Karmen Ghia: What are you working on these days?

Tommyhawk: I am about midway in my latest sequel to "Planet of Desire", #4 in the series, called "Secret of the Turtle Men." I am also doing some sequels to "The Boner" and about to start another story-with-sequels called "My African Tour." First installment is this Thursday and it promises to be loads of fun.

KG: So there IS something to look forward to. Okay, I'm sorry for the mundane questions but how long have you been in Star Trek fandom?

T: I saw the third season of "Star Trek" in its original run. I would have watched it all, but my family kept the first two seasons a deep, dark secret from me; they knew I was a sci-fi fan, and the first two seasons were on opposite "Bonanza." So I lost out to the Cartwright Clan.

KG: I'm sorry. I wonder how many other children that happened to? Could be called "Little Joe Syndrome" or something. Excuse me, I drifted off there for a moment. Ah! What Star Trek genre (TOS;TNG;VOY;DS9;B5) have you written the most in? Do you think that will continue or is the grass starting to look greener somewhere else? And if so, where?

T: Obviously, I did almost all my stories in "Star Trek: Voyager" with Chakotay and Paris, but I never really think of myself as a Slash writer. I was simply caught up in the chemistry of these two individuals. Every so often, you want to play matchmaker, and these two would be very good for each other. Paris could liven up Chakotay's rather dour personality, and Chakotay would provide some much-needed foundation for Paris' rather impetuous nature. So I wrote quite a few stories rather quickly. These days, I am simply out of ideas for the paring, and have stopped rather than churn out the same-old same-old.

KG: Never having seen Voyager, I still read C/P if it's well done. Britta hooked me with _Taming of Tom Paris_, and, as a general rule, I don't even like even super extra light BDSM, but I liiiiked that. I'm really enjoying your C/P shuttlecraft story. It's nice how you break the chapters into days; I like that. What was your earliest story?

T: "The Long Shuttle Trip" is my attempt to please my female readers. I'm glad to see it worked. As for my first writing, do you mean in or out of Slash? My first Slash story is the infamous (it's listed that way on a search engine), "Paris' Wedding" which is Part 1 of the "Son of the N'Gimellii" series. Slash is like peanuts, once you start, you keep on nibbling. But I'm sorry to say that I seem to be out of ideas and out of inspiration. I don't even watch the show any more.

Outside of Slash, ye Gods! When I was about 10, I did a weird sci-fi story called "Anafri Ho!" which had all-alien characters with springs for legs and who flew around in a city domed over with glass. My own invention, I hadn't found James Blish's "Cities in Flight" yet. They settled on Earth's Moon, which they terraformed, giving it oceans and clouds and such; I even drew an illustration. I have been writing pretty much ever since.

KG: Wow. When I was ten I was just trying to get Barbie's shoes and bag to match. How long have you been reading slash and fanfic?

T: I stumbled across some K/S books at a sci-fi convention in Tulsa, and bought them. I was about 18 at the time, so this would be circa, duh, 1974?

KG: Wow. When I was eighteen... well, never mind. How much and how long were you reading slash before the 'hey-man-I-wanna-do-this!' light went on?

T: The other Slash writers are gonna kill me for this answer... One night, bored, I went on-line in search of some K/S if I could find it. I like to type odd words into search engines and see what pops up. What popped up was one of the C/P Slash Ring's sites, and I cruised around it.

Now understand, this was Saturday night, the connection was lousy and I couldn't enter a LOT of sites. I think I ended up on the least-patronized sites, but I found what I read, I hated! I told myself, "Aw, come on, people! Paris and Chakotay wouldn't do that! What they'd really do, if they were to get into a relationship is..." And then I was sunk! When a writer has a universe (given by the TV show), the characters (given again) and a plot, he's got a STORY! And any writer can tell you once you have a story, you got to put it down on paper or it won't leave you alone. So I did, sent it to the webmasters of the C/P Slash ring (I went around it again, and e-mailed all of them I could). And the rest, as they say, is what makes horse races.

KG: That sounds like a much better way to spend a Saturday night than in the back of somebody's Lexus. Could you list as many as you can remember of the stories you read prior to writing your first story?

T: I must have plowed through a dozen or so stories, full of Paris being weak and maudlin, full of Chakotay acting like a mother hen (fathering is different from mothering), full of blood and gore and torture. You know who you are!

KG: What writers, slash or otherwise, do you feel have influenced your slash writing?

T: Again, I sort of wrote as a reaction to the many women who write Slash. I wanted to do a Slash story from a MAN'S viewpoint of these characters. But I have read some Slash I love, and even imitated. I enjoyed Siubhan's "Left Hand of Madness" and who wouldn't love Helmboy's "Traveling Man" series. And one of these days, I'm going to do my own Slash story based on a song like, duh, what's her name, partly to poke fun at her little obsession. The song? "Otto Titsling." 'Nuff said.

KG: Something ELSE to look forward to! In what ways, positive or negative, have these writers influenced you?

T: Again, as a man operating in a woman's world, my influence was rather reactionary.

KG: Ah. Who is your favorite character in slash to write about? Read about? And why?

T: Since I haven't explored pairings other than Chakotay and Paris, perhaps I'd better answer this with other pairings that have tempted me, however briefly. I could Slash Joey and Chandler on "Friends, but that's WAY too easy. And I thought about Zack and Slater from "Saved by the Bell", a comedy of errors with some Spanish Fly in the fruit punch and boys get dosed rather than doing the dosing. Screech gets some fun out of it as well. And I could have done one (and nearly did) with "Space: Above and Beyond." I may still do that story one day, but when a series goes off the air, something's missing from the fun of slashing it. Any fans of SBTB go ahead, it's all yours.

KG: What parings make you feel warm and cozy when you read and why? When you write them and why?

T: Again, I'd rather tell about potential pairings rather than actual ones. I may well Slash again some day on another series. But it'll have to have the following characteristics. (a) Two good-looking men--it's surprising how few shows qualify on that requirement alone! (b) not a sitcom--and there goes the rest of them and (c) the proper chemistry. I can't force characters together, they have to BELONG together.

KG: Do you have some special technique for writing slash? Something that inspires you?

T: I have to say that when it comes to the Muse and my writing, she doesn't just smile on me, she giggles like a hippie who just smoked a joint! I have too many ideas flowing, it's a river that has yet to falter. I come up with a KIND of story I'd like to write, and the Muse tells me how to make it happen. It's how I keep up that enormous schedule on my website, don't ask me to explain it, it just is.

KG: Lucky you. I hope you never experience those times when Bukowski used to snarl that "the muse is off fucking the garbage man." Have you written any K/S? Do you have any thoughts or feeling about K/S?

T: K/S was my first love, but it died for me when they started making the movies and all these old dudes came trundling out looking feeble. I know that actors age like the rest of us, but to me, it sort of spoils the original. I can't watch Star Trek:TOS anymore, the images of those old guys gets in the way.

KG: I don't seek the shows or films out for the same reason, even though I still write TOS slash. But, since Idaho is taken, it's my own private Star Trek. So, do you have any thoughts on the future of Slash on the Web?

T: More than thoughts, statistics. 20% of American households now have Web access. In five years, it'll be 80%. Not just Slash, EVERYTHING will explode. Technology never runs over anyone who keeps their eyes open. There's the truck and its' coming this way. Get ready to hitch a ride or dodge!

KG: Sound, if not sage, advice. Do you work with a beta reader?

T: I crave a good beta reader, but haven't found one yet. I find that beta readers usually miss the point when they offer critique. Or maybe I'm too willing to overlook the minor stuff. Or maybe when a story is done, I have trouble revisiting it. I'll mention Siubhan's comment, I just gave her a nice bong above...she said about my "Sorrow Within the Joy" story that she was unhappy about the way Chakotay and Paris had their child, too cavalier and without regard to the consequences both of the mode of birth and the life beyond that. My reaction was partial agreement with her points (in a story after that, I added Paris and Chakotay wearing biomonitors that fed to the tank the child was in, so they'd be connected), but I haven't changed it. Not even when it was pointed out about my "N'Gimellii" story when I mention Wildman's child as being a boy! I misremembered, but it was done, so to heck with it, it's not important. People will understand, those that even spot it. This was before they added Naomi as a semi-regular. I ought to go fix it now. Maybe. Some day....

KG: What I love about my website is that I can always fix it in the HTML editor. What is the motivation to write slash? One can't sell it; one can't even eat it.

T: The same thing that keeps me giving away my stories on my own site. Selling is overrated. The Web will smash the printed word; you'll carry around a page-sized mini-computer loaded with what you want to read, and it'll display in a manner easy on the eyes. We'll have to revamp the concept of copyright, it's outmoded. My guess is they'll lower the cost of a royalty down to where it's cheaper to go ahead and pay it. When you write something, you want to share it. Otherwise, it's just a form of mental masturbation.

KG: Hopefully, the powers that be will be issuing the hardware with birth certificates. I think that is something the AOL/TimeWarner merger plans to address: Everybody in the Internet! (Excuse me, I must put the cat out, she's laughing too hard.) Me, I'm waiting for implants. You're very cool. Would you like to put your website address and/or recommended URLs here?:

T: My only suggestion is a visit to my "Links" page, where I have been compiling the best for quite some time. Okay, lately I've added some search engines in an effort to build readership, a guy's gotta expand. You can find it at: http://www.tommyhawksfantasyworld.com/links.htm and, of course my main webpage is at http://www.tommyhawksfantasyworld.com

KG: I can dig it. And thanks, weren't for the links pages of others, I'd never see anything new. What five stories would you recommend as an introduction to slash to someone just starting to read it?

T: I can only think of four without browsing to remind myself. 1. Helmboy's "Traveling Man" for the sheer maniacal insanity of it all. 2. Siubhan's "Left Hand of Madness" for a more somber look at life. 3. Britta's "The Taming of Tom Paris" for the Dom/Sub in all of us. And finally, my own "Son of the N'Gimellii" for a more masculine look at these guys. Not to mention it's some of the funniest stuff I've ever written. Except for "The Boner," maybe. And "The Roustabout Way" with our hero's nincompoop dad never catching on. And some lines in "My African Tour which is in progress. A foretaste:

*****

[Setup: Barely-18 tourist/narrator with sophisticated guide tromping through the jungle and a loud rumbling growl fills the air. Our hero nervously asks the guide what it was, and the guide replies...]

"Just a bull gorilla."

"Just a bull gorilla?" I repeated weakly.

"Relax. He's just warning everyone to stay off his territory."

"Are we on his territory?"

"Yes, I believe we are."

"Are you trying to reassure me?"

"Yes."

"Well...it's not working."

*****

KG: I'll be bookmarking your page. What recommendations do you have for new slash writers?

T: Only the advice I give any writer. Detach your conscious mind and let your subconscious mind tell its stories. Trust that what results will be interesting and entertaining, don't try too hard to fix it, and especially don't try to fix it especially according to other people's ideas of what makes a proper story. And finally, for Slash, I am a firm believer in "stick to the canon." Writing a story using characters' names without using those characters (i.e., Tom Paris as a whimpering ninny) is cheating both the reader and yourself. And to quote Horace Greeley (I think): "If you got a message, use Western Union!"

KG: Sounds more like PT Barnum but what do I know? Do you have any comments on the subject of writing and how it all starts and what it all leads to or any other subject?

T: To quote Moliere now: "Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for the love of it. Then you do it for a few friends. And finally, you do it for money."

Writing is the most satisfying thing I know (obviously). While it is NOT for everyone, it can be the most wonderfully direct mind-to-mind communication in the world.

KG: Yes, I would say so. Thank you, Tommyhawk.

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