Una McCormack: Asylum.     One of the joys of tie-in fiction is the way that it can delve into the backgrounds of characters to make the viewing experience feel richer because the fan has a greater understanding of what motivates the characters.  In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Jonathan Koan and Casey Pettitt are proud to welcome author Una McCormack to talk about her Strange New Worlds novel, Asylum. We discuss starting the book, timelines, the Academy storyline, lectures, and interesting friendship, the mystery, themes, writing the SNW crew, references, using talents, heartbreak, a fun note, where to find Una and our final thoughts.                 Feature: Una McCormack Starting the Book (00:03:50) Timeframes (00:06:24) The Academy Storyline (00:09:49) Lectures (00:13:05) An Interesting Friendship (00:16:09) The Mystery (00:18:02) Themes and Questions (00:22:42) Writing the SNW Crew (00:27:12) References (00:29:19) Using Talents (00:34:41) A Fun Note (00:44:56) Where to Find Una and What is Coming (00:48:23) Final Thoughts (00:50:30)       Hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan  Guest  Una McCormack Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)

Una McCormack: The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway Kathryn Janeway is known for her strength, drive, dedication, and nurturing nature. But how did her childhood and early career shape the woman who led her crew back from the Delta Quadrant, against all odds? In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Matthew Rushing and C Bryan Jones are joined by Kathryn’s ghostwriter—also know as Una McCormack—to find out how parents, grandparents, and even that pesky little sister, helped a young girl from Indiana become one of Starfleet’s most decorated admirals. We also discuss the important role that mentors play in our lives and how the Federation–Cardassian Wars influenced Janeway and those growing up in Starfleet families during the 24th century. In our news segment, we review the first two issues of the Star Trek: Voyager IDW comic miniseries Seven’s Reckoning. Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Star Trek Voyager: Seven’s Reckoning, Issues 1–2 (00:03:14) Feature: The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway (00:16:41) Origin of the Project (00:17:51) Creating Kathryn’s Childhood (00:19:45) Father–Daughter Relationship (00:25:51) Choosing the Stories that Inspire (00:35:28) The Role of Mentors (00:42:15) Cardassian Backdrop (00:48:08) Workforce and Janeway’s Desires (00:56:30) A Nurturing Nature (01:01:59) Mars! Mars! Mars! (01:07:00) Closing (01:13:34) Hosts Matthew Rushing and C Bryan Jones Guest Una McCormack Production C Bryan Jones (Editor and Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)

Una McCormack: The Last Best Hope. Since the debut of Star Trek: Picard earlier this year, fans have been enjoying the continued adventures of Jean-Luc Picard as he delves into the mystery of Dahj and Soji, the android daughters of his former shipmate, Lt. Commander Data. However, many things have changed since Star Trek Nemesis and the year in which Picard is set. How did we get from there to here? In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson welcome Una McCormack, author of Picard: The Last Best Hope to the show. We discuss the process of writing the novel, the social issues it deals with, the threat of the breakup of the Federation, the research led by Dr. Amal Safadi, the crew of Picard's new ship, the Verity, the revenge of the synths, a melancholy ending, and wrap up with what Una is currently working on and where she can be found online. In the news segment, we judge the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery: Die Standing by its cover and back-cover blurb, and report on the pending sale of Simon & Schuster. We also respond to feedback from The Babel Conference for Literary Treks 297: A Palm Punch with No Follow Through. News DIS: Die Standing Cover (00:02:57) ViacomCBS Selling Simon & Schuster (00:06:39) Listener Feedback (00:10:09) Feature: Una McCormack The Process (00:12:21) Social Issues (00:21:30) Federation Secession (00:26:21) Critical Findings Remain Secret (00:32:10) Admiral Picard (00:41:37) A Melancholy Ending (00:46:27) U.S.S. Verity Crew (00:52:40) Revenge of the Synths (00:57:03) Close to Canon (01:02:51) Hollow Men and More (01:04:57) Final Thoughts (01:08:17) Hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson Guest Una McCormack Production Bruce Gibson (Editor and Producer) Dan Gunther (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Jeffery Harlan (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)

Una McCormack: The Way to the Stars. Sylvia Tilly has turned into a breakout character on the newest Star Trek series, Discovery. Sometimes awkward, sometimes silly, but always brilliant, Tilly brought a lot of humanity to Discovery's first season. But what was she like before becoming a Starfleet cadet, and what choices led her to joining Starfleet? In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Bruce Gibson and Dan Gunther welcome author Una McCormack back to the show to discuss her latest novel, The Way to the Stars. We talk about the process of writing this novel, Tilly's relationship with her mother, her experiences in school, Tilly as a runaway, her impressions of Starfleet, the poor communication she experiences, and wrap up the discussion with where you can find Una online and what she is working on now. In the news section, we talk about the upcoming Discovery novel The Enterprise War by John Jackson Miller, and judge the covers of two upcoming novels: The Captain's Oath by Christopher L. Bennett and The Antares Maelstrom by Greg Cox. We also talk about an upcoming comic series from IDW: TOS: Year Five, review issue #4 of Star Trek vs. Transformers, and take a look at some Babel Conference feedback on Literary Treks 255: The Hammock Planet: They Don't Have Butts. News Discovery: The Enterprise War (00:02:48) TOS: The Captain's Chair Cover (00:06:00) TOS: The Antares Maelstrom Cover (00:08:42) TOS: Year Five from IDW in April (00:10:18) Star Trek vs. Transformers #4 Review (00:12:49) Listener Feedback (00:19:36) Feature: Una McCormack Getting Started (00:24:58) Mothers and Daughters (00:31:17) Keeping Friends (00:39:19) Being a High Achiever (00:43:26) A Runaway Tilly (00:50:28) Your Name Matters (00:55:06) A Starfleet Career Path (00:59:32) Captain Yindi Holden (01:04:54) Poor Communications (01:08:02) Una's Favorite Novels (01:14:05) Other Projects (01:16:16) Final Thoughts (01:18:46) Hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson Guest Una McCormack Production Bruce Gibson (Editor and Producer) Dan Gunther (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Jeffery Harlan (Associate Producer)

Enigma Tales: Una McCormack. Garak has gone from spy to revolutionary to ambassador to castellan of the Cardassian Union in just a few short years. In that time, Cardassia has changed immensely. But the people of Cardassia still share a lot of guilt, and ghosts of the past may be rising again to ruin the lives of some of Cardassia's finest. Now, it is up to Dr. Kate Pulaski to discover the truth before it is too late! In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson are joined by New York Times bestselling author Una McCormack to talk about her new novel, DS9: Enigma Tales. We discuss the plot, the characters, some historical touchstones that the story parallels, the nature of Cardassian enigma tales, the state of Dr. Bashir, and wrap up with Una's upcoming projects and where you can find her online. Please note: the first part of the feature is spoiler-free, and we get into spoilers for the second half. In the news segment, we have a link to a short supplemental to Dayton Ward's Klingon Travel Guide: "7 Common Offworlder Questions Klingons Are Tired of Hearing." News Something Different (00:02:28) Questions about the Klingon Travel Guide (00:03:36) Feature: Una McCormack Special Guest (00:06:06) Una and Garak (00:06:41) The Plot (00:08:03) Character Rundown (00:11:11) Married to Each Other (00:23:26) Historical Touchstones (00:26:52) A Funny Book (00:32:09) Garak's Relationships (00:38:21) Leading Cardassia (00:39:41) Enigma Tales (00:42:01) The State of Bashir (00:46:56) What's Next for Una (00:52:29) Final Thoughts (00:55:59) Hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson Guest Una McCormack Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Associate Producer) Bruce Gibson (Associate Producer)

Best Destiny. Captain James T. Kirk: to many, the quintessential Starfleet hero. Courageous, selfless, and principled, the embodiment of Starfleet and the Federation's ideals. However, he wasn't always the hero we know and love. As a boy, Jimmy Kirk was on a path to a much different destiny. How did this troubled young man grow up to be the legend? Join us as we explore his humble beginnings in a story that inspired elements of Star Trek 2009! In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing, Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson talk about Best Destiny. We discuss it being on the short list, the 09 tie in, the Kirk story, fathers and sons, life's not fair, control of the soul, change and flexibility and our ratings. In the news we talk about the blurb for Una McCormack's upcoming DS9 book Enigma Tales and then ask a question about the DS9 literature series. News Enigma Tales Blurb (00:03:37) A DS9 Literature Question (00:10:03) Feature: Best Destiny Short List (00:20:46) 09 Tie In (00:23:53) The Kirk Story (00:25:54) Fathers and Sons (00:32:29) Life's Not Fair (00:45:58) Control of His Soul (01:03:14) Change and Flexibility (01:06:23) Quick Things (01:12:51) Ratings (01:13:57) Final Thoughts (01:18:08) Hosts Matthew Rushing, Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Associate Producer) Bruce Gibson (Associate Producer)

Una McCormack: The Missing. The end of "The Fall" left the Star Trek universe in a little more hopeful place than it was when the series began. There is a new focus on exploration in the Federation and even with all that the characters have experienced there is still the drive to boldly go. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing and Dan Gunther are joined by author Una McCormack to talk about her lastest book The Missing. She talks about following up The Fall, writing a "day in the life" of DS9, the fun of exploring the new station, writing the character of Pulaski, as well as featuring the women of Star Trek, deepening the Tzenkethi, the themes of preconceived notions about people and atonement, all while remaining us that DS9 is truly a home for the homeless.  In the news segment we discuss Mike Johnson's interview on what coming up for the Star Trek Ongoing comic as well as some well known villains that may make an appearance soon.    Hosts Matthew Rushing and Dan Gunther   Guest Una McCormack   Editor and Producer  Matthew Rushing  Richard Marquez   Associate Producers Will Nguyen Lisa Stevens Kenneth Trip   Production Manager Richard Marquez   Content Coordinator Will Nguyen   News Mike Johnson Talks Star Trek Ongoing (00:02:24)   Feature Ideas for following up The Fall (00:11:05) Day in the Life of DS9 (00:12:51) Exploring the New DS9 (00:14:49) Writing Pulaski (00:19:19) The Women of Star Trek (00:24:07) Marriage Advice (00:27:39) Deepening the Tzenkethi (00:30:06) Judging People by Their Cover (00:40:29) Atonement (00:43:35) The War Generation (00:46:07) The Missing (00:50:17) Picard's Logs (00:52:54) Struggles to Understand (00:56:53) DS9 - A Home for the Homeless (01:02:01) Una's Upcoming Work (01:03:36) One Last Question (01:05:02) Una Online (01:08:10) Closing (01:09:28)   Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact Visit the Trek.fm website at http://trek.fm/ Subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.com/trekfm   Support the Network!   Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep our shows coming to you every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm

Department of Temporal Investigations: The Collectors. The first time we met agents Lucsly and Dulmer in Trials and Tribble-ations no one expected them to star in their own novel series, yet that's exactly what Christopher L. Bennett did. He took these dull, funny men and created some of Treklit's most memorable adventures in Watching The Clock and Forgotten History. In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Matthew Rushing and Dan Gunther discuss the latest book in the DTI series, The Collectors. We discuss Dan's thoughts on the first two books, how DTI could work as ebooks moving forward, the themes of change and letting go as well as timelines we'd love to see explored. In the news section, we remind everyone about the Q Gambit's penultimate issue release, Una McCormack's upcoming DS9 book The Missing and lastly wish everyone a Happy Holiday's.   Hosts Matthew Rushing and Dan Gunther   Editor and Producer  Matthew Rushing  Richard Marquez   Associate Producers Will Nguyen and Lisa Stevens   Production Manager Richard Marquez   Content Coordinator Will Nguyen   News The Penultimate Q Gambit is out (00:03:17) The Missing (00:04:11) Happy Holidays and the New Year (00:08:30)   Feature: The Collectors The Collectors (00:11:02)   The First Two DTI Books (00:11:24)   DTI as an Ebook Series? (00:13:14)   Always a Bigger Fish (00:19:22)   The Future Ain't What it Use to Be (00:24:05)   Time to Change or to Let Go (00:30:44)   And Now For Something Completely Different (00:37:21)   Different Timelines (00:40:03)   Closing (00:44:25)     Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact Visit the Trek.fm website at http://trek.fm/ Subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.com/trekfm   Support the Network! Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep our shows coming to you every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm

The Return of the Serpent. During The Original Series, Kirk made many life-shattering decisions for civilizations he'd just met. In "The Apple," the discovery of naive humanoids living in a Garden of Eden-like setting on Gamma Trianguli VI was too much for the Captain to take. The people were happy, but they worshipped a god who turned out be a machine named Vaal. And when this machine saw Kirk as a threat, he destroyed it—leaving the People of Vaal in chaos. "Well, there goes paradise," quipped McCoy. End of story. Or was it? In this episode of Literary Treks Matthew Rushing and Christopher Jones are joined by Standard Orbit's Drew Stewart to discuss the three-part DC Comics story from 1987 called The Return of the Serpent. The comics tell the story of Kirk's return to Gamma Trianguli VI two decades later and the consequences of his actions in "The Apple"—and does so with the help of a dinosaur. In our news segment we check in on Una McCormack's upcoming TNG book Home Again, which has been rebranded as a DS9 novel called The Missing, Greg Cox's TOS movie-era novel Foul Deeds Will Rise, and Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdmann's Lust's Latinum Lost (and Found). We also dig into the collaboration between IDW and Harlan Ellison to bring the original script for "The City On the Edge of Forever" to comics, check out Ryan Williams's Star Trek Lit-verse Reading Guide, and review Star Trek Ongoing #31, I, Enterprise, Part I.

Una McCormack: The Crimson Shadow. Over the past decade the prime universe has grown richly complex as print adventures have taken over where television left off. Now, in a new five-book series titled "The Fall," some of Star Trek's greatest authors are going to rock the Federation to its core with an adventure that takes place over a period of sixty days and involves TNG, DS9, and Titan. In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Matthew Rushing and Christopher Jones continue our series of interviews with the authors of The Fall as Una McCormack joins us to talk about her entry in the series, The Crimson Shadow. As the second book in The Fall, The Crimson Shadow continues the overall story but also brings together two fan favorites—Picard and Garak—to further the story of a post-war Cardassia. Una talks to us about the genesis of her novel, the political undertones, and what she wanted to accomplish in writing Picard and Garak. In news we steer clear of a super-spoilery blurb for Peaceable Kingdoms, preview Star Trek Ongoing #29 and Khan #4, and bring you our review of the second installment in The Khitomer Conflict.    Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact