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This month's featured author is Kathleen Dailey. Kathleen writes TOS fanfiction and three of her stories are featured on this page.

If you're a fanfic writer and would like to be featured on this page, please drop us a note at [email protected] We'll also gladly take recommendations for writers whom you think deserve to be "in the spotlight."

Name:  Kathleen Dailey

Web site: http://home.ican.net/~editrix

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I'm a book editor and a (non-practicing) lawyer. I live in Toronto with my husband and four high-maintenance housecats.

How long have you been a writer?

I began writing fan fiction in 1994.

How long have you been a Trek fan?

Since Day One, when TOS was first broadcast in 1966.

What is your favorite series to watch? To write for?

DS9 is my favorite series to watch, but TOS is the series I write for--those are the characters whose stories I really want to tell.

What type of fanfic do you like to write? Character-driven? Plot?

I've tried to pay attention to both elements in my stories. Plot is important--I want the reader to keep turning those pages. And when something is at stake for the characters, they're under pressure to act and react in response to events. That's when they tend to reveal aspects of themselves that they might otherwise keep hidden from the reader (and from me).

Which is your favorite character to write and why?

The Romulan Commander from "The Enterprise Incident" is the focus of both of my novel-length works--she's a compelling and complex character who continues to fascinate me. I've also written about Saavik, Spock, and Chapel. But my favorite character to write is Leonard McCoy, even though he's played only a supporting role in most of my stories so far. He's the TOS character with whom I identify most strongly, and towards whom I feel the most affection.

Have you done any other type of writing?

I've written and edited non-fiction for many years in the course of my RL work. I've also edited other writers' mainstream fiction, science fiction, fan fiction, and poetry.

What does your "writing space" look like?

By day, it looks like my boring old office. By night (and weekends), it's a combination cat spa, library, bar, observation deck, and music room.

How did you get started writing fanfic?

The storyline of "Unspoken Truth" had been lurking in the back of my mind for many years, but only as my own private exegesis of "The Enterprise Incident." One day I realized that I'd had my fill of stories (both fan and pro) that marginalized, trivialized, degraded, exiled, martyred, or murdered one of the strongest female characters ever written in TOS. I decided that if no one else was going to do right by her, I would. So I sat down at the computer, listened to what she was saying, and recorded her story as faithfully as I knew how.

Out of all the stories you've written, which is your favorite and why?

"Unspoken Truth," partly because it was my very first attempt at fiction, partly because I still feel that the protagonist has an important story to tell. I wanted to take a look at one of Kirk's missions from the point of view of someone who was on the losing side--to examine the aftermath of "our" victory when seen through the eyes of the vanquished. I also wanted to explore what was really going on in Spock's mind when he was aboard the Romulan Commander's ship, and what the far-reaching consequences of his conduct and choices might be--not just for him, but for the Romulan Commander, for Kirk and his crew, and for their respective governments.

When you're reading fanfic, what are you looking for?

Skill in storytelling--the author's ability to draw me instantly into the narrative. Clarity and precision of language. Truth and perceptiveness in characterization. Insight, intelligence, wit, speculative imagination--and, above all, suspense. I want to be kept on the edge of my seat wondering what's coming next, even if the story is a monologue set in a locked room on a deserted asteroid.

Every author has a "must read" fanfic list. What does your list look like?

I have a short list of Star Trek authors whose stories I will read sight unseen, no questions asked, bring 'em on. In alphabetical order by first name (because it's impossible to categorize these folks in any kind of hierarchy--their styles and approaches are quite different from one another, but they all produce work of a standard I strive to attain for myself): Animasola, Boadicea, Claire Gabriel, Djinn, Jungle Kitty, Kelly, Killashandra, Penny Proctor (E.J.), Rabble Rouser, Wildcat, and Your Cruise Director.

I admire the work of many other Star Trek authors, but these are the ones whose stories I know I'll reread many times.

Do you have any advice to share with other fanfic writers?

Read widely. Honor the craft. Be faithful to the characters whose stories you're telling. Find beta readers whose judgment and ability you trust and respect. Take your writing as seriously as you wish your readers to take it.
 

The Art of Longing a vignette in which an often underestimated character reveals something about herself

Unspoken Truth: The Romulan Commander's Story What was the fate of the beautiful and enigmatic Romulan commander who was captured in the final moments of "The Enterprise Incident"? Though surely the most complex and intriguing female character to appear in the original series, the Romulan commander has remained a mystery -- until now. Here, in her own words, is the account of those days and weeks after her capture as she prepares to testify at a Federation inquiry into the Enterprise incident. But Starfleet and the Federation are the least of the challenges that await her. What of her impending return to the Romulan Empire, where she must stand trial -- and face almost certain execution -- for dereliction of duty? What end will the Enterprise incident be made to serve in the dangerous and devious arena of Romulan politics? And what of her conflicted feelings for her apparent betrayer, Spock -- the touch of whose hand set in motion a chain of events that would alter the destiny of both the Romulan and the Vulcan peoples?

Any Other Lifetime: Book Two of the Romulan Commander's Story Unspoken Truth explored the profound personal and political consequences of the events depicted in "The Enterprise Incident." Now, Any Other Lifetime reunites Spock and the Romulan Commander a century later in a bittersweet story of intrigue, revelation, and ultimate redemption. Drawn against her will into the dark conspiracy that pits Pardek, Neral, and the mysterious Sela against Spock and his reunificationist followers, the Romulan Commander must find a way to uphold her oath to the Empire while fighting to keep Spock out of the hands of his enemies--whether they wear the uniform of the Tal Shiar or the Federation's Starfleet.