Steve Perry
- "Every time I brought Darth on-stage, I heard the voice. And the march music. Dum-dum..."
- ―Steve Perry
Steve Perry (born August 31, 1947) is an author best known for writing the Shadows of the Empire novel. He has also co-written several works with Michael Reaves.
Biography
Steve Perry was called in late 1994 by Bantam Spectra senior editor Tom Dupree, who wanted to know if Perry was interested in taking a crack at a Star Wars book. "I never thought about doing a Star Wars novel before, because I thought they'd be real hard to get and you'd have to know a whole bunch about the universe to write one," he says. "But Tom said, 'here's the deal, it's going to take place between Empire and Return of the Jedi, and no one else has gotten to play in there.' I thought that was terrific, because I like the characters. It would be fun to do. I wouldn't have to know all the stuff that happened after Jedi. At this point, Darth and the Emperor are still alive. And I've got the usual gang, everyone except Han."
The job would be formidable, because the Shadows of the Empire project would cross over with many Lucasfilm licensees. Perry was told this right away. "Before I started working on the novel, I went to Skywalker Ranch," he says. "It was delightful, it's an amazing place. Someone said to me it looks like a giant Methodist Youth Camp, and it does. It's like a bunch of Victorian buildings in the middle of nowhere." This November 1994 meeting laid the groundwork for the entire Lucasfilm Shadows publishing plan. "It was a lot of fun," Perry recalls. "I didn't meet George Lucas, but I did meet with the people who head up Lucasfilm Publishing. Howard Roffman, Lucy Wilson, Allan Kausch, and Sue Rostoni. Several of the artists were there. About 12 or 15 of us sat around a big conference table and talked about what we wanted to see in this book. They had come up with a one-page springboard. Just a general idea, some character names, and a feel for what they wanted to do."
Works
| Year | Title | Format | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Shadows of the Empire | Novel | |
| 1998 | Shadows of the Empire: Evolution | Comics | |
| 2004 | MedStar I: Battle Surgeons | Novel | Co-written with Michael Reaves |
| 2004 | MedStar II: Jedi Healer | Novel | Co-written with Michael Reaves |
| 2005 | MedStar: Intermezzo | Short story | Co-written with Michael Reaves, published in Star Wars Insider 83 |
| 2007 | Death Star | Novel | Co-written with Michael Reaves |
Sources
"From the President of the Star Wars Fan Club: The Force Is Back!" – Star Wars Insider 24
"Around the Galaxy" – Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 2- "Into the Shadows: A Profile of Author Steve Perry" – Star Wars Insider 29
- "Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire" – Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 7
- The Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
- Shadows of the Empire Planets Guide
- Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire Limited Collector's Edition
- "Jawa's Corner" – Star Wars Insider 96
