Scottsdale author lives some fans' dream, continues Lucas legacy in 'Star Wars' novels By Jayson Peters Special to the State Press Magazine Michael A. Stackpole gets to play in George Lucas' Star Wars universe, and he gets paid to do it. The 41-year-old Scottsdale resident is the author of Bantam Spectra's I, Jedi and five books in the X-wing series, including the just-released Isard's Revenge. He has also written for Dark Horse Comics' X-wing series. The University of Vermont graduate, with a degree in history, moved to the Valley in 1979. The X-wing series is centered around the exploits of Rogue Squadron, the group of Rebel pilots commanded by Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back -- which just happens to be Stackpole's favorite movie of the original Star Wars trilogy. "It's a story in which the heroes get beat up pretty badly, but they don't surrender," he said. "Very heroic." Stackpole's books take place after the original trilogy of films, when the Rebel Alliance is trying to take back the galaxy from the defeated Galactic Empire. He said he does not find it difficult to write for Star Wars fans, even though a new trilogy of films written, directed and guided by Lucas himself is at hand. "The fact that the universe can encompass so many stories and creatures and things means that there's a lot of depth there," Stackpole said. "Any scene in one of the movies can spawn a half dozen stories. Once viewers or readers start projecting a greater depth to the universe than exists on the screen, you've got them. Star Wars makes that very easy." Stackpole said he thinks the Star Wars fan community in the Valley is a vibrant one, even though there is no Countingdown.com-style line in Arizona. "I have a Rogue Squadron jacket, and I had a waiter at a restaurant point at the Rebel crest on the sleeve and say, 'I don't even have to look at the back to know what that coat is,'" Stackpole said. "There are corporations that would kill out there for that sort of logo recognition." Isard's Revenge, Stackpole's final X-wing book, is currently ranked 17th on USA Today's list of best-selling books. His next Star Wars project is Onslaught, the second in a series of new Star Wars novels for Del Rey, to be released January 2000. So what is Stackpole looking forward to about The Phantom Menace? "Just getting back to a universe I fell in love with two decades ago," he said. "I know the movie will blow my socks off. I'm grinning just thinking about it." Related stories: Sidebar: 'Star Wars' bloopers and the Force of the Web Channeling the Force: 21 ways to count down to 'Episode One' Just 21 days remain until the May 19 opening of Star Wars: Episode One -- The Phantom Menace. For many, May 19 will be akin to Christmas. So in the spirit of the "holiday," here's a list of 21 things you can do to mark down the days until Episode One hits theaters. Star Wars' superlatives survey Last week, the State Press ran a survey that asked ASU students just what their Star Wars superlatives were. The responses we got were few, but those who did answer gave us some incredible insight. So without any further delay, here's the results. 'Woman's touch' not easily seen in 'Star Wars' world There had to be women in the Star Wars galaxy. Either that, or Princess Leia and a handful of the other women who made it to the screen in the adventure epics were responsible for propagating the entire Rebel army, not to mention all those Stormtroopers. Of previews and parodies Internet-savvy fans find hidden details in the latest trailers; 'spin-offs' poke fun, pay homage Digital animation big part of 'Phantom' With a reported budget of $115 million, Star Wars producers are taking a (safe) gamble that the animated sets and characters will entertain fans. 'Star Wars' also about another Force: Love You may not think of Star Wars as a typical romantic movie, but any girl who had brothers collecting action figures may very well have been tempted to surreptitiously incorporate them into her Barbie Dream House and re-enact her favorite scenes.