Here’s my book announcement in PW: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/deals/article/49923-deals-week-of-december-19-2011.html
The Planet Thieves is something I wrote. I wanted to write a pure adventure story, something fun. What I came up with is slightly darker than what I was going for, but it’s still a work in progress. I got the idea when I imagined the bridge of a space ship manned only by cadets. Kids who knew what they were doing but lacked the experience of battle. I asked myself why that would happen, and went from there.
The announcement mentions Star Trek, but there’s a little bit of Star Wars in there too. I like the lore of Star Wars, mainly how much history the universe has. There’s a comic coming out soon that shows the origin of the Jedi, some 22-23k years before the movies. One of the most enjoyable parts for me was coming up with history for my own story. Maybe if I’m allowed I’ll post the timeline I came up with as an aid.