Ashley, on Kevin: "TSL was one of the most influential friends I had during high school. Everything I love today originally came from a suggestion from Kevin. Soundtrack music, graphic design, and, of course, writing... I owe most of my hobbies and a lot of my enjoyment in life to him, and his friendship meant so much to me during the time that I knew him."
Peter, on Kevin: "I remember Kevin as being a nice guy and a great writer. He once nominated me for an award for 'Most Improved Writer' which I eventually won and it meant a lot to me. I'm not sure whether I knew him very well, but I do know that that was typically something that he would do; he was all about making you feel appreciated."
On Writing: "I started writing with TIS as a ninth-grade brat. I'd rush home after basketball games and post anything that came to mind, really. TIS was my introduction to writing, and it showed. I used Trika as a conduit for all of my energy and enthusiasm, and I now have to admit that a lot of my ideas and writing were simply awful. I'd like to think that I'm a better author and am actually funny and clever this time around."
On TIS: "TIS is just plain fun. It always has been, and it never left my mind and heart even after the original crew was disbanded. I owe a lot of my passions to Kevin and the rest of the TIS crew, and for that, I don't think I'll ever be able to ignore the call of the Talons. The story is wild and hilarious. The characters are vibrant and unique. All of it put together makes for some of the best ideas ever put together by a group of fans."
On Writing: "I've been an eager storyteller since I could talk, and an aspiring novelist since I could write. I am blessed by an abundance of imagination and a love for language, and I am cursed with a perfectionist streak that makes it difficult for me to actually get any writing done to my satisfaction. However, I can't imagine anything else I'd rather be doing."
On TIS: "I was one of the first to join TIS, way back when I was in middle school (my writing from those days makes me cringe). To quote the Grateful Dead, "what a long, strange trip it's been." Lots of things have changed since then, and yet the spirit of TSL's project remains intact."
On Writing: "I suppose I started writing on something of a whim. Aside from the occasional school project I'd never written much before I joined the JC. I happened across the Fan Fiction forum and noticed that something called theForce.Net Squadron was looking for writers. Being thoroughly obsessed with the X-Wing novels at the time I figured what the heck. I think what interests me most about writing is the opportunity to explore not just worlds but people and their reactions to the events that go on around them."
On TIS: "TIS has come a long way since Kevin made that first recruitment post over eight years ago. Our journey has been filled with ups and downs as new family joins and old family fades away. Just the name Talon Squad summons for me a sense of nostalgia and melancholy. But despite the weight of history I know that there will always be someone to give this family wings and for that alone I am proud to be a part of it."
Talon Anniversary Date: January 30, 2000
On Writing: "Sporadic at best, rarely all that deep, but occasionally very well-done. I have yet, however, to actually finish something."
On TIS: "Oh good, the fun one. Found the original chapter way back in the day, and being a roleplayer, I figured this might not be too far from familiar territory. If I had known then... I still would've dived in, I hope. Got lost in the shuffle a couple times, bowed out once of my own volition, but a Talon from the word go. (And I still bear the blame for Chapter 17's original title. I swear, it made sense at the time.)
Now, years and years after the Talons had faded into memory, imagine my surprise to see an e-mail from an unknown address marked "Talon Intelligence Squadron." Luckily, I caught that about a half-second before I flagged it as spam; even so, I opened it carefully, in case someone's bot had gotten creative with the Wayback Machine or something. And there's Trika, out of the blue, mentioning that she was getting the old crew together for the Special Edition.
This was probably the only time I've ever responded to an e-mail the same day: "Hell yes!"
On Writing: "I was an action figure collector. I guess that's where it got started. I'd play with them when I was younger and eventually things then evolved into formal writing. I'm driven because I like getting the ideas that are running through my head out on paper - so things aren't so cluttered upstairs."
On TIS: "Well, I found TIS shortly after I joined the JC. I casually read the old Chapter 3, and signed up during Book 4. That was about in March or April 2000. Things didn't really click for me and TIS until about June, when I came up with Karn. I had a good run in the original TIS, but eventually things got too chaotic and I wasn't being a big contributor. Around December, I was bored and trying to avoid studying for finals when I logged into the JC for the first time in about four years. Trika happened to be on about the same time, randomly saw that I had logged on, and sent me a PM. I started going back to the JC, and got re-pulled into this project that I never really stopped thinking about. My enjoyment of Star Wars has significantly decreased since the early 2000s, but my enjoyment of TIS has nothing but increased."
On Writing: "I've been telling my little sister stories since I can remember. Some time in fourth or fifth grade I started writing them down. I love putting the pictures in my head into words. Fan fiction is the perfect place to hone my writing skills, because it allows me to focus on a single aspect at a time, whether that is setting, characterisation, world-building, dialogue, description, or plot. The rest is provided by the fandom."
On TIS: "The chaos and unexpected twists and turns of multi-author writing is a fun challenge. I'm not sure what brought TIS to my attention, but it was certainly fun enough to keep me around. And the other people involved were always very supportive and obviously enjoyed what they were doing. What could be better than that?"
Talon Anniversary Date: July 19, 2000
On Writing: "About eight or nine years ago, I was reading a sci-fi book by a very mediocre author (probably KJA!) when I caught myself more or less rewriting the book in my head. At that point I realized that I could write just as well (if not better) that that writer - and thus my interest in writing was sparked. Fired with enthusiam, I started my first SW fanfic shortly thereafter - and quickly realized just how far I had to go to become a good writer."
On TIS: "Kevin and I had been friends on the JC boards for awhile, and we kept tabs on each others' groups (I had joined a group called Illusion Squadron, very similar in concept to TIS, and ended up running the thing shortly thereafter). Finally I accepted Kevin's invite to join TIS... and had to drop out shortly thereafter when the workload got too heavy. Not long after, I left the boards entirely due to real-life events, and lost touch with Kevin and the rest of the Talons (though I did get a chance to talk to Kevin not long before he passed away). Several months back, I saw Trika posting on the JC, and said hi. One thing led to another and I ended up back here."
On Writing: "I always had an urge to create. Ever since I was a boy, I just loved building cities out of my LEGO or play out epic stories with my stuffed animals. When I got a little bit older, I remember having to write a first perspective story for a school assignment. Being a huge Star Wars fan, I wrote a Star Wars story. And that's when the writing bug really bit me. I've been writing on and off for the last eight years now."
On TIS: "I don't remember exactly how I heard about TIS, but I do remember joining and writing my first post. I had a wonderful time on our first run and I remember being really dissapointed when TIS ended. And besides it being great fun and a wonderful challenge writing TIS, it's also a group of friends that I love being a part of."
On Writing: "I am inspired more often by characters and situational ideas than anything else. The creation of a character often means the creation of the world they come from, and what they mean to it."
On TIS: "At first, it was just a chance to get into a round-robin writing thing to get my skills up. But after that what keeps me there is the people. Like Trika... it's a group of friends who are doing something they love."
Talon Anniversary Date: January 30, 2008
On Writing: "I love writing for the finesse of it. I hope someday to help write Danya, Quis, Ty, and others."
On TIS: "What keeps me here? Fear of the wrath of Trika. Oh yeah, the writing is pretty good too."
Talon Anniversary Date: February 3, 2008
On Writing: "The bug bit me back in grade school, where I'd come up with some seriously odd stuff for my writing assignments. I blame 1980's cartoons, and a best friend whom I would wage epic action figure wars with, for my over-the-top writing imagination. But ever since those days, and a resurgence in the interest of writing back in high school, I've been writing on and off for the past few years."
On TIS: "Trika poked and prodded me into the group, after a whiny JCC post I made, and ever since then, I've been more and more involved. And I am truly thankful to call myself another Talon."
On Writing: "I don't know what drives my writing. My fingers, mostly. I type a lot, and most of my typos are to blame on my stupid Hewlet Packard keyboard. Especially the bone-headed spelling mistakes. What I want to drive my characters is the characters themselves."
On TIS: "Trika reeled me in about a month ago I guess (late May-ish, 2008), after she beta-read my OC pilot fic. Then she forced me at blaster-point to read the first couple books of the Talons. The blaster has been aimed at my privates ever since, so I really haven't gotten away. But I'm really looking forward to being able to contribute more, besides my very superficial editing."
On Writing: "Well, I mostly just read it, but I really like how these guys work. They get all the words out the way they want 'em, and it makes the story happen. I hope to be able to write some in the future, and improve my writing skills so I can do something more to help!"
On TIS: "If you haven't got this from reading everyone else's: TIS is amazing. I basically got a PM from Trika, saying there was this cool fic she wanted me to read. Well, I read it, and loved it, and now I'm here. It's a great bunch of folks writing about another great bunch of folks. Loads of fun."
On Writing: "Writing is a great pastime for me. It lets me see and explore things that were otherwise impossible to find in real life. When I write, I don't try to make everything perfect, but rather, express a hopeful optimism that is much needed in our world. On numerous occasions, writing stories behind the teacher's back is what saved me from falling asleep in class."
On TIS: "A week after school ended, I logged onto the JC boards, searching for pilot stories, and look what I've found! TIS is a family with loyalty and devotion from all of its members. Yet each of the Talons is a warrior in his/her own right. The camaraderie (not to mention the pranks) between them are comparable to the characters in the X-wing novels. Writing for TIS is just too good an opportunity to miss."
Talon Anniversary Date: July 22, 2008
On Drawing/Writing: "Drawing is something I've just always done. I love to draw people - get their expressions, their details onto paper and hopefully make it look something like them. Portraits are my favorite subject because I really like attention to detail and the character that you have to put into your work. On writing - it's something that I can't stop doing now - I love to write at least something every day. Plot bunnies are always attacking me. Which is why I'm dangling at least fifteen fics while finishing up a novel - but writing different things keeps the creative juices in me flowing."
On TIS: "After joining the JC forums, I stumbled upon the T-squad while searching for fics. Immediately drawn in by the hilarious, awesome characters with unique personalities and the nonstop-action/humor storyline, I started to read the story and got more immersed in the Talon universe. Wanting to bring these characters more to life, I asked Trika if she'd like another artist on board - and when she said yes, I joined the Talon family - the coolest squad ever."
On Writing: "I got hooked on writing in college when my friends introduced me to roleplaying games. I soon found myself wondering about my character's background and what all the characters did during the in-game time we just glossed over, and I started writing out my ideas for fun. Later on I joined a Star Wars roleplaying game, got completely obsessed with it, and used my roleplaying stories from that game to ease into Star Wars fan fiction. I've never looked back, and fan fiction writing has been a large part of my life ever since. I love exploring what makes a character tick and what happens when a bunch of different characters are tossed into the same room together."
On TIS: "During my earliest days on the JCC I sometimes ventured into the FanFic areas, and I somewhat remember seeing the Talons' presence there. I never went into any of the threads, though now I wish I had. As it is, I started reading and getting involved very recently after talking with Trika because the Talons were everything I loved about fan fiction: fascinating (and entertaining!) original characters who propel a plot that has depth and purpose and keeps me needing to find out what's going to happen when I turn the virtual page. I'm looking forward to joining and working with the fun group of people behind the scenes."
On Writing: "I have always enjoyed good literature, and creative writing has always come naturally to me. I have been a casual fan of Star Wars since the beginning, but it wasn't until after I discovered the EU novels that I put the two together and became interested in fanfic."
On TIS: "My presence here is a direct result of the high quality of work and hilarious antics of the TIS crew. When I first opened Book One, I was intrigued by the plot and amazed by the cast of OCs. It only got better from there, and when The Nest went live, I found myself loitering around the board. The next thing I knew, I was a part of the squad."
On Writing: "I love to come up with bizarre tales and most never make it on to my screen. When I can play off someone else it's always fun and things get crazy if I'm not careful."
On TIS: "I discovered the story last year and was hooked right away. The characters are outstanding and you get a real feeling of the blood, sweat and tears people put into creating the TIS."
On Writing: "It's all about mixing just the right combination of action, drama, romance and angst together, then topping it off with an ample amount of humor. A squadfic is the perfect canvas to capture these elements."
On TIS: "Thanks to Trikes and Jag, I’ve been thoroughly introduced to the wonderful world of Talonverse and I've never been the same since... for the better. Talon Intelligence Squadron has all the same qualities that makes Star Wars: X-wing series so great."
On Writing: "I love love love to read, so eventually I ran out of books and had to start making up my own stories."
On TIS: "I clicked on the link at the JC one day and that was all she wrote. Well actually, all that a lot of totally awesome people wrote."
On Writing: "I always had an urge to create and tell stories with pictures accompanying them. Ever since I was a little girl, I just loved – with my five-year younger brother – building railroads, airports, or exciting landscapes out of all things and playing out epic stories with figurines made by me or my stuffed animals. And when I was older I became very interested in all things technical and wrote a paper about quantum mechanics and string theory. I tried to get that published but got it back as too technical and not interesting. Getting Internet and seeing all the Star Wars fan fiction, I decided to join the JC first. Doing a NaNo novel, I could write my theory on elementary particles into that one."
On TIS: "I saw the wonderful logo accompanying the announcement of a new story and got interested. It got me writing pilots and expanding the characters. And it is great fun and a wonderful challenge writing TIS; it's also a group of friends that I love being a part of."