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If your
bumper sticker proudly states “My Other
Car is the Starship Enterprise”, you may
already know Jacqueline Lichtenberg, a
Chandler resident whose life has been
heavily intertwined with the original
iconoclastic Star Trek TV show. The show
lasted only three years, but the
adventures of Spock, McCoy and Kirk
sparked a die-hard following around the
world. She is the primary author of the
Bantam paperback, “Star Trek Lives!”
written in 1975. It is a five year
research project on why fans wouldn’t
let the phenomenally successful sci-fi
show die.
A former
chemist, Lichtenberg is a prolific
science fiction writer who rockets her
readers into worlds landscaped with
aliens, intergalactic travel, and even
vampires. She is also the originator of
the cult classic Sime~Gen Universe, the
fantasy world that is the backdrop for
many of her stories. Lichtenberg has
written over 20 novels (two of which are
award winners), 13 short stores, and two
non-fiction books. Her ST “Kraith”
universe has been inspiration for many
fan-created magazine stories and was
read by ST creator Gene Roddenberry.
WN: What
was so special about ST?
JL: “It
was a show that totally changed the
landscape of television; it was not
comedy; it was not for nine-year-olds
and it was the first real dramatic
science fiction show. That was a
tremendous breakthrough. Most of the
people who watched it had never read a
science fiction novel since ST was aimed
at adolescent boys. This was
relationship driven fiction, which
incidentally is what I write about in my
novels.”
WN: How
did you become involved with ST?
JL: “I
participated in the “Keep Star Trek on
the Air” campaign when I was living in
Israel, even though I had never watched
the show. A good friend, Bjo Trimble
convinced me the show was worth saving,
and I was enrolled in the quest. I
finally watched the show when I returned
to the U.S. I ended up pointing at Spock
on the television screen and screaming
‘He’s not human!” That was a defining
moment for the rest of my life.”
“Eventually I co-wrote the book “Star
Trek Lives!” with Sandra Marshak and
Joan Winston. This was a non-fiction
book of interviews with Gene Roddenberry
and various stars of the show. It also
compiled information from surveys we
sent out to hundreds of ST fans asking
them what makes them so committed to the
show and why they pursued so many
related interests such as conventions
and fan fiction writing.”
WN: Tell
us about the Kraith universe.
JL:
“Kraith picks up at the end of the
original ST series; I did eight of the
stories and 50 others created the rest.
In Kraith, I destroyed the Enterprise,
which fans didn’t think was a good idea.
I gave Spock a sister as well.
Roddenberry, who read the Kraith series,
also eventually destroyed the ship and
gave Spock a brother. He introduced
mysticism to Vulcan culture, even though
fans had objected when I did that.
Apparently I had learned to think
fiction structure just as Roddenberry
had.”
WN: What
is the major premise of “Star Trek
Lives!”?
JL: “The
major message is that fans are not
bubble-headed children or insane adults.
Fans are intelligent people who
contribute much to the world. We
originally designed the book to have a
center section of fan fiction. We wanted
to demonstrate that fans can write good
science fiction themselves. No science
fiction ‘fanzine’ (magazines written by
and for fans) had ever done that before.
Today there are thousands of fans
posting stories on-line.”
WN: Did
you anticipate the effect the book would
have on fans?\
JL:
“Absolutely. That’s why I founded a
volunteer organization, Welcommittee to
answer fan mail. The organization
introduced fans to each other. We got
thousands of letters a month from people
who thought they were the only ones in
the world who watched the show.
Conventions soon sprang up all over the
country as a result, as well as fan
magazines called “fanzines.”
WN: What
impact did the book have on the media?|
JL: “It
blew the lid off Star Trek fandom. It
made it New York Times material and
there were many articles written on it.
The second effect was that fans have now
picked up other TV shows and write about
them too. Instead of having editors,
these fan-fiction writers use beta
readers to edit their stories, then post
them online.”
WN: What
exactly is Sime~Gen and what are the
basic themes of your stories?
JL: “It’s
the universe I invented for my many of
my science fiction stories and for other
writers as well. I created it to trigger
creativity in other people. Sime~Gen’s
main theme is that human nature can
change and that we need to develop
compassion. My books also all have
esoteric philosophical underpinnings
which I have adapted from various
philosophies such as Buddhism, Jewish
mysticism, tarot, and astrology. Sime~Gen
now owns simegen.com which houses a free
writing school.”
WN: What
was your first book?
JL: “House
of Zeor, in which I designed the main
character to appeal to Spock fans. It
was patterned after ST fan fiction and
was in print continually for 21 years.
It is now reprinted in Sime~Gen: The
Unity Trilogy, three stories I have
co-authored with Jean Lorrah, a
Professor of English at Murray State
University in Kentucky. We were the
first female collaborating team in
sci-fi history.”
To learn
more about Lichtenberg and her
corporation Sime~Gen, visit the website
www.simegen.com where you will find
lists, newsletters and websites devoted
to sime~Gen professional and fan-written
fiction. Lichtenberg’s books can be
found on Amazon and in the library. She
now has her first e-books, “Molt
Brother” and “A City of a Million
Legends” at fictionwise.com |
