Questions for Bring Back Janeway Panel

[Kirsten Beyer]

Tidus79001 wrote:

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Kristen I have two questions that I would like for you to address during the “Bring Back Janeway” panel at the Shore Leave 33:


1) In an interview on startrek.com when discussing the release of your new book Star Trek Voyager: Children of the Storm the question “What sort of game changers/stumbling blocks for you were the whole Tuvok-to-Titan storyline and the death of Admiral Janeway in Before Dishonor?”. Your response was:

"Had I been onboard with this work prior to those decisions being made I probably would have requested that things went a little differently. But that was not the case so I did the best I could with what I was given".

I would like to know why would that in any way whatsoever prevent you from being able to recommend/suggest future changes now to rectify those changes made by the decision to kill off Kathryn Janeway in Peter David’s novel Before Dishonor in 2007.

There is nothing preventing me from making a request of my editor or publisher. I can always ask. But they don't have to say yes, and the final decision rests with them because they own the property. In the same way, the kinds of things I would have requested prior to the decisions about Janeway and Tuvok might also have been rejected. These books are work-for-hire. Sometimes we get lots of leeway..other times, not so much. It's a case by case thing and ultimately, never completely mine to do with as I would. But you know that when you accept the job, so you don't let it worry you. You just do the best you can with the part of the process that you do control...telling the best story you have in you within the parameters that have been established.

Tidus79001 wrote:

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2) I understand & respect that that the writers yourself included do not solely have the authority to change the decision to make the death of Kathryn Janeway permanent. That being said if possible can you tell us who specifically we can contact to appeal the decision to make her death permanent?

I know that you may not be at liberty to give out this information & if you aren't able do so I completely understand.

I anwered this question for you at the panel, but I've seen some of the responses on the Facebook pages suggesting that I am intentionally trying to be unhelpful in this regard. Because I did not actually know the best way to direct you in this instance, I asked someone who did know and was told that by addressing any such letters to "Star Trek Editor" that would insure that the request went directly to the individual responsible for the line at any given time. Things change pretty fast sometimes in the publishing world and as I understand it, though it may sound like a generic address, it is actually the best way to reach your intended audience.

KB

[NoStrings]

Thanks so much, Kirsten, for holding this panel and addressing as many questions as you can. There are many of us who long for the day that Janeway might return in novels...but quietly. I personally appreciate that you're considering various viewpoints. I believe your writing proves that you respect the characters you write, and because of this, I will give thought to the points that you have made. I might not agree with all of them, but I can do that and still continue to support you as a writer because I feel that you've earned this courtesy many times over. So thank you again for the time you took with this panel and for sharing your thoughts with all of us.

[Tidus79001]

Kirsten Beyer wrote:

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There is nothing preventing me from making a request of my editor or publisher. I can always ask. But they don't have to say yes, and the final decision rests with them because they own the property. In the same way, the kinds of things I would have requested prior to the decisions about Janeway and Tuvok might also have been rejected. These books are work-for-hire. Sometimes we get lots of leeway..other times, not so much. It's a case by case thing and ultimately, never completely mine to do with as I would. But you know that when you accept the job, so you don't let it worry you. You just do the best you can with the part of the process that you do control...telling the best story you have in you within the parameters that have been established.

I anwered this question for you at the panel, but I've seen some of the responses on the Facebook pages suggesting that I am intentionally trying to be unhelpful in this regard. Because I did not actually know the best way to direct you in this instance, I asked someone who did know and was told that by addressing any such letters to "Star Trek Editor" that would insure that the request went directly to the individual responsible for the line at any given time. Things change pretty fast sometimes in the publishing world and as I understand it, though it may sound like a generic address, it is actually the best way to reach your intended audience.

KB

Kristen, thanks for taking the time to reply to my question both at the Shoreleave 33 convention & here on the TrekBBS. I want to say that I never felt that you were trying to be unhelpful with your answers as to who to contact at Pocket Books.

I do want to thank you for the re-launch of Voyager. Voyager has always been one of my favorite series in Star Trek. You have done a excellent job with Voyager, and the characters. I am sure that if you are chosen when the time comes to bring back Janeway that you will be able to write a compelling story.

[Kathryn J.]

Thank you, Kirsten, for your efforts to answer to our questions. Hopefully also our questions which where sent by email or posted on amazon will be considered and not forgotten.

Thank you for following the discussions on the site of our Facebook group Bring Back Kathryn Janeway. It would be nice, if you would continue this. So we don't need to post our opinions on both places and you would get access to even more people who don't come to the TrekBBS. We would appreciate very much if you would decide to post on our site too.

I believe, that a huge majority of all Voy fans would like to get Janeway back. Even such people who refuse to buy more Voy books without Janeway (like I do) would come back into the book stores and raise the sales figures of Trek books again.
As I said before, I believe you are the only actual Trek writer, who is able to bring Janeway back in an appropriate way. I believe too, you even have some ideas "in stock" how this could happen.
It wouldn't be any lost for Trek lit. It would a benefit for the Trek universe and for the sales figures of Trek books. You would win more fans and I think, you wouldn't lose any reader, even those who prefer a death Janeway would stay with your Voy books though.

The "15 year old boys" ST lit is supposed to be directed to, are not interested in reading Voy books. They are more reading ST Titan or Vanguard, maybe some TNG novels.
The majority of Voy fans are adults and among them mostly women.

The writers and editors should consider that the structure of the fandoms of the particular series is different by age, gender and even interests and taste. So the result should be also completely different characters of books (e.g. books for boys with space battles and books for matured readers with adult themes like relationships of people to each other).

Hopefully, my English wasn't too messy this morning. Sorry for my mistakes.

[teacake]

I'm waiting for her to answer Guy's question.

[Kirsten Beyer]

JanewayRulz! wrote:

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After waking up from froot's sedative...

....I actually would like to build upon questions from my esteemed colleagues re: Janeway stories impacting / detracting from other former members of her crew. Is there a particular reason why we couldn't have ADMIRAL Janeway stories paralleling stories of her former ship and former shipmates?

One of the biggest gripes we've had on the board was that the "Admiral" promotion is seen as a "demotion". Ever since Kirk, we've been told that promotion beyond starfleet captain is the last step before death and or retirement.

If Janeway came back, I'd much prefer to see her as an active Admiral embroiled into the politics of Federation policy and cross species wars, rather than just one ship and one captain taking care of one problem.

I'd especially love to see an "Admiral Janeway" at the head of a small fleet, as we saw with Admiral Adama in "BSG".

Such a person in such a job could cross paths with former members of her crew or other series crews without straining the imagination.

There's no reason you couldn't have Admiral Janeway stories paralleling the adventures of the crew. It sounds like you'd like to see Janeway used as a character that could expose us to parts of the Federation we haven't seen much of yet, and that could be a cool concept. Working that into the adventures of the rest of the crew would be challenging, but as I've said before..there are as many ways to do this as there are people to imagine them.

The bottom line is this...what has happened thus far in the relaunch novels does not prevent us from taking the story any damn place we want to.

KB

[Kirsten Beyer]

Lynx wrote:

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My questions are: Isn't a Voyager relaunch supposed to be about the Voyager characters. I mean, we have 4 main characters missing and a lot of characters involved who weren't on Voyager in the TV series instead. Wouldn't it be better if a Voyager relaunch were about the Voyager characters and the others could show up from time to time?

Here's a question where only reading spoilers or others thoughts about the books, but not reading them yourself has clearly misled you as to the content and feel of the stories we are telling right now.

You don't have 4 main characters missing. Kes has been gone since season 4 of the series, apart from "Fury", which I think most of us would just as soon forget. Janeway died in Before Dishonor. Tuvok transferred to the Titan, and is featured heavily in those books. I'm assuming the fourth you are thinking of is Neelix, but he appears in both Unworthy, and Children of the Storm.

So, by my math, you've lost three out of ten, and only two of the eight that originally made it home from the Delta Quadrant, plus Neelix. That leaves seven main series regulars that are the primary focus of the stories we are still telling. No, it isn't everyone...but it's hard to say we're not still telling stories about the Voyager characters.

Lynx wrote:

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Wasn't it a mistake to kill off Janeway in the first place? After all, she's the main character of Voyager and a very good main character too.

No. I know that isn't going to be a popular answer, but I will never be able to see the choice to kill Janeway as a mistake. You're talking about a completely subjective thing here. For you, and many others, it might seem like a poor choice. For me, and many others, it was a choice that has created some incredibly interesting and exciting story possiblities. Yes, Janeway was the main character, and a very good one, but what the relaunch thus far has demonstrated to many...though not you, I understand...is that even without her physical presence on the ship, the impact she had on the characters is still intense and colors everything that they do and how they approach the situations at hand. She is gone, but hardly forgotten.

Sadly, this is an area where we must agree to disagree. I respect your opinion and your choice not to read stories that do not feature the living presence of Kathryn Janeway. You don't have to agree with my opinion on this, but it would be nice if you could respect it as well.

Lynx wrote:

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When Janeway is back (note my never ending hope ), maybe it's possible to create a role for her which gives her a possibility to be the one in charge of the ship. As I see it, making her an Admiral was a big mistake from those in charge of the TV series. Janeway's destiny is to explore space, not behind a desk.

(Personally I will demote her back to Captain in an upcoming fan-fiction story but that's another deal!)

I agree that making Janeway an Admiral complicated her ongoing presence in stories that were to remain centered around the adventures of those serving aboard the Starship Voyager. But given the new mission and the fleet's purpose in the Delta Quadrant now, there are many possible roles she could play were she to return.

KB

[teacake]

Kirsten Beyer wrote:

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The bottom line is this...what has happened thus far in the relaunch novels does not prevent us from taking the story any damn place we want to.

Well umm.. YEE HAW! LET'S DO IT.

btw the other day a grand theory popped into my head about PAD's real meaning in BD. All this time we militants thought he was being

an ass

but I'm wondering if he was actually gifting us, the fandom, with a great big blessed-by-lit-canon opportunity to explore the wonderful world of Lady Q/Janeway shipping. I mean they have all the time in the world together now plus loads of tension after those horrible conversations and Lady Q being a bitch. It's perfect.

[Gates]

teacake wrote:

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btw the other day a grand theory popped into my head about PAD's real meaning in BD. All this time we militants thought he was being

an ass

but I'm wondering if he was actually gifting us, the fandom, with a great big blessed-by-lit-canon opportunity to explore the wonderful world of Lady Q/Janeway shipping. I mean they have all the time in the world together now plus loads of tension after those horrible conversations and Lady Q being a bitch. It's perfect.

Wait a second... people didn't already ship them?
ROFL! Those were some of my favorite on screen moments and I can only imagine how epic the arguments could be if they were stuck together for an elongated period of time

[teacake]

I could be a very very creative kind of hell.

[Kirsten Beyer]

Halliwell wrote:

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Thank you for giving us this opportunity.

My questions are why was Janeway written to be killed off in the first place?

And why in a Next Generation novel and not Voyager?

This was a result of the state of Voyager literature during a period of time when there was a great deal of crossover of characters in many of the novels, as well as the creation of a very large story arc that culminated in the Destiny novels and whose impact continues to be felt.

Voyager had four novels released shortly after the series ended, all written by Christie Golden. Over the next couple of years, the choice was made to focus on Voyager's 10 year anniversary by releasing a trilogy, set during the run of the series, and an anthology of short stories. That was the "String Theory" trilogy, and Distant Shores.

While those projects were in the works, however, the other series were continuing on and particularly in TNG books, Titan books, and some notable stand-alone novels like Articles of the Federation, Voyager characters like Janeway, Tuvok, Seven, and the Doctor were featured. They were interesting characters who were available, as there were no other stories in the works to contradict these appearances, so editors and authors decided to make use of them.

Once the 10 year anniversary projects were done and it became time to again look at moving Voyager's story forward in the present timeline, the larger Borg arc, beginning in the TNG book Resistance and continuing through to the Destiny Trilogy was in the works. Margaret Clark, the editor in charge of the TNG part of this made the choice to kill Janeway in Before Dishonor. While I know it might seem wonky from the outside looking in, at the time, it was hardly an unprecedented thought. Janeway's death was seen as a part of a much larger Trek story involving the ultimate transformation of the Borg. And in the years right before Before Dishonor, Janeway and other Voyager characters were all over the Trek landscape, so Margaret was essentially continuing with the status quo at the time.

It is common practice for editors of Trek who work in one series to respect the work of others. So when Marco was tasked with taking Voyager forward post-Destiny, it was normal for him to take what Margaret had done in Before Dishonor and build upon it rather than ignore it or try to change it. Margaret's idea was embraced because in addition, it created an opportunity for us to tell a story that had never been told before...how would one of our crew's react to the death of their beloved captain?

Yes, other important characters in Trek had died before, but I don't remember any stories written around those deaths that dealt with their impact in the same way the Voyager relaunch has done.

So, I guess the short answe that everyone hates is that Janeway's death created an opportunity for us to tell the most compelling and interesting story imaginable, given all the choices that were before us at the time. That it happened in a TNG novel, rather than a Voyager novel might be disconcerting, but is hopefully easier to understand when you see the decision in the context of everything else that was happening at the time.

KB

[JanewayRulz!]

teacake wrote:

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Well umm.. YEE HAW! LET'S DO IT.

I fully expected this line to get offers to name children after Kirsten, if she writes "the return".

[teacake]

JanewayRulz! wrote:

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I fully expected this line to get offers to name children after Kirsten, if she writes "the return".

How about if I sponsor an endangered zoo animal in her name, will that be good enough?

[Lynx]

Kirsten Beyer wrote:

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Here's a question where only reading spoilers or others thoughts about the books, but not reading them yourself has clearly misled you as to the content and feel of the stories we are telling right now.

You don't have 4 main characters missing. Kes has been gone since season 4 of the series, apart from "Fury", which I think most of us would just as soon forget. Janeway died in Before Dishonor. Tuvok transferred to the Titan, and is featured heavily in those books. I'm assuming the fourth you are thinking of is Neelix, but he appears in both Unworthy, and Children of the Storm.

So, by my math, you've lost three out of ten, and only two of the eight that originally made it home from the Delta Quadrant, plus Neelix. That leaves seven main series regulars that are the primary focus of the stories we are still telling. No, it isn't everyone...but it's hard to say we're not still telling stories about the Voyager characters.

No. I know that isn't going to be a popular answer, but I will never be able to see the choice to kill Janeway as a mistake. You're talking about a completely subjective thing here. For you, and many others, it might seem like a poor choice. For me, and many others, it was a choice that has created some incredibly interesting and exciting story possiblities. Yes, Janeway was the main character, and a very good one, but what the relaunch thus far has demonstrated to many...though not you, I understand...is that even without her physical presence on the ship, the impact she had on the characters is still intense and colors everything that they do and how they approach the situations at hand. She is gone, but hardly forgotten.

Sadly, this is an area where we must agree to disagree. I respect your opinion and your choice not to read stories that do not feature the living presence of Kathryn Janeway. You don't have to agree with my opinion on this, but it would be nice if you could respect it as well.

I agree that making Janeway an Admiral complicated her ongoing presence in stories that were to remain centered around the adventures of those serving aboard the Starship Voyager. But given the new mission and the fleet's purpose in the Delta Quadrant now, there are many possible roles she could play were she to return.

KB

Thanks for nice reply and for creating this opportunity for interaction between author and fans.

And yes, I do respect your opinions in this case even if I don't agree on everything.

[froot]

I agree; thank you for your responses. It was interesting, especially, to hear why things happened they way they did in a TNG novel.

Also, count another for the Janeway/Lady Q love train. Oh, yeah.