"My motivation came from Simon and Schuster, who came to me and asked if I would be interested in writing a novel for the STAR TREK series on Martok and Worf," Hertzler responded to Roger Oliver. "It took four years and then some to get it published, and that, my friend, is a really big chunk of my life."

Hertzler reflected on the creation of the Ferengi Pharh in the story, in response to a question from Susan Booker. "I wanted to find the most unlikely ally possible, given the circumstances... Literally, he was unstoppable in his likes, dislikes, dreams and nightmares. And Pharh had the same effect on (Pocket Books editor) Marco (Palmieri) and Jeffrey, my co-writer... He is just one of those things that happen in the process of making up a story. He appeared and the rest is history."

Hertzler also drew references from C.S. Lewis' THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA and Sir Thomas Malory's LE MORTE D'ARTHUR in the story as well, naming the shuttles in Book 2 The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and developing the character dynamic between Martok and Morjod along the lines of King Arthur and Modred. "Those shuttles' names were Jeffrey's," Hertzler said. "I had originally named Ezri's shuttle the Tahoe, re: Lady of the Lake, but later the mission altered to crash into the lake so that connection became redundant and so the names could change. And they did."

Hertzler also revealed that he is currently slated to work on developing the special features for the upcoming STAR TREK VI special edition DVD and future projects, in response to questions from TrekWeb's Bill Williams, who reviewed THE LEFT HAND OF DESTINY (see the full review here). "I did work on STAR TREK V, am currently scheduled to work on STAR TREK VI, though time constraints may be a problem there, and will not be working on GENERATIONS.... There is a project in the works with Paramount on another idea. (I) cannot mention anything just yet but within the year, I will make some announcements if all goes well in the next few weeks."

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