You're the Editor for 2013...

[DGCatAniSiri]

Let's see, in no particular order

1) First priority for me is a DS9 anthology that covers the time from 'The Soul Key' to 'Rough Beasts of Empire,' because the teasing and hints about that story are unbearable and I want see what's happened.
2) A New Frontier novel. Blind Man's Bluff was a cliffhanger that needs to be resolved, and afterwards, I think that at the very least, New Frontier should be left alone for a while, but I'm not sure that I'd say that it should be concluded.
3) A Klingon Empire novel, naturally written by KRAD. Okay, this is an indulgence for me, but I want to see the events that promoted Klag and got Toq his own ship. I'd also expect it to involve the Kinshaya, which would be good for people who don't for whatever read the eBooks, so that they get a greater understanding of them. Also, I want another KRAD Trek novel. I miss his Trek work, and he writes great Klingons.
4) A post-TMP novel by Christopher Bennett. I like the Enterprise crew that he assembled for Ex Machina, and I like it as a proto-Titan. It's a fairly untapped area of Trek history, at least in stories that take advantage of its uniqueness, so I'd like a little more in it.
5) A Titan novel. I love the Titan series, so I want another novel.
6) A Project Full Circle Voyager novel by Kirsten Beyer. Repeat the above, and add that, if The Eternal Tide is resolving two of the biggest plots to date, maybe now Voyager could reenter familiar territory and see what's gone on out there.
7) An in-series TNG novel. We've had numerous TOS five-year mission stories, why not go back to the Enterprise-D era and use that setting, at least for one novel? Modern TNG has the crew the audience is most familiar with split up, I'd like a brief trek back to the old days, at least the once.
8) A post-Cold Equations TNG story. Something that takes place in the post-Destiny/Typhon Pact era, but not necessarily involving the Typhon Pact. I love the Typhon Pact, but I don't want to overdo having them in an antagonistic position with the Federation, since that would lead to a feeling of it having to lead to war, and I don't want that happening. Cold Equations seems like it's not going to directly involve the Typhon Pact, and I'd like to continue that.
9) A novelization of the new movie. I think that one's self-explanatory.
10) A Typhon Pact novel featuring the Aventine solo. Just because I don't want the Typhon Pact to be antagonistic all the time doesn't mean I don't want to see them ignored. Maybe even have it be a case where the Aventine has to team up with a ship from the Typhon Pact against something else.
11) A Typhon Pact era DS9 novel. It IS the 20th anniversary year of DS9, so it should feature DS9 a little more than normal.
12) A Lost Era Captain Demora Sulu novel, probably written by DRGIII. She's a Captain of the Enterprise, I think she deserves a novel of her own.

 

[Sci]

Hmm.

If I were putting together the 2013 Trek novel lineup, and only had to worry about satisfying my own tastes, and not questions of licensor approval or sales...

• January / February: A DS9 Relaunch "interregnum" duology by DRGIII
• March: A U.S.S. Kelvin novel set in the 2230s, maybe from the Wardimore Gestalt Entity...
• April: A VOY Relaunch novel from Kirsten Motherfuckin' Beyer
• May: A Cardassian novel from Una McCormack
• June / July: A Typhon Pact/U.S.S. Aventine duology from David Mack
• August: A large "building the Federation" novel, covering the immediate post-ENT era to somewhere around the era of the Kelvin novel, not sure from whom -- someone who can do melancholy but also hopeful -- maybe James Swallow?
• September: A TTN novel from William Leisner
• October: Any damn thing from Margaret Wander Bonano
• November: A Nan Bacco novel by KRAD a la Articles of the Federation (perhaps touching on the Andorian arc)
• December: A TNG Relaunch novel from Christopher L. Bennett

 

[WarsTrek1993]

Hmm.

If I were putting together the 2013 Trek novel lineup, and only had to worry about satisfying my own tastes, and not questions of licensor approval or sales...

• January / February: A DS9 Relaunch "interregnum" duology by DRGIII
• March: A U.S.S. Kelvin novel set in the 2230s, maybe from the Wardimore Gestalt Entity...
• April: A VOY Relaunch novel from Kirsten Motherfuckin' Beyer
• May: A Cardassian novel from Una McCormack
• June / July: A Typhon Pact/U.S.S. Aventine duology from David Mack
• August: A large "building the Federation" novel, covering the immediate post-ENT era to somewhere around the era of the Kelvin novel, not sure from whom -- someone who can do melancholy but also hopeful -- maybe James Swallow?
• September: A TTN novel from William Leisner
• October: Any damn thing from Margaret Wander Bonano
• November: A Nan Bacco novel by KRAD a la Articles of the Federation (perhaps touching on the Andorian arc)
• December: A TNG Relaunch novel from Christopher L. Bennett

YES, a Kelvin novel would be pretty awesome!
Another one I wouldn't mind: A federation fighter squadron novel by James Swallow, something in a similar vein to the Star Wars: X-Wing books.

 

[Sci]

Hmm.

If I were putting together the 2013 Trek novel lineup, and only had to worry about satisfying my own tastes, and not questions of licensor approval or sales...

• January / February: A DS9 Relaunch "interregnum" duology by DRGIII
• March: A U.S.S. Kelvin novel set in the 2230s, maybe from the Wardimore Gestalt Entity...
• April: A VOY Relaunch novel from Kirsten Motherfuckin' Beyer
• May: A Cardassian novel from Una McCormack
• June / July: A Typhon Pact/U.S.S. Aventine duology from David Mack
• August: A large "building the Federation" novel, covering the immediate post-ENT era to somewhere around the era of the Kelvin novel, not sure from whom -- someone who can do melancholy but also hopeful -- maybe James Swallow?
• September: A TTN novel from William Leisner
• October: Any damn thing from Margaret Wander Bonano
• November: A Nan Bacco novel by KRAD a la Articles of the Federation (perhaps touching on the Andorian arc)
• December: A TNG Relaunch novel from Christopher L. Bennett

YES, a Kelvin novel would be pretty awesome!
Another one I wouldn't mind: A federation fighter squadron novel by James Swallow, something in a similar vein to the Star Wars: X-Wing books.

Hmm. Don't agree. Space fighters don't really make sense in the context of Star Trek -- vessels like that are usually too small to maintain decent shields, and their weaponry is usually less powerful. On top of that, capital ships' targeting sensors are often too accurate for evasive actions to work. But the most basic reason is that space fighters just don't make sense, period -- fighter planes in real life are used to extend an aircraft carrier's ability to project force beyond the horizon, but there is no horizon in space. There's no plausible reason that fighter craft would be common in the Trekverse.

 

[bullethead]

-Typhon Pact stuff
-DS9/TNG/VOY Relaunch stuff
-Relaunch the Klingon Empire line
-Either publish another Myriad Universes anthology or expand The Embrace of Cold Architects into a full size novel
-Novelization of the AbramsTrek Game and the new movie

 

[MatthiasRussell]

I would want to release 1 Trek title a month. Over the year, release 2 titles for each tv series. For the remaining 2 slots, publish something from another popular series- Titan, DTI and/or New Frontier. With ENT being in bad shape, I would maybe replace one of its slots with something else but I would like to publish SOMETHING set during the early years of the UFP.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Another one I wouldn't mind: A federation fighter squadron novel by James Swallow, something in a similar vein to the Star Wars: X-Wing books.

Hmm. Don't agree. Space fighters don't really make sense in the context of Star Trek -- vessels like that are usually too small to maintain decent shields, and their weaponry is usually less powerful. On top of that, capital ships' targeting sensors are often too accurate for evasive actions to work. But the most basic reason is that space fighters just don't make sense, period -- fighter planes in real life are used to extend an aircraft carrier's ability to project force beyond the horizon, but there is no horizon in space. There's no plausible reason that fighter craft would be common in the Trekverse.

If someone could make that work in a novel, Jim Swallow would be the person to do it. If I'm remembering correctly, he wrote the script for Star Trek: Invasion, the PlayStation game about a Starfleet fighter squadron in the post-"What You Leave Behind" period.

 

[Sho]

I'm curious. Why the interest in movie-era TOS? To be honest, I considered setting my next TOS novel during the movie era, just for novelty's sake, but, after thinking it over, I didn't see the point. Unless the plot actually involves characters or elements from the movies (Saavik, Genesis, Sulu's daughter, Valeris, whatever), I couldn't see what would be gained by setting a standalone TOS adventure after TMP or TFF instead of back during the good old 5YM.

Personally, when I write a TOS book, I'm inclined to stick to the 5YM unless there's some compelling reason to do otherwise. That's when the characters were in their prime, that's what I have the most reference material on, and that's where the average reader expects to find Kirk, Spock, etc. It's pure, classic Star Trek.

For me it's almost as simple as a purely visual thing, I think. Part of reading Star Trek fiction is the escapism, the picturing of it in my head while reading the words - imagining what it must feel like to walk those corridors, touch those surfaces. And because the different eras of canon each have their distinct visual languages, my mind flips over and generates different images for each.

Put in another way, because you're telling stories in a universe that most of your readers have experienced visually first, reading those stories makes various images float to the top of your readers' consciousnesses along the way, and different eras evoke different images. That variety helps to keep things fresh.

The same goes for the characters, too, however. It does make a big difference emotionally at what stage in their life a character is, or what their body remains physically capable of. That sort of context acts as a filter on events and affects how I receive them.

 

[Christopher]

Hmm. Don't agree. Space fighters don't really make sense in the context of Star Trek -- vessels like that are usually too small to maintain decent shields, and their weaponry is usually less powerful. On top of that, capital ships' targeting sensors are often too accurate for evasive actions to work. But the most basic reason is that space fighters just don't make sense, period -- fighter planes in real life are used to extend an aircraft carrier's ability to project force beyond the horizon, but there is no horizon in space. There's no plausible reason that fighter craft would be common in the Trekverse.

Not only that, but fighter combat is a defining characteristic of other, later franchises like Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Babylon 5. I have no desire to see Star Trek imitate its successors.

 

[Sho]

And it's not just that it would evoke those other franchises, but also: What could a Star Trek flavoring possibly add? We've already had plenty of good fighter squadron drama elsewhere. Briefing room scenes, combat scenes, pilot camaraderie, pilot rivalries, it's all been done before, and try as I might I can't think of anything that a Trek universe context would do to to shake things up and make it feel fresh.

Plus a lot of the sentiments that fighter squadron drama tends to play up - military chain of command, pilots feeling either like killing machines or cannon fodder, daredevil attitudes, etc. - feel tonally out of place in the intentionally not very militaristic or conflict-glorifying Star Trek, and I can't think of any substitutes to fill the void if you leave them out.

It's better to have different franchises to go to for entertainment depending on different moods, there's no need for a single franchise to try and do everything.

 

[Greg Cox]

The same goes for the characters, too, however. It does make a big difference emotionally at what stage in their life a character is, or what their body remains physically capable of. That sort of context acts as a filter on events and affects how I receive them.

I can see the point, which was also made by David McIntee earlier, that the characters do age and mature in subtle ways, which helps differentiate the eras somewhat, even if you're still writing about the same basic characters on some iteration of the same ship.

On the other hand, the fact that the none of the "new" characters--Ilia, Decker, Saavik--stuck around for long does work against the movie-era having its own unique identity. I would be more tempted to do a post-TMP novel if there were actually some new characters to play with, as opposed to just older versions of the original crew!

 

[ryan123450]

Well there are the characters Christopher created for Ex Machina, plus there is Saavik on the Enterprise-A.

 

[Christopher]

I would be more tempted to do a post-TMP novel if there were actually some new characters to play with, as opposed to just older versions of the original crew!

I've been able to do a fair amount with bit players from TMP like Chief DiFalco and Chief Ross, as well as taking nameless background players and extras and giving them identities and personalities.

 

[Greg Cox]

Well there are the characters Christopher created for Ex Machina, plus there is Saavik on the Enterprise-A.

Well, I was mostly thinking onscreen characters, but when was Saavik ever on the Enterprise-A? I thought the movies wrote her out of the series right after the Khan/Genesis affair? I don't remember seeing her in Final Frontier or Undiscovered Country.

 

[Sho]

On the other hand, the fact that the none of the "new" characters--Ilia, Decker, Saavik--stuck around for long does work against the movie-era having its own unique identity. I would be more tempted to do a post-TMP novel if there were actually some new characters to play with, as opposed to just older versions of the original crew!

I guess what I'm suggesting is that just by using a different era, you can make the reader do a lot of the work of making your story feel different/fresh for you .

I mean, basically you're saying that there aren't a lot in the way of tangible differences between the eras that are going to directly affect the plotting of your story. The converse of that is that if you find yourself able to tell a story in the 5YM setting, chances are it's also going to work in the movie era setting. But because of what the different context does in the readers' minds, it can make the difference between "oh, another 5YM story" to "interesting", more so if they've recently overdosed on 5YM stories.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Well there are the characters Christopher created for Ex Machina, plus there is Saavik on the Enterprise-A.

Well, I mostly thinking onscreen characters, but when was Saavik ever on the Enterprise-A? I thought the movies wrote her out of the series right after the Khan/Genesis affair? I don't remember seeing her in Final Frontier or Undiscovered Country.

Canonically, she's not.

However, Howard Weinstein put her on the Enterprise-A for a while in the post-Final Frontier comics. (She replaced Sulu at helm when he went to the Excelsior.)

 

[ryan123450]

Plus that portion of Mere Anarchy.

 

[Greg Cox]

The other problem with Saavik is that I'm not sure how you top marrying her off to Spock?

I think Susan Shwartz and Josepha Sherman have pretty much done the Saavik thing already!

 

[WarsTrek1993]

I can sort of see why a fighter novel wouldn't work for Trek, but hey, doesn't mean I can't share it, eh?

Everyone else: you folks have some amazing ideas (I'd pay good money for a new DS9 relaunch book!)

 

[Greg Cox]

I mean, basically you're saying that there aren't a lot in the way of tangible differences between the eras that are going to directly affect the plotting of your story. The converse of that is that if you find yourself able to tell a story in the 5YM setting, chances are it's also going to work in the movie era setting. But because of what the different context does in the readers' minds, it can make the difference between "oh, another 5YM story" to "interesting", more so if they've recently overdosed on 5YM stories.

I see your point, and yet, as a reader, if I picked up a movie-era book,I would expect it to somehow relate to the narrative threads of the movies instead of just being a standalone adventure. I would expect that the plot would deal with Spock becoming an instructor at the Academy or Chekov leaving to join the Reliant or whatever, otherwise why wasn't it just set during the 5YM?

Perhaps it's because the movies, unlike the tv show, did track the changes in the characters' lives, with people leaving and rejoining the crew, having children, moving on to different positions and so on, that I can't see doing a movie-era book unless you're wanting to deal with those changes. The movies were more serialized than the TV show, so a standalone movie-era novel just doesn't feel right to me.

Plus, of course, I just enjoy writing 5YM novels!