern ROms.:)

<Josepha> One or more!

<SusanShw> Just a few!

<Josepha> Yes, come to think of it! <G>
<Josepha> And often from the Rom POV!
<Josepha> YOU try getting into the mind of the Romulan Praetor!
<Josepha> NOT a nice place to visit!
<Josepha> *

<SusanShw> Eeeuwwww.
<SusanShw> Well, not -that- Romulan praetor.
<SusanShw> *

<SteveKrutzler> From ChiefOps: How did you select the name for the
_Intrepid II_?

<Josepha> It was an homage to the original ship.

<SusanShw> It commemorates the first one.

<Josepha> The original ST ship, that is!

<Josepha> *
<SusanShw> *
<JOtrekeditor> *

<SteveKrutzler> From Esteban: Will you be doing another Star Trek book?

<Josepha> That's being discussed.

<JOtrekeditor> (ie, named after the Intrepid in IMMUNITY SYNDROME

<Josepha> Eh, John ?

<JOtrekeditor> )

<SusanShw> That's a John question.

<JOtrekeditor> We're woikn' on it!

<JOtrekeditor> *
<Josepha> *
<SusanShw> *

<SteveKrutzler> Ok then... Let me ask something about Trek book business

<JOtrekeditor> okay

<SteveKrutzler> How does Pocket Books decide how many Trek titles to
develop in a given year? I heard that the recent schedule was slashed
quite a bit because of sales drops

<JOtrekeditor> I wish it had been! We're looking at over 50 Trek novels
<JOtrekeditor> sorry, Trek books, in the next year

<Josepha> Yeep! Didn't realize it was THAT many!

<JOtrekeditor> minimum of 27 novels, probably more

<SusanShw> You're BUSY
<SusanShw> *

<JOtrekeditor> LOTS of reference books and other stuff such as
<JOtrekeditor> The Klingon Hamlet, a Trek Origami book called PAPER UNIVERSE
<JOtrekeditor> (which is immensely cool) and other stuff like that

<SusanShw> I love the term STAR TREK non-fiction.

<Josepha> Trek Origami!!!!

<Josepha> LOL!

<JOtrekeditor> Jo, guy figured out how to fold EVERYTHING in the Trek
<JOtrekeditor> universe, Klingon ships, stations, the Enterprise, etc.

<SusanShw> Now that is COOL.

<Josepha> John: Even DS9???

<JOtrekeditor> Easiest pitch we ever made to our publisher. Just dropped
<JOtrekeditor> the Klingon ship onto her desk. Told her it was black lines
<JOtrekeditor> on white paper.(ie, cheap).
<JOtrekeditor> JO, even DS9

<Josepha> KEWL!
<Josepha> That, I have got to see!

<Josepha> *
<SusanShw> *

<JOtrekeditor> Did that answer the question? Sales were down for a while

<Berserker> To any of the book people: what is your take on net fan
fiction? Do you ever read it? Any chance a future novel, and not just a
Strange New Worlds story, will come from these ranks?

<JOtrekeditor> but the crossovers and trilogies format has driven them
back up

<Josepha> I don't read fan fiction. My agent won't allow it, for legal
reasons.

<JOtrekeditor> For obvious reasons, I can't read fan fiction at all

<SusanShw> Do they even WANT professional publication?

<JOtrekeditor> We're already talking to some of the SNW people about
<JOtrekeditor> Trek novels
<JOtrekeditor> but I gotta say, if you want to write a novel, any nove, for real

<Josepha> LOL on the special effects kick!

<JOtrekeditor> and for publication, then STOP WRITING FAN FICTION

<SteveK> Well, there goes my mIRC connection, the server just bombed.

<Josepha> Oops!

<JOtrekeditor> it wont give you the kind of practice you need.
<JOtrekeditor> If you don't want to go pro, then have fun.:)

<JOtrekeditor> *
<Josepha> *
<SusanShw> *

<SteveK> Is SNW a good training ground?

<SusanShw> I'd rather see people work in their own universes.

<JOtrekeditor> SNW is a professional market, so is worth shooting for in
<JOtrekeditor> that sense.
<JOtrekeditor> But its better for people to read, and try and sell to,
<JOtrekeditor> Analog, Asimov's or Fantasy and Science Fiction mags

<JOtrekeditor> *

<SusanShw> Jo and I both came to STAR TREK after many many other books and
short stories.
<SusanShw> Can't hurt, however.
<SusanShw> *

<JOtrekeditor> (besides, you can only sell to SNW three times tops)
<JOtrekeditor> *

<Berserker> Let me ask this then: where did you, Susan and Josepha, get
your start in writing, and how did it migrate to Trek?

<JOtrekeditor> I've always written here and there. i got serious about it
<JOtrekeditor> ten years ago. Took James Gunn's SF writing class in
<JOtrekeditor> Kansas,
<JOtrekeditor> ran a literary magazine, but the important thing was that

<SusanShw> I started writing again--after about 12 years off--when I
finished my dissertation.
<SusanShw> Started in hard SF, switched to historical fantasy, some
military SF.
<SusanShw> John drafted us both.

<Josepha> I sold my first story in the 1980s: Fantasy story. My first
book was a picturebook in 1988. My first fantasy novel was THE SHINING
FALCON, 1989. Then came 26 more titles, and 125 or so short stories!
Also six folklore books, btw!

<Josepha> Boy howdy, we scared them away!

<JOtrekeditor> I wrote story after story and sent them in to every mag
<JOtrekeditor> that might buy them. After about 25 stories I started selling
<JOtrekeditor> them. Got a couple dozen sales from Amazing (in its
pre-Trek days)
<JOtrekeditor> to Penthouse
<JOtrekeditor> I'm fairly well known for short-short stories nowadays. I
get calls
<JOtrekeditor> from editors - like Greg Cox and Jo Sherman;)

<Josepha> Hey, -I- bought a story from John!
<Josepha> Yep!

<SusanShw> Short-shorts are a gift.

<SteveK> I'm primarily interested in getting into film/tv writing, but
short stories are appealing.

<SusanShw> NO, not like that!!!!
<SusanShw> *

<JOtrekeditor> I used to work for Jo, a long time ago, btw.

<Josepha> TRUE! What goes around...<g>

<JOtrekeditor> small world.
<JOtrekeditor> *

*** Signoff: wysiwyg (Ping Timeout)
...And what an exit it was!

<SusanShw> don't SING!
<SusanShw> *

<SteveK> Well... that's it for the advance questions. Shall we go
open-season?

<JOtrekeditor> sure

<SusanShw> go for it

*** wysiwyg (adamb@***.xnet.com) has joined channel #trekweb.com
...And what an re-entrance it was!

<SteveK> Have at it

<Arman> How good is Vulcan's Heart selling by the way?

<SusanShw> too early to tell

<JOtrekeditor> Too early to tell.

<ChiefOps> !--hhhhhaG

<SteveK> Oh, if anyone wants to buy it... goto trekweb.com's bookstore
(get to it from the front page) and buy it... kick me a little 5%
commission, hehe

<JOtrekeditor> Although it's gotten a lot of publicity, which can't hurt.
It was
<JOtrekeditor> even listed on some site called "Trekweb" or something

<SteveK> ooh, touche
<SteveK> :-)

<Katheryn> But it's kewl

<CMDR_NCC1701> I did get a message about not being able to send on #trekweb

<Katheryn> See..I think it just got everyone
<Katheryn> It was moderated

<CMDR_NCC1701> lol
<CMDR_NCC1701> here htey come

<JOtrekeditor> Was also mentined on Access Hollywood, to our delight

<SteveK> oh?

<JOtrekeditor> That "Spock's Wedding anouncement" release I sent out
<JOtrekeditor> caught fire all over the web and the world, including the BBC
<JOtrekeditor> and Australian newspapers.

<SteveK> Oh... hehe (see, with your account, you'll be able to post things
like that directly to TrekWeb)

<JOtrekeditor> It's too soon to see if it'll hit the print mags in the US>
<JOtrekeditor> looking forward to it.:)

<SusanShw> I keep looking.

<Berserker> Why do you think that Spock can cause this attention? Somehow
Kirk or McCoy getting married doesn't strike me as equally newsworthy

<JOtrekeditor> *

<SusanShw> McCoy WAS married.
<SusanShw> It's the fact that Spock's Vulcan. And they're so reticent.

<JOtrekeditor> Because Spock is such a confirmed bachelor. It's like
<JOtrekeditor> Warren Beatty getting married.:)

<Xaliphor> see? it wasn't newsworthy!

<Berserker> McCoy was divorced though, right?

<SusanShw> Yeah.
<SusanShw> Hey, did Josepha get nuked?

<JOtrekeditor> There is nothing canonical to suggest that McCoy was ever
married

<Uhlek> didn't McCoy have a daughter?

<Berserker> With his daughter cut from Amok Time or one of those episodes

<Berserker> Where is Josepha?

<Josepha> Back

<JOtrekeditor> There is nothing canonical; there is fan-lore than McCoy was
<JOtrekeditor> married and had a daughter called Joanna.

<Josepha> AOL dumped me.

<JOtrekeditor> JO got dumped off AOL

<SteveK> She's back

<Josepha> Came back on thru IBM.net and mIRC.
<Josepha> What I miss?

<JOtrekeditor> Not much

<Josepha> No nekked dancing boys?

<ChiefOps> You can find out in the chat transcript... :-)

<Xaliphor> netsplit for greennet again?

<JOtrekeditor> Anyone got a question, or should I start singing?

<Josepha> NO SIGNING!

<ChiefOps> Anything but that!

* JOtrekeditor smiles at everyone in the room :-)

<Berserker> So, Mr Ordover: are the books canon???

<SusanShw> NOOOOOO

<Josepha> SINGING, too!

<JOtrekeditor> Nope. The books are not canon

<Xaliphor> That depends--what would you sing for us?

<SusanShw> <readying the Salmon>

<Josepha> I got back on line for THIS? <G>

<SteveK> Half of Voyager isn't canon, gimme a break. :-)

<Josepha> Steve: LOL!

* SteveK bows

<Berserker> Steve: at least we hope not

<Arman> hey guys, I gotta go to bed! It was fun chatting with you all.
Thank you very much for taking time to join us. Goodnight!

<SusanShw> You mean those lizard babies?

<Josepha> Nite, Arman.

<Uhlek> ironically, isn't one of the Voy novels canon? lol

<SusanShw> Night, Arman.

<Xaliphor> goodnight.

<Berserker> Josepha and Susan, how much of modern Trek do you watch? Or
are you old time fans who don't get this new stuff?

<Josepha> I watched DS9, and loved it!
<Josepha> VGR: oh. dear.

<SteveK> of course, with Brannon and Jeri getting together, maybe he'll
calm down and start to care. maybe.

<SusanShw> I watch.

<Josepha> Steve: Some images I don't need. <g>

<JOtrekeditor> Of course I watch. It's part of the job

<SusanShw> Newt babies again.

<SteveK> Not Taylor

<JOtrekeditor> but I watch with a different sensibility
<JOtrekeditor> I watch for things that'll lead to interesting novels
<JOtrekeditor> ie, Picard's one line that let us marry off Spock.:)

<SteveK> haven't found anything in five years, eh?

<Josepha> Steve: SNARF! Tell us what you REALLY think of VGR~!

<SusanShw> ROFL!

<SteveK> haha

<ChiefOps> "Echoes" was based on "Deadlock", and it was quite good...

<JOtrekeditor> exactly

<Josepha> The "Captain Proton" ep was great!

<JOtrekeditor> I look for things that open doors

<SteveK> I watch every week, in the hope that is good. Actually, I thought
last year's finale was great, better than DS9's lame finale.

<JOtrekeditor> ...and we're doing issue of the Captain Proton pulp mag
<JOtrekeditor> from the 40s

<Josepha> Steve: Hey, I thought I was the only one disappointed by the DS9
finale!
<Josepha> I wanted more to the end of the war.

<JOtrekeditor> Let's stick with the books for now, shall we...

<Berserker> Josepha, a lot of us around here were disappointed

<Xaliphor> I thought it was a bit anti-climatic, myself.

<Berserker> But john is right, this is a book chat

<Josepha> Ok, back to VH!
<Josepha> <G>

<ChiefOps> Speaking of the Voyager finale, it and the premiere are being
novelized...

<SteveK> Jo: They really screwed up DS9 this last year. And Brannon
actually made VGR a little better when he had to write every show
himself.

<JOtrekeditor> lots of places to kick around episdoes...
<JOtrekeditor> lots of places to kick around episdoes...
<JOtrekeditor> GUYS....

<Josepha> So, about that there VH?

<JOtrekeditor> exactly
<JOtrekeditor> or at least Trekbooks in general

<Josepha> Ok, VF, then! <G>

<JOtrekeditor> since I can't comment on episodes.
<JOtrekeditor> except those I write,.:)

<Xaliphor> :)

<JOtrekeditor> so, here are two Trekwriters and the Trekbook editor. Any
questions

<ChiefOps> What's this I hear about Pocket Books publishing slash? :-)

<JOtrekeditor> you always wanted to ask?

<SusanShw> Dunno, chief. You visit an audiologist for that condition?

<Josepha> <waiting>

<JOtrekeditor> Isn't he in Guns and Roses? I didn't know he could write.
<JOtrekeditor> or speak or play.:)

<Josepha> <G>

<SteveK> don't go there

<Berserker> Can we get a preview on what the next Vulcan book will be
about? A little blurb?

* JOtrekeditor smiles at everyone in the room :-)

<SteveK> :-)

<JOtrekeditor> Heck, we're looking for someone to tell-us- what it'll be
about....

* SteveK wonders why the heck no one is asking stuff

<Uhlek> this may be a stupid question, but do you need approval from the
actors for their faces to be on the cover of a novel?

<JOtrekeditor> current thinking is that it will be set in the current
Trekday and

<ChiefOps> Tuvok's just waiting for a good Vulcan story...

<JOtrekeditor> deal with unfication
<JOtrekeditor> becoming a reality

<Josepha> LOL!

<JOtrekeditor> Some actors yes, some actors no. It depends on their
<JOtrekeditor> contract with Paramount.
<JOtrekeditor> *

<Josepha> Well, folks, it's almost 11 PM.

<JOtrekeditor> *
<JOtrekeditor> testing

<wysiwyg> Actually, that's a good question Uhlek.

<SusanShw> I was curious.
<SusanShw> But it's getting late.

<Josepha> Any more questions?

<Berserker> yeah

<ChiefOps> To what extent do the authors have input on the cover art?

<Uhlek> I wondered that after seeing Muldaur's (Dr Polaski) face on a
recent DS9 novel...

<JOtrekeditor> Ber?

<SusanShw> We don't.

<Josepha> Authors have NO imput on the cover art!

<Xaliphor> Annoying, isn't it?

<SusanShw> Nah.

<Uhlek> lol

<Berserker> It's probably best to wrap up.. I recommend the book, it is a
great read and a great addition to what we know about our favorite green
blooded friend

<JOtrekeditor> We'll chat about it sometimes, but it's really up to me and
the art dept.
<JOtrekeditor> VH has a great cover, though

<SusanShw> Thanks, Berserker.

<SteveK> I think I'll go buy it now... and give myself a commission

<JOtrekeditor> and it has a great cover!
<JOtrekeditor> It is a great book.

<SteveK> hehe

<Uhlek> yes, great image of Picard with hair!

<Xaliphor> LOL

<SusanShw> ROFL.

<JOtrekeditor> Thanks for coming, everyone. Good questions!

<Josepha> Steve: You need this book. The holidays are coming, <G>

<SusanShw> Thank you!

<Xaliphor> What holidays?

<Josepha> ANY holidays!
<Josepha> <G>

<SusanShw> unbirthdays

<JOtrekeditor> It's a GREAT beach read.:)

<Josepha> Good night, one and all! Live Long and Prosper!

<Xaliphor> great stocking stuffers...

<SteveK> I need the 5% commisison, that's what I need! GO BUY IT!

<ChiefOps> Ta-ta!

<SusanShw> Night!

<SteveK> trekweb.com/bookstore.html

<Berserker> night

<Uhlek> g'nite =)

<ChiefOps> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671015443/trekwebcomsstart
<ChiefOps> is the direct link.