If you had told me five years ago that my love of tabletop role-playing games would one day help land me in an official Star Trek book celebrating the franchise’s 60th anniversary, I probably would have smiled, nodded… and quietly assumed you were rolling loaded dice.
Because that wasn’t the plan.
The plan—if I’m honest—was much simpler.
Tell good stories.
That’s all I ever wanted.
Like a lot of us who grew up around gaming tables, scribbled notes in spiral notebooks, or spent late nights arguing canon with friends, I started in RPGs because I loved worlds. I loved characters. I loved what happened when people gathered around a table and built something bigger than themselves.
RPGs were never “just games” to me.
They were training grounds.
They taught me pacing. They taught me character arcs. They taught me tension, consequence, collaboration, and perhaps most importantly… listening.
When I began writing for Modiphius Entertainment and contributing to Star Trek Adventures, I thought I had already hit a dream milestone. Sourcebooks. Then came Captain’s Log. Then more sourcebooks. Conventions. Interviews. The podcast. The blog.
Week after week, year after year, through Continuing Missions and Continuing Conversations, I kept showing up. Not because there was some master plan. But because I loved the work. Because I loved the people. Because I believed that if you stay in the game long enough—and do right by people—doors eventually open.
And they did.
This year, I became one of the contributors to Star Trek Timelines, an official Star Trek 60th anniversary release from DK Publishing. A 336-page visual history of one of the greatest science-fiction franchises ever created—written alongside fellow Trek writers and historians. Even now, typing those words feels surreal. The book is scheduled for release in November 2026.
And if I’ve learned anything on this journey, it’s that talent matters—but character matters more.
Over these last five years, I’ve had to learn patience.
I’ve had to learn how to spotlight other creators without asking, “What’s in it for me?”
I’ve had to study writing not just as an art—but as a business. As an industry. As relationships. As timing.
I’ve learned how to read people’s energy. Who collaborates. Who drains. Who builds. Who only takes.
I’ve learned that sometimes supporting another writer means buying their book when nobody else notices. Sometimes it means sharing their Kickstarter. Sometimes it means sending a message that says, “Keep going. This matters.”
I’ve learned not to compromise my standards or values just because an opportunity looks shiny.
And I’ve learned that success tastes a whole lot better when you celebrate other people along the way.
But through all of it—through the Trek fiction, the magazine work, the podcasts, the panels, the books—I never forgot where it started.
Around a table.
With dice.
With imagination.
With RPGs.
And no matter where this journey goes next, I hope I never lose sight of that.
Because before I was a contributor to Star Trek Timelines…
I was just a gamer who believed stories could change lives.
Turns out, I still am.
More at Michaeldismuke.com