At the Star Trek on-line chat last night, I invited folks who had questions and such to swing by this here website. So I’m doing another “What’cha Wanna Know?” thread.
It’s real simple. Post your questions (not trivia questions, okay, wise guys?) and over the next few days I’ll post replies right here in this thread directly to your questions. However, please: One question to a person, okay? Last time we did this, a number of people asked multiple questions and it took forever. So one to a customer.
And for you newcomers, welcome to the monkey house.
PAD
(Reminder: Please use spoiler text where appropriate.)
OKAY, ALL FINISHED. I BUMPED IT UP TO THE TOP OF THE BLOG SO, JUST IN CASE FOLKS FORGOT IT WAS HERE, THEY CAN READ UP ON IT.
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Assuming you’ve received it and had a chance to listen to it … what did you think of the CD I sent you?
Happy Thanksgiving!
Jason Powell
Haven’t listened to it yet. Sorry.
I’m gonna go into fanboy mode and ask if you have any upcoming projects for next year?
If by that you mean unannounced, yes. But I don’t want to say anything about them yet. Not until contracts are signed and such. Rest assured, though, that this is the place to be to find out about them.
At the end of your Spider-Man 2099 run, you had Xina heading off into the desert with the Net Prophet (John Tensen). I was wondering if you could tell us where this subplot was heading? Were they gonna get romantically involved with one another? Did you have any specific adventures planned for them?
Thank you,
Lee
Nothing worked out at that point. We were still in deep discussion about where we were taking the entire line in general, so eveything was very much in flux. I had no idea the whole line would be totally fluxed with the firing of Joey.
Leaving aside Picard, and having not yet read Stone and Anvil, I can’t remember reading that Calhoun has met Sisko or Janeway. So what does Calhoun think of the “other” Captains in the Star Trek Canon: Kirk, Sisko and Janeway?
I think in many respects Calhoun looks up to, and identifies with, Kirk. He sees himself very much in the cowboy mold that Kirk personified. He’s met Sisko and considers him a very powerful personality. He doesn’t know Janeway.
In the abandoned X-Factor abortion storyline from several years back, what was originally planned for it and what did Marvel want edited out from that?
The original concept was that a test had been developed that could determine whether a fetus carried the gene for mutation. My story had it that parents were then using that information to decide whether to have the child brought to term or aborted (modeled on the real-world tests that inform parents about birth defects). There was also heated discussion among the X-Factor characters about a woman’s right to choose, with Rahne coming down squarely Pro-Life while Lorna was squarely pro-choice. Later on Lorna would confess to Rahne that she, Lorna, had had an abortion when she was much younger and very scared. All of that was gutted. Instead it became that parents could choose to have the gene for mutation “extracted.” Yeah, you read that right. In utero genetic manipulation. The rest of the dialogue was also toned down or removed outright.
Okay, maybe this one has been posed already, but: what do you think is the future of comic books, format-wise? Even though there have been significant changes in price and content over time, they’re basically the same pulp-paper-and-staples items they began as 70 years ago. Do you see them evolving into CD-ROMs, downloadable files, or whatever?
I simply don’t see how the 22 page stapled magazine can continue to survive with the escalating prices. I suspect comics will eventually go the digest route. But pure electronics instead of printed material? I doubt it.
Back on your blog in October, you said you were writing an article, and needed an exact quote from Amazing Spider-Man #33 for it. Where/When will this article be appearing?
Corey
Can’t tell you yet.
Maybe you are the wrong person to ask but I’ve always wondered why the art in comic books often has people shaking left-handed or saluting with the wrong hand? Is it something in the process or just artists making mistakes? It seems to happen way to often to be artist laziness.
Really? I hadn’t noticed it myself. Yeah, I’d attribute it to artist laziness, ’cause I sure can’t think of anything else unless someone’s flipping the negatives on a regular basis.
More st “rift” tales to come?
Not to my knowledge.
Are you getting the FIREFLY DVD set when it comes out on December 9th?
Definitely.
Is the New Frontier graphic novel, “Double Time,” ever going to be released again? I’ve searched for it everywhere but can’t locate it. Why wasn’t it on the CD Rom that came with “Stone and Anvil?”
I think “Double Time” is scheduled to be on a CD rom that will be part of the next NF hardcover, “After the Fall” next year.
– What computer games do you like to play? Do they include “real time strategy” games?
I don’t really play any computer games, aside from an occasional bout of Solitaire or Bejeweled. As for the rest of your questions…sorry. I said one each. If I answer all of yours, then I’ll just annoy everyone else who kept it to one as I asked.
– Do you take suggestions for topics and other subjects to write on the weblog? I was wondering if you could do a write-up on impostors, or what I thought once to call “Gilderoy Lockharts”, after the wizard in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets who turned out to be a fraud.
– Is there any chance you’ll be assigned by DC or Marvel to write any of their flagship series any time soon?
– Have you ever written any Batbooks? If not, then is that something that you’d be up to working on?
I have long felt that sales for Captain Marvel were lagging behind because people will not give it a chance (“no jump on point,” or so they claim), and that more marketing (obviously) and more cameos in other titles would held the cause. Any plans for either of those anytime soon?
More marketing? Not up to me, but based on the amount of promotion done for books that aren’t mutant or Spider-Man related, I’d say not likely. As for “no jump on point”…that’s bull. There’s the trade paperback collections. There’s the fact that I’m keeping the continued stories shorter. There’s the summaries at the beginning of every issue. If they’re not giving it a chance, it’s simply because they’re not interested in the character, period, close quote. And not all the cameos nor all the marketing in the world will change that.
any plans to bring back the pantheron? i’d love to see them again.
No plans to bring back the Pantheon at this time. Sorry.
IF I were to ask you to be a guest on my comic book radio show, what are the chances that you would agree? I’ll save all my other questions for the con on saturday.
Depends on a variety of things. When. Where. Call-in versus in-studio. Time of day/night. Etc.
I am a die hard Quintin Stone fan from “Rock and a Hard Place”. I know there are alot of similarities in Calhoun, but are there any plans to bring him back for a visit? I can imagine a Calhoun/Stone meeting…
Nope, I have no plans for revisiting Stone. Which isn’t to say he might not return if I come up with the right story for him.
Alright PAD, I’ll play.
I asked you this question last time, but I misspelled the question so you didn’t really answer (it’s not my fault, I swear, I was on pain killers for hurting my back).
Is there any chance that you might write a story arc for the Buffy comic book (assuming it hasn’t been cancelled.)
It’d be fun to write one, sure. Actually, I know exactly what I’d want to do. When Spike first encountered the vengeance demon, Hally, the two of them recognized each other as William (the writer of bloody awful poetry) and Cecily (his disinterested, above-him lady love), respectively. Why? Same actress played both Hally and Cecily. I’d love to do a story following up that meeting, set some time in season 6.
What was the Paramount’s reasoning for having you change Janos from a Mugato?
No reason was ever given.
New Frontier is the best, and only, Star Trek I read anymore. How long do you continue to write this?
And also, how is it decided that one book is paperback, and another hardcover?
Thanks!
Well, I’m contracted to write three more books. After that we’ll see what Pocket wants to do. As for what decides it, pretty much Pocket decides the format.
Settle an bet between my girlfriend an me. One of her favorite shows is a cartoon from MTV called “Daria.” She thinks you wrote an episode of that show called “Boxing Daria.” She also thinks, because of that, that you may be involved in the MTV Spider-Man cartoon. I say no way.
I hope she bet you something really good, because you’re right. Although I’ve enjoyed the series “Daria” from time to time, I’ve never written for it. And I’m not at all involved in the MTV Spidey cartoon.
Hi, Pad.
I was wondering if you might know, off the top of your head, (don’t sweat it otherwise) of any publication that accepts unsolicited fiction. I’ve tried every search method I can think of and keep coming up with ziltch.
Salutations from a man with no contacts whatsoever,
Mitch
The best reference source I’ve used is a book (yes, a book) called “The Guide to the Writer’s Market.” It’s updated annually and has exactly what you’re looking for. If you don’t want to plunk down money for one, libraries generally have it.
I was curious if you could explain how the writing process goes for a typical issue of SOULSEARCHERS. I know you and Richard Howell work together on it, but I was curious as to who does what, and what your working relationship was like on the book. (Which I enjoy a great deal, by the way!)
D
Richard and I discuss overall plots and general directions. Richard then generally writes the plot, and I do the script. On occasion, I’ll do a full script. Thanks for reading.
A while back, you mentioned that you’d yet to find a UK publisher for your Sir Apropos novels. Has there been any progress there, or toward allowing your American publisher to export the book into the UK?
No progress whatsoever. Despite all the positive reviews and sales success, no UK publisher has expressed the slightest interest in publishing the series, which is a huge disappointment to me.
Here’s a question- Given the chance, would you ever consiter being the editor for a line of Star Trek related comics?
Heck,for that matter-does any publisher have the rights to STAR TREK at the moment?
I’d hate to think ENTERPRISE would be the only Star Trek never presented in comics form.
I’m not interested in being the editor of any line. To the best of my knowledge, no one has the comic pub rights to Trek.
Have you been reading JLA/Avengers? Whadya think?
Read the first issue, liked it well enough, have bought but haven’t yet read the subsequent issues.
BTW I love Stone as well and would like to see him again
My question is any chance of you doing another Q Novel? I love Q and I am sure the only way we’ll see him again is in the novels and you write Q stories so well.
There were some discussions about John and I co-writing another Q novel, but terms couldn’t be worked out. There’s no immediate plans on the horizon as a result.
Tom Brevoort recently said:
“…Peter’s still writing CAPTAIN MARVEL, and we’re talking to him about something else…”
Are you still talking about that, and can you give any hints about it?
Yes indeed, it’s still in discussion. All I’ll say is that it involves doing a series about a character who I’ve written before (and no, it’s not HIM.) But nothing’s definite yet.
Nacho F. asked: Is the New Frontier graphic novel, “Double Time,” ever going to be released again? I’ve searched for it everywhere but can’t locate it. Why wasn’t it on the CD Rom that came with “Stone and Anvil?”
I’m not Peter, but I can tell you that a) Double Time is available in trade paperback form, along with the DS9 miniseries n-Vector and the TOS one-shot All of Me in a trade paperback entitled Other Realities, and b) it wasn’t included in the CD because Pocket Books doesn’t have the rights to publish (in any form) comic books published by DC Comics.
—KRAD
I just wondered if you own any original art either from stories you written or just in general? But if you have some specific stuff from your own writing and want to share why you wanted those pieces in particular, that would be jolly good too!
Thanks in advance
John Popa
Yes, I own artwork from some series I’ve done. The one I have the most from is “Supergirl” as Leonard Kirk and Robin Riggs were extremely generous in giving me artwork even though they were under no obligation to do so. I have some other pieces as well.
I’m sure you’re always asked this but…
Do you think New Frontier ever be seen as a TV series?
No, I don’t.
Sorry if this question has already been asked and answered but I remember when “Soulsearchers & Co.” first came out, there was a text page that said it had originally been pitched as a team of mystical characters in the DCU. Have you ever said which characters became which when it went from its original form to its published form and generally how it would have been different as a DC series?
(And I still want to know if I’m the only one who noticed how similar the role Lorraine played in CM a few years back was to the way Spike was handled in the first few eps. of “Angel” this season…)
The Soulsearchers question is well-answered by others further down the thread. As for Lorraine, just think: Something else for fans to accuse me of ripping off from Joss Whedon even though I did it first…
Creepiest Buffy TV moment ever?
Oooh. Probably the arrival of the Gentlemen in Sunnydale as they floated down the street. A close second would be the (I know I’m spelling this wrong) Kinderschtadt anytime he would lean over a victim and those suckers would come out of his eyes.
In THE CAPTAIN’S DAUGHTER, Janice Rand discusses a child she had years ago, and that the pregnancy was tied into her reasons for leaving the Enterprise. At the time I read the book, I got the impression that she was strongly hinting that Kirk was the child’s father (though I can’t remember why; it been a long time since I read the book). Was this your intent or did I read way too much into that scene?
You read it right. That’s what I was insinuating.
Your take on the Photon characters was much more interesting than the TV series itself, and I would love to see more. Do you have any desire to write more stories set in that universe, and if so, do you think you could get the rights to do so?
Not that much of a desire, no. Nor do I think I could get the rights, and even if I could and then could find a publisher, we’d probably sell about twenty copies.
Is there any news on the future of Sir Apropos?
Not at this time.
What Character, in all of the Star Trek Series, is your favorite one to write?
Mackenzie Calhoun.
Similar-but-not-quite-the-same-question-as Michileen’s:
I was somewhat blindsided by the ending of Tong Lashing, although the trilogy as a whole is, I think, the best thing you’ve ever done. Is this how you envisioned the story to end, or did you always plan (sales figures aside for the moment) to continue the character?
I had two more books I wanted to write. I didn’t know that Pocket was going to discontinue publishing original fantasy novels. Kind of frustrating, really.
PAD–
Having just viewed “Wings of Desire” again for the first time in over 20 years, I thought I’d pose to you the most intriguing question asked in that movie, especially since it seems like something right up a sci-fi writer’s alley: “When did time begin and where does space end?”
Time began at the very moment that the first living creature attempted to keep track of the passing of days. Space ends when we run out of time.
No question, just wanted to say thanks for answering the “rumor about Robin Lefler as Wesley Crusher’s wife” question in the last thread. (For those of you who missed it, PAD’s reaction to the rumor that Ashley Judd might appear as Robin Lefler Crusher in “Star Trek: Nemesis” was screaming, followed by attempts to figure out how it might work in the New Frontier storyline — none of which he liked.) I’d been curious about your reaction ever since I first heard the “news” a couple of years ago — because I know *my* first reaction was, “Oh, geez, that’s going to mess up the Peter David books!”
I just finished Stone & Anvil, which by the way was great. How long did it take to write?
A few months.
I’m an ‘Imzadi’ junkie and you are the king of all Trek storylines left dangling and without satisfactory treatment. (Like Sela, Tom Riker, the ‘where did the imazadi connection come from’ question, etc, etc.) THANK YOU! That said, would you ever consider writing Beverly Crusher’s backstory? You know, the whole ‘Jack Crusher died under Jean-Luc Picard’s command and Picard fancied the redheaded wife’ intrigue? It’d be a devilish good read in your hands…
Actually, I think Pocket already has someone writing that.
I probably could come up with a more interesting question, but…
You mentioned earlier that the publisher of the “Sir Apropos” novels is no longer doing original fantasy (or something like that, I can’t find the original post). What I’m wondering is, will they still eventually publish “Tong Lashing” as a mass-market paperback? I only ask because I own the first two in paperback, and have a bizarre, obsessive habit of wanting all the books in a series in the same format.
(And if I’m mis-remembering what you said, and this is no concern at all, I apologize for wasting your time — and my question!)
Yes, I imagine that Tong Lashing will be out in paperback next year. If I hear differently, I’ll certainly let everyone know.
To Mitch who asked about markets accepting unsolicited fiction: Sure, I’m no Peter David, but if you write SF/F or the like, you can try a terriffic website at http://www.ralan.com, which has tons and tons of markets from the non-paying to the pro-paying and includes books, anthology and short story markets. Lots of good stuff. Also many other similar websites.
In the latter issues of Supergirl, there was a scene that had Buzz visiting Linda in the hospital where he bumped into what looked like an older version of himself, and they mutually said something along the lines of, “Sod off.” Where you planning a time travel story, did you put it in just in case you needed an out somewhere and planned to spin it into something? It was such a curious scene, I had to think it was foreshadowing of some kind. Thanks-JimO
That was an in-joke. I’d gotten sick of fans whining that Buzz was just a rip-off of Spike from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” particularly since Buzz predated Spike by some months, and Buzz’s romantic interest in the blonde heroine predated BtVS’s plot development along those lines by several years. So just for laughs, I wrote in a walk-by where Spike and Buzz bump into each other in the pages of Supergirl. But the visual wasn’t exactly on model and it went past a lot of people.
The BBC has the Britons favourite fiction book (http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/) . What would be in your top 5?
To Kill a Mockingbird. Tarzan of the Apes. The Princess Bride. The Essential Ellison. A Confederacy of Dunces.
Why no inker on Captain Marvel? Is it to save the cost of an inker? It makes the art look fuzzy and hard to read.
–your pal, Hoy
Editorial choice.
Hey PAD,
I’m a fallen-away “Trek” fan. It seems to me that for the last 10 years or so, “Trek” has been the most mismanaged franchise ever. What, if anything, can be done to make “Star Trek”cool again?
Launch an incredibly fascinating and powerful storyline and then take the series off the air, thereby driving fans nuts. Fans always want what they don’t have.
To answer Mitch’s question about publications that accept unsolicited fiction, I would encourage him to pick up the Writer’s Market, which lists both book and magazine publishers and gives details as to what they do and do not accept, whether they’re print or online (or both), word counts and other information. The book is published annually and also has an online edition which is updated as needed.
As a general rule, unlike book publishers, magazine publishers do not require either a query letter or and agent for fiction submissions. Though, again, those that do will say so in the Writer’s Market entries.
I would also encourage Mitch (and anyone else interested in writing) to read the Writer Magazine, the longest running (since 1887) magazine for writers, and in my opinion, the best of the lot. One of the great things about the magazine is that I can pick up any issue from 1887 on and still find something of relevance.
I hadn’t planned to ask PAD a question this time, but my own response to Mitch has piqued my curiosity. PAD, who or what influenced your decision to become a writer and what (other than the need to pay the bills) keeps you going?
Rick
One becomes a writer because one can’t really imagine being anything else. The compusion to write is too strong. Pardon the double negative, but a writer cannot not write. What keeps me going is the same thing that got me started.
Just wondering at what point do you decide to go ahead with a story idea or scrap it? Do you stop if it takes too much “work” to make it work out logically/logistically or do you just go until the publisher says “stop”?
All of the above, really. Ideally, I scrap a storyline by realizing in advance that it’s not going to work, rather than be in the middle of it and suddenly discover, Crap, this isn’t working at all. Then there are times when it’s editorially demanded. My storyline for “Supergirl” was designed to continue past the “resolution” in #80, particularly in regards to the villain. He was supposed to remain as a nemesis for Linda. But when I learned that #80 was to be the last issue, I had to find a way to cram a resolution for the bad guy into #80. But I never quit something if I think it’s “too much work.” Too much work is a challenge.
Out of the collaborators you’ve worked with, be they artists or actors or fellow writers or any combination thereof, which was the most satisfying? I mean, where both parties said, “Yeah, that was what we were both looking for.” And what project was this?
Sorry Peter, you can’t get away with naming your children as the your best project. We all know they’re your absolute best job ever.
Thanks,
Jay
Probably George Perez on “Future Imperfect.”