You know, those of us who actually write Deep Space Nine tales, who take days and weeks and months to develop a story and then to write it, also care about Star Trek and about the characters. To think that we don't borders on the absurd. I just read a comment from a reader who was displeased that the novels had taken the DSN characters off of the station. Except that they seemed to forget that at the end of the series, Sisko had ascended to the Celestial Temple; O'Brien and his family had returned to Earth; Jadzia had died; Odo had gone back to the Great Link; Worf had become the Federation ambassador to the Klingon Empire; Rom and Leeta had gone to Ferenginar; Garak had remained on Cardassia; the Founder leader had been imprisoned; and Winn, Dukat, and Weyoun had perished. Indeed, change was one of the great hallmarks of the show. It's not like the novels moved these character off the station; the series did that. And when people write that Sisko would never do this or that, they often forget that he did precisely that thing during the course of the series.I see so many people defending what's going on, I don't think some people understand that it bothers a lot of fans that characters Niners care for a lot have suddenly, out of nowhere, moved into directions that we didn't figure.
I'm sure that all of these things will be explained in novells to come and make sense then, but to some fans, it feels like a slap in the face: you know what, we are just gonna pull these characters into where we want them to be, have drastic things happen to them over a period of 4 years and we'll just explain it later on.....maybe.....
How do you think that feels for fans of DS9?
Look, obviously liking a novel or series of novels is a subjective thing. But I'm a fan myself of the ongoing Deep Space Nine narrative, not just as a writer, but as a reader. Directions have been taken that I didn't expect or want, but I don't mind being challenged by a story. I have no problem with somebody not liking--or even hating--one of my novels, but please don't ascribe motivations to me that suggest I don't care about what I do, or that I don't care about the characters and settings in which I do it. How do you think that feels for writers of the DSN literary line?