Questions about TrekLit

From TrekBBS, and copied to here for posterity:
What piece of "Star Trek" literature has really inspired you? Could be anything, to take a new direction in your life, informed a particular decision you had to make, etc.

Mmmm. Maybe it was David Gerrold's "The Galactic Whirlpool" and his two "making of..." books, plus Susan Sackett's various ST books, that inspired me to write. I've attended writers' workshops by both of them since - and it definitely led to paid writing work.

What event or sequence in a piece of Trek Lit drove you (or nearly drove you) to tears?

Easy. I was playing the soundtrack of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" while reading the last few chapters of "Andor: Paradigm" ("Worlds of Deep Space Nine, Book 1") and the hauntingly beautiful Annie Lennox song, "Into the West", started up just as the traditional Andorian funeral for Thriss got going. I was a sobbing mess. Weeks later, after posting my review online, author Heather Jarman told me she'd played the earlier LotR albums while writing "Paradigm".

Is there any specific piece of Trek Lit where you just could not put the book or story down until you finished it? Did you keep the lights on until 6:00 A.M. because you just couldn't put it down?

"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and "Star Trek III" (before seeing those movies), and the surprisingly shocking "Prime Directive". Oh, and "Ex Machina".

What sequence of a piece of Trek Lit has put the biggest smile on your face while reading it?

It would have to be a Peter David book. Many moments in many PAD books. But it was the unexpected bittersweet ending of "New Frontier: Stone and Anvil", with Ensign Janos frolicking on planet Neural, that produced the most heartwarming grin.

Oh, and the scene in Therin Park in "Andor: Paradigm", of course. And thanks to editor Marco Palmieri for sending me a pre-publication preview copy.

Who is the one Trek Lit only character you most relate to and why?

I really rallied behind "Specks" in "The Galactic Whirlpool" and was fascinated to learn it was Gerrold making his own cameo.

Side question: Who is the one Trek Lit only character you would like to meet if possible.

Meet? Probably the perky, mysterious, intelligent Dr Evan Wilson in "Uhura's Song". (I assumed it was a cameo appearance based on Bjo Trimble, but Janet Kagan told me she was based on her own mother, IIRC.) But I'd also like to meet Piper ("Dreadnought!"; "Battlestations") and Ensign Shar (DS9 relaunch).