Author Interview: William Leisner
First, tell us where we can find you online.
You can find me on Facebook, Twitter (@BLeisner), and occasionally on LiveJournal (bill-leisner.livejournal.com)
At what age did you realize your talent for writing and storytelling?
I had played around with making comic strips to entertain my younger siblings back when I was 7 or so. But I didn't really think seriously about writing until my freshman year at Ithaca College. That year, the campus television station was starting up an anthology-style series of original productions and looking for short scripts to produce. I decided to give that a try, so I went to the campus library, checked out a book on script format, and wrote. To my surprise, mine was one of three scripts selected, and I haven't looked back since.
Before publishing Star Trek stories and novels with Pocket Books, did you write any fan fiction in the Trek universe or otherwise?
I actually first dipped my toe into Star Trek fiction by writing and submitting a spec script for Deep Space Nine, back when the producers were accepting unagented submissions. That script got me invited to pitch stories to DS9 and Voyager, but except for one small nibble, I never quite made the cut. I got into fan fiction shortly after, as I became more involved in the online fan community on AOL, publishing in a few print zines and online venues. That served as good practice for when Pocket Books launched their Strange New Worlds writing contest, which is how I finally broke into professional publication.
You and I both have stories in the anthology, ReDeus: Divine Tales (Crazy 8 Press, August 2012). What inspired your story, “The Year Without a Santa Claus”?
In the series bible Bob Greenberger and Aaron Rosenberg sent out to the anthology's invitees, it specified that the ancient gods first returned on opening day of the London Summer Olympics. But it also tied the end of the Mayan calendar, which occurs some five months later, into this world-altering event. So I started wondering what happens at the Winter Solstice that could even come close to the significance of The Return. And with the Solstice falling days before Christmas season, during "the season of miracles," it all came together from there.
What can readers expect next from you?
I'm currently at work on a new Star Trek novel, which is due out next summer (no final title as yet). I also have an original novel in the works -- a historical fantasy set on the western frontier in 1850 -- which I hope to start shopping to publishers in the early part of 2013.
What does William Leisner do when he isn’t writing?
I have a regular office job that takes up most of my waking non-writing hours. Outside of that, I enjoy reading and browsing bookstores, and spending time with friends.
