The Best of Trek Fanfic Interview with Kathleen Dailey
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| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Best of Trek Fanfic Interview with Kathleen Dailey |
| Interviewer: | The Best of Trek Fanfic |
| Interviewee: | Kathleen Dailey |
| Date(s): | October 2001 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | Star Trek: TOS |
| External Links: | An Interview with Kathleen Dailey, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Best of Trek Fanfic Interview with Kathleen Dailey was conducted in 2001.
It is part of a series of nineteen interviews, see The Best of Trek Fanfic.
Excerpts
[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.
[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.
[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.