What inspired you to write 'Star Trek Academy - Collision Course'?

What inspired you to write 'Star Trek Academy - Collision Course'?

William Shatner (Author) gives expert video advice on: How did you become the author of ten 'Star Trek' novels?; What inspired you to write 'Star Trek Academy - Collision Course'?; How difficult was it to get approval to write 'Star Trek Academy - Collision Course'? and more...

I went into the management at Paramount and I tried to sell them on an idea that I had that I called the Academy. It was the young Kirk and Spock in the academy as young soldiers. We would follow their adventures delineating how they became the heroes that they ultimately became. I was in there for an hour long with a pitch meeting for the heads up. The studio, they finally thought about it and said, "No this is not the way we want to go." It took that and turned that into this book.