Interview with Dayton Ward, author of over 40 works in the Star Trek universe.
Dayton Ward is a renowned author and a true icon in the Star Trek universe. Born in Tampa, Florida, on June 7, 1967, Dayton served in the United States Marine Corps for nearly eleven years before dedicating himself to a career as a writer and software developer. He currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri, with his family. Throughout his impressive career, Dayton has become a New York Times bestselling author, with over forty novels and novellas to his name, often written in collaboration with his close friend Kevin Dilmore.
In addition to his extensive literary contributions to Star Trek, including works like Starfleet Corps of Engineers, Dayton has also authored two reference books about the Trek universe for Insight Editions and contributed articles and stories to prestigious magazines and websites such as Star Trek Magazine, Tor.com, Syfy.com, and StarTrek.com.
Throughout his career, Dayton has been nominated for the Scribe Award six times, winning twice: in 2016 with Armageddon’s Arrow and in 2019 with Drastic Measures. His work is celebrated by fans and critics alike, not only for his ability to create engaging stories but also for his talent in capturing the essence of Star Trek, taking readers on new and exciting adventures.
Check out the interview I conducted with the author.
Dayton, it’s a real honor to be able to interview you, especially since I’ve been a long-time fan. To kick things off, I’d like to ask how Star Trek first came into your life.
Thanks very much for your kind words! Star Trek and I are lifelong friends. As a youngster in the early-mid 1970s, I watched reruns of the original series every day after school. I got to see most of the animated series episodes during their initial broadcast on Saturday mornings during that same period. I played with the toys and built the models, but it was reading whatever books and comics I could find that really seemed to help cement my love for the show. Those stories, as infrequently published as they were, still helped scratch the itch for more adventures with Kirk and his crew. By the time Star Trek: The Motion Picture hit theater screens in 1979, I was an avowed Trekkie. Little did I know at that time — when I was all of 12 years old — how it might end up affecting my life.
How did your experience as a Marine shape your approach to writing, particularly in science fiction and Star Trek stories?
For Star Trek and the military science fiction stories I’ve written, I’d like to think my firsthand experience with that culture helps me write military characters and situations with a degree of authenticity. With Star Trek, Starfleet isn’t like a modern military but it still embues certain qualities and trappings from structure and culture so there are some obvious parallels. I don’t mean in the sense of writing accurate descriptions of weapons or battles, as that still requires proper research and knowledge in order to get those details correct. Instead, I try to channel my own experience into how I portray characters — particularly characters of different ranks and stations within a military or pseudo-military hierarchy — and how they relate to one another in that environment.
Your books often dive into themes like history, conspiracies, and how past events impact the future. Where does your interest in these topics come from?
I don’t consider myself a conspiracy theorist by any stretch, but I am frequently entertained by reading books or watching TV shows that deal with such things. I find that whole segment of society endlessly fascinating. Some conspiracy theories are completely bonkers, but others carry with them facets you can’t help but wonder might be true. It’s while pondering such notions that I find interesting story ideas. The same is true for actual history. I’m certainly not a learned historian by any stretch, but history classes were always among my favorites in school, and studying military history continued to be a requirement during my service years. That was fortunate, as I found myself reading all manner of books and papers I otherwise have missed. It’s a trend that’s continued even after all these years, and has even found ways to bleed into the writing-related books I also read. For example, I’m currently reading a book about how the First World War influenced the evolution of horror writing (Wasteland: The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror by W. Scott Poole).
Does interacting with fans influence or inspire your stories?
They inspire my stories in the sense that I remain aware of the money, effort, and time people devote to reading what I write. This is particularly true for readers of — for example — my Star Trek stories. When it comes to pop culture and entertainment properties, Star Trek enjoys a very dedicated, intensely loyal fanbase. The hardest of the hardcore fans are very much invested in things like the novels, comics, games, and other merchandise. I try never to forget that I’ve been privileged to contribute to this franchise for a very long time, and I hope my respect for it and its fans still comes through even after all these years.
What was it like writing the first book in Star Trek: Coda, a series that wrapped up two decades of Star Trek stories?
Daunting? Terrifying? Heartbreaking? All of the above, and so many other emotions. It was a tremendous experience writing not just my own book but also collaborating with fellow writers James Swallow and David Mack to craft that story. Working with those two gents — both of whom I’ve called trusted friend and colleague for many years at this point — was its own reward. This doesn’t mean we always started from a place of consensus. There were several discussions about various plot points, and in different cases it might be one of us trying to convince the other two, or two of us trying to persuade the one holdout. Even through all of that, every single thing is where it is in all three of those books because the three of us agreed that’s where it needed to be. I know the trilogy has engendered a range of reactions and I respect that, but I hope readers will still understand we took the task of writing it very seriously. It’s also the sort of project I’m okay with not attempting again any time soon.
What are you working on next, both in and outside of Star Trek?
I have several things I’m working on at the moment, but we’re in that weird space where I can’t talk about any of them because they haven’t yet been announced. I recently did some work for three different roleplaying games, including a new one tying into the Planet of the Apes franchise. At last report, the game will be released early next year. The other game projects and my involvement haven’t been announced, but hopefully they’ll soon be made public. I did write a story, “A Study in Vacuum,” for Multiverse of Mystery, a collection of short tales that all take Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in new and different directions. Different time frames, different realities, on Earth or in space, gender and race flipping, you name it. The game’s afoot…everywhere and everywhen! This anthology is due out closer to the end of the year.
Lastly, here’s a question I often ask authors in the Star Trek universe. The Brazilian market has been overlooking Star Trek books, with the last release back in 2016. Since a lot of Brazilian readers don’t read in English, what would you suggest fans do to show their interest in the franchise here and the demand for Portuguese translations of Star Trek tie-in novels?
As others you’ve interviewed have said, the key is finding a publisher in Brazil willing to take on the task of translating Star Trek novels into the appropriate language(s). I know that’s not an easy sell, but perhaps contacting Brazil-based publishers via their social media platforms and demonstrating is a first step? It would likely require a bit of research to determine which publishers might be appropriate for taking on the task, such as those that already publish science fiction novels. Thoughtful, respectful engagement with such publishers might open a dialogue with them? They’d likely want to ascertain how large Brazilian Star Trek fandom is, but if they can be convinced there’s an audience for translated Star Trek works, who knows what might happen?
