Kevin Dilmore shows Hallmark's new Trek ornaments —plus sneak peeks at the 2015s, AND his new book

Hey, it's that time of year again: Time to chat again with Trek novelist and Hallmark hangabout Kevin Dilmore...

Because it's THAT time of year again: Here's Hallmark's new Star Trek ornaments for 2014! And even 2015...

As usual, Kevin—my onetime Communicator magazine hire;ing—and I have way too much fun looking at all the new baubles and their subject matter, which find a way to get cooler and cooler each year. And what better backdrop than the raucous roar of Comic-Con #SDCC behind us?

What's more, hang on to the very end for a word about Kevin's latest Trek novel now out from Pocket Books with co-author Dayton Ward, whom I've caught at SDCC before as well. The new title is second in the Seekers series, Point of Divergence ... in stores now.

I'll give a prize if you can watch this and list off all 47 Star Trek riffs we took off on....!



BTW: Would you believe the gummy "RECORD" button on my HD cam? We actually did this entire bit once through before I realized it had not been captured—and thus our extra giddiness at diving back in for an even more brilliant chat.

Another Trek shake-up, another veteran gone

Recent whispers of cutbacks at Pocket Books reaching to Margaret Clark, the 13-year veteran and last of the specialized Trek editors (for now), finally burst out on the record this week as part of a larger overall cut at Simon & Schuster. It's similar to the one that claimed her colleague Marco Palmieri a year ago, and the 2007 wipeout of the longtime startrek.com staff at CBS Interactive I worked with most recently. It's all unsettling news in what we'd prefer to have as a cozy little status quo in Trekland.

With this last cutback, Pocket/Simon & Schuster pledges to carry on the Trek license, hold to plans already made, and announce the new assignment among its remaining editors soon, but for now we tip our hat to Margaret for her years at the helm—including interfacing on the last edition of the TNG Companion and, to a smaller extent, our help on Geoff Mandel's Star Maps, much less the magazines' news and blurbs over the years.

It's not always an easy job, working under such a harshly specialized microscope while guessing at the growing or shrinking Trekfan market demands and answering to all those involved on the business side. We wish all good things for both Margaret, as she finds her next calling, as well as the Trek line's future at Pocket—and any potential changes in process it may take.

STV: Author David Mack: Destiny and beyond!

Ol' 2008 is closing in, and boy do we have a pile o'good chats still to prep and share. The past couple months have interfered with my leisurely intentions, so we're going to get a few out vlogs out at a non-leisurely pace here ...

Although the three-volume Destiny megastory from Pocket Books is now out, this visit with Pocket Books author David Mack from Comi-Con San Diego in July is still insightful—there's news from his 2009 to-do list as well, and it's a good intro overall if you've never gotten to meet David at a con or other event. A wry wit, that one...