Rhea Hawke discovers there is far more to the massacre of a spiritual sect, mysteriously linked to Dust, the contraband drug “of the gods” and a devastating prophesy of a catastrophic End of Age, triggered by the joining of twin souls. She unravels secrets of fractal geometry, deja vu, dreams and clairvoyance, multiple universes and space-time … and ultimately the greatest secret: herself …

“… a master of metaphor, Munteanu turns an adventure story into a wonderland of alien rabbit holes … a fascinating and enthralling read.”–Craig H. Bowlsby, author of Commander’s Log

You can pick up Outer Diverse at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, Borders and other quality bookstores near you. For those of you in Toronto, Bakka Phoenix Books is carrying Outer Diverse as well as Nina’s “Darwin’s Paradox” duology (set in Toronto) and her guidebook “The Fiction Writer: Get Published, Write Now!”

The 3-wk course runs for 1-hour each Tuesday for three weeks (August 2, 9, and 16). Cost is $50.oo payable via Paypal to nina.sfgirl@gmail.com. Once you pay, you will receive instructions on how to access the teleseminar and live-stream lecture/workshop. Class is limited so join now.

Writing the Memoir: from Idea to Research to Storytelling.  

Have you been writing your memoir for years, waiting to finish it and hoping to publish? You may be looking for direction on how and where to start and proceed and where to finish. Memoirs, like all good creative non-fiction, tell a story. Internationally published novelist and writing coach Nina Munteanu shares details of how you can outline, storyboard and complete your memoir and make it marketable to your target audience. 

The 3-weeks of 1-hour Lecture & Workshop, will cover the following:

• Writing for your intended audience
• Formulating the core idea into theme
• Why and how to outline
• Why, how, where and when to do research
• Courage and privacy issues: what and how to reveal
• General discussion of how to incorporate plot with theme in storytelling.
• How to create a good story from truth
• Mechanics of good storytelling (show don’t tell, language, POV, setting, etc.)

Contact nina.sfgirl@gmail.com [subject: Memoir Writing] for information and to register for the course.

Nina Munteanu, Prospect Point

As a result of continued pressure by new students, Nina has opened a second Master Writing Class.

It runs every Wednesday at 5 pm EST. Join this Exclusive Club of writing enthusiasts for $49/month.

Sign up for Nina’s ongoing Master Writing Class on the Master Class Page.

For $49/month, this is what you get:

• four weekly one-hour interactive teleseminars accompanied by live webinar (computer streaming: NEW!) Nina lectures on popular writing and publishing topics, based on your submitted works, common issues, and questions from previous sessions. Topics covered and discussed are directly applicable to your personal writing challenges and interests.
• teleseminar sessions include a twenty minute telephone lecture, followed by interactive computer streaming discussion of specific topics and works directly applicable to your ongoing work. Nina “shows” and “tells”.
• facilitated discussions on the 10 most common issues faced by novice and professional writers: getting started; dealing with time management & writer’s block; getting those ideas down and making a story out of them; focusing and maintaining the staying power to finish; incorporating all the elements of good storytelling like plot, character, theme and setting into a seamless, page-turning story; making your writing compelling, clear and exciting; doing research and editing; marketing, synopses & outlines, query letters; handling rejection and fear of rejection; and overcoming fear (of failure, of success, of everything).

Eligibility Criteria & Requirements:

The Master Class is tailored for writers serious about getting published and with works in progress (e.g., first draft finished, mostly completed, firm premise and storyboard with portion written). If you do not fit these criteria, you may find that one of Nina’s other online courses or her manuscript evaluation and personal coaching is more suited to your needs.

To be eligible for the Master Class, you must submit an example of your work and agree that you are willing to persist with efforts toward publication, including the willingness to be critiqued, pursue ongoing revisions, and discussions.

The course requires that you have a computer with internet, a secure phone line, have submitted some of your work, have subscribed below, and have acquired the codes to access both conference call and live computer streaming. 

Unless you have been specifically INVITED, contact Nina BEFORE you subscribe:

BEFORE you sign up, contact Nina for eligability and availability at nina.sfgirl@gmail.com [subject: Master Class]. In order to address each of you personally, Nina limits her class sizes. Our first class is still running at maximum. This is why Nina has opened up a new class.

The Master Class that is currently open, runs every Wednesday at 5 pm EST. There are limited spaces for Master Classes so availability will be on a first come basis. Once you successfully register and subscribe for a place in this exclusive club, you will get an email with information on how to get in on the next call. See you there!

Almost every aspiring (and successful!) writer has a few volumes of writing advice that he or she feels are indispensable–books we return to, re-read, and use as guideposts on our writing journey. Munteanu’s wonderful book might find that kind of home on your own bookshelf.

Beginning writers especially will find The Fiction Writer a resource for every step on the road to writing–from defining genre to writing a great beginning; from outlining and plotting to preparing the perfect submission package. It really is an A-to-Z of fiction writing, starting with the chapter “Alien Architecture: Building from Scenes to Worlds” and hitting every letter of the alphabet right through to “The Zen of Passionate Writing.” Munteanu includes examples and lessons from her own writing career, which serve to emphasize the practical value of her advice.

Although the book covers a lot of ground, there’s no “scattershot” feel to the advice. It’s practical and grounded, and liberally seasoned with constructive exercises and helpful lists and tables, such as “The Hero’s Journey Map” (complete with an explanation of three-act structure), “Ten Ways To Revise Your Story,” common sentence structure and grammar errors.

Despite the fact that readers may know Nina Munteanu as a speculative fiction writer (Darwin’s Paradox, Angel of Chaos), the vast majority of the advice and information in The Fiction Writer applies equally to writers in any fiction genres. Good writing is good writing, and Munteanu has worked hard to provide a guidebook that shows exactly how to achieve that result. Highly recommended!

reviewed by Sherry

Sherry Ramsey is the editor & publisher of The Scriptorium Webzine for Writers, a great resource for writers. Ramsey has also published a writing guide, The New Writer’s Guide to Just About Everything.

In 2095 Darwin’s Evolution Kills…

“Angel of Chaos is … a gripping blend of big scientific ideas, cutthroat politics and complex yet sympathetic characters that will engage readers from its thrilling opening to its surprising and satisfying conclusion” —Hayden Trenholm, Aurora-winning author of The Steele Chronicles 

Angel of Chaos is the first of a duology on humanity’s co-evolution with intelligent technology and intelligent nature. The second book is Darwin’s Paradox and both are available on Amazon, Chapters, and Barnes & Noble.

Finalists in the SF category include:

• 2012 The Awakening by Bill Douglas
• A Dangerous Weapon by Charlton Clayes
• Angel of Chaos by Nina Munteanu
• Curse of the Legion by Marshall S. Thomas
• Destiny’s Blood by Marie Bilodeau
• Guardians of the Crystal Skulls by Lina Arena
• Our Jewish Robot Future by Leonard Borman
• Quick Fall of Light by Sherrida Woodley
• The Presence by Paul Black

Finalists were selected from 1400 entries in 56 categories. Finalists were determined by a jury of judges consisting of editors and reviewers of ForeWord Reviews, booksellers, librarians, and other industry professionals.

First, second, and third place winners will be awarded in each category. A $1,500 cash prize will also be awarded to Best Fiction and Best Nonfiction as determined by the editors of ForeWord Reviews. Finalists were announced in their weekly email newsletter, ForeWord This Week, in March 2010.

Winners in each category and overall fiction and nonfiction prize winners will be announced at Book Expo America and on the Foreword website.

Nina Munteanu, Prospect Point

Nina will be in Nova Scotia March 2011, teaching several writing workshops in Halifax and the South Shore. 

Nina will also make an appearance in several Halifax schools and will be doing readings at libraries. She will also be signing her latest book Angel of Chaos at several Halifax bookstores, locations to be announced shortly.

Check here for updates on Nina’s appearances and for specific times.

APPEARANCES, SIGNINGS & READINGS:

• Talk at Sacred Heart School, Halifax on March 18th at 3:30 pm
• Reading at The Biscuit Eater, Mahone Bay on March 24th at 7:oo pm
• Reading at Keshen Goodman Public Library, Halifax March 29 at 7:00 pm

COURSES INCLUDE:

• “How to Write and Publish Science Fiction” on March 13, 10 am to 4 pm (at the Writers Federation of Nova Scotia)
• “The Writer’s Toolkit” on March 19, 1-4 pm (at the Tantallon Public Library) and on March 28 at the Biscuit Eater, Mahone Bay, 1-4 pm
• “Writing the Memoir: from Idea to Research to Storytelling“ March 26, 2-4 pm (at the Bridgewater Library)
• “10 Commandments of Fiction Writing“ March 5 and March 12, 2-4 pm (at the Bridgewater Library)

COURSES:

How to Write and Publish Science Fiction. Cost $55/WFNS members; $75/non-members. Sunday, March 13 from 10 am to 4 pm. At WFNS, 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax. Includes work sheets and reference materials. Students are expected to bring an example of their current work.

What is Science Fiction? What isn’t it? What’s involved in writing SF and how do you get it published? Internationally published SF author, blogger and scientist Nina Munteanu answers these questions and more in an interactive & hands-on workshop designed to help you define your project, get started and successfully see it to publication. Learn some essential tools of this genre such as world-building, research, plot approaches and how to generate and follow through with premise, idea and theme toward a publishable original work. Students are expected to bring in and discuss their own works.  Workshop includes lectures, use of examples, discussions, exercises, readings and some writing. Recommended resource: The Fiction Writer: Get Published, Write Now! (Starfire World Syndicate) by Nina Munteanu, available at Amazon.

The Writer’s Toolkit. Free. Saturday, March 19, 1-4 pm. At the Upper Tantallon Library, Upper Tantallon. Includes work sheets and reference materials. Students are encouraged to bring an example of their current work. Also at the Biscuit Eater, Mahone Bay Monday, March 28th, 1-4 pm (cost of $50/person covers text book and coffee & dessert)

Every writer requires some necessary items in his/her toolkit to get published. This workshop introduces and discusses the most common challenges faced by writers serious about getting published. Areas covered include:

• getting started
• dealing with time management & writer’s block
• getting those ideas down and making a story out of them
• focusing and maintaining the staying power to finish
• incorporating all the elements of good storytelling like plot, character, theme and setting into a seamless story
• making your writing compelling, clear and exciting
• doing research and editing
• marketing, synopses & outlines, query letters
• overcoming fear (of failure, of success, of everything)

Recommended resource: The Fiction Writer: Get Published, Write Now! (Starfire World Syndicate) by Nina Munteanu, available at Amazon.

Writing the Memoir: from Idea to Research to Storytelling. Cost $40/student. Saturday March 26, 2-4 pm. At the Bridgewater Library, King Street, Bridgewater. Course includes work sheets and reference materials. Students are expected to bring an example of their current work.

Have you been writing your memoir for years, waiting to finish it and hoping to publish? You may be looking for direction on how and where to start and proceed and where to finish. Memoirs, like all good creative non-fiction, tell a story. Internationally published novelist and writing coach Nina Munteanu shares details of how you can outline, storyboard and complete your memoir and make it marketable to your target audience. 

The two-hour Lecture & Workshop, will cover the following:
·         Writing for your intended audience
·         Formulating the core idea into theme
·         Why and how to outline
·         Why, how, where and when to do research
·         Courage and privacy issues: what and how to reveal
·         General discussion of how to incorporate plot with theme in storytelling.
·         How to create a good story from truth
·         Mechanics of good storytelling (show don’t tell, language, POV, setting, etc.)
 

Ten Commandments of Fiction Writing. Cost $40/student. Saturday March 5, 2-4 pm and March 12, 2-4 pm. At the Bridgewater Library, King Street, Bridgewater. Course includes work sheets and reference materials. Students are encouraged to bring an example of their current work.

Although the act of creating fiction often involves the fluid chaos of the “muse”, published authors agree that some rules are required to successfully publish.  Seeing your fiction published involves more than mastering craft and technique; it involves adopting a winning attitude from passion to perspective.  Internationally published novelist and writing coach Nina Munteanu shares and discusses 10 imperatives that will guarantee your publishing success.  Come prepared to contribute. Recommended resource: The Fiction Writer: Get Published, Write Now! (Starfire World Syndicate) by Nina Munteanu, available at Amazon.

Nina, the Fiction Writer

What’s Stopping You From Publishing Your Book?

Yes, I’m a successfully published author with acclaimed novels, short stories and essays published all over the world.  But I almost didn’t get there. What if I told you that I never read as a kid, I was the worst speller in my school and I used bad grammar? I didn’t excel in typing class and practically failed English 101. Based on my Career Aptitude Test score, the school counselor recommended that I go into some trade like car mechanic. Believe me, I started from behind.

• I’ve experienced your disappointment and your fear—and prevailed.
• I’ve battled the gridlock of time and schedule conflicts, priority problems and lack of support from family and friends—and forged a way.
• I’ve felt lonely and depressed because no one understood my dream or took it seriously—and found a community.
• I’ve been lost in a sea of unfocused ideas, undirected plot, excessive—even boring—characters—and created a masterpiece of tense page-turning excitement.
• I understand your pain, your moments of hesitation and lack of confidence, your yearning. I’ve been rejected and rejected and rejected—and then published!

Are you a storyteller? Because that’s where it all starts. With a story. The rest is window dressing. Every author is on a journey, a hero’s journey, really. Because that’s what most writers are: heroes. We journey into the dark frightening abyss and return with the prize for the world: truth. The writer’s life is not really romantic, like many believe. It is rife with doubt, rejection, betrayal and disappointment. But it is also graced with the richness of joy, satisfaction, energy and fulfillment. When a writer writes what he or she is passionate about, there is nothing better. Absolutely nothing. So, let me tell you a story now, about how I almost didn’t become a writer but did because it was what I had to do.  Like most stories, this one has a beginning, middle and an end…

The Beginning: The Sweet Promise

When I was ten years old, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up: I was going to be a paperback writer. It was 1964 and I’d taken my favorite rock group’s song to heart, the Beatles’ “I Want to be a Paperback Writer”. It was an incredible moment of clarity for me and despite being challenged by my stern and unimaginative primary school teacher, who kept trying to corral me into being “normal”, I wasn’t going to let anyone stem my creativity and eccentric—if not wayward—approach to literature, language and writing. I was a confident, but lovable, little brat and I knew it. She and I didn’t exactly get along, as a result. But I did okay anyway, and, despite her acidic commentary (I didn’t cross my “t”s the way she wanted me to), Miss House begrudgingly awarded me my due A’s and B’s.

Nina pretending to read

I wrote some fan fiction but quickly found my own creations far more interesting and less limiting. As a teenager, I wrote, directed and recorded “radio plays” with my sister. When we weren’t bursting into riotous laughter, it was actually pretty good. She and I shared a bedroom in the back of the house and at bedtime we opened our doors of imagination to a cast of thousands. We fed each other wild stories of space travel, adventure and intrigue, murmuring and giggling well into the dark night long after our parents were snoring in their beds. Those days scintillated with liberating originality, excitement and joy. I also enjoyed animation and drew several cartoon strips, peopled with crazy characters as I dreamt of writing graphic novels like Green Lantern, Magnus, Robot Fighter and Spiderman. My hero was science fiction author and futurist, Ray Bradbury; I vowed to write profoundly stirring tales like he did. Stories that mattered. Stories that lingered with you long after you finished them. Stories that made you think and dream and changed you imperceptibly.

I had found what excites me—my passion for telling stories—and I’d inadvertently stumbled upon an important piece of the secret formula for success: 1) having discovered my passion, I decided on a goal; 2) I found and wished to emulate a “hero” who’d achieved that goal and therefore had a “case study”; 3) I applied myself to the pursuit of my goal. Oops… the third one, well…

…It went downhill from there…

Life got in the way.

I grew up.

The Middle: The Struggles & Confusion of “Reality”

Well, that, and the environment intervened. In several ways. It started with my parents. Recognizing my talent and interest in the fine arts (I was pretty good in visual arts), they pushed me to get a fine arts degree in university and go into teaching or advertizing. They made it obvious that fiction writing was not a viable career or a forté of mine (I was lousy at spelling and, despite my ability to tell stories and my love for graphic novels, I didn’t read books!). I can still remember my father’s lecture about how perfect the teaching or nursing profession was for me. I wasn’t enamored by either. The second blow to my author-ego came in the form of a school “interest-ability” test, meant to prepare us for our career decisions. I remember the test consisting of an IQ portion (spatial, English and math), and a psychology portion (including problem-solving and scenarios meant to tease out our affinity for a particular career). Secretly harboring my paperback novelist dream, I filled out my forms with great excitement. I still remember the deflating results, which suggested that I was best suited to be a sergeant in the army! LOL! Remember what I said about my spelling and grammar. “Writing” as a career barely made it on the graph, and scored well below “computer programmer” and “mechanic”; none of which interested me.   

Forest road near home

Dante’s Forest

I began to see a career in advertizing as a viable option; my love and abilities in cartooning seemed to naturally tie in with this pursuit. I also had an affinity for graphic design. So, I deferred to the “wisdom” of others and let myself be diverted and distracted by clever reasoning and an appeal to logic. I did what I thought I should do, not what truly excited me.

I still quietly held my dream of being a paperback novelist close to my heart, even if it was closeted in my subconscious. But self-expression had dwindled to a trickle; the creative flow of stories dried up and in its empty wake I discovered a cause worth investing a fervent energy: the well-being of our planet. With the cause came my relentless pursuit of a science degree. I left home and surprised and disappointed my parents by electing on registration day at the university to go into science rather than pursue a fine arts degree in advertizing. Although I wasn’t “expressing”, I was nevertheless inspired. I obtained several degrees in science, including one in Limnology (the study of freshwater), which were all to prove worthwhile in my ultimate “calling” and self-expression: that of making science accessible to the lay-public and eventually writing hard-science fiction stories and novels of substance about the environment. The latter didn’t happen for several years after I acquired my Masters of Science degree and did a long stint of teaching at university (yes, I DID teach after all!) while successfully publishing articles for magazines.

The End: Fulfillment

Nina outside Bakka Books in Toronto where her novel is for sale

My non-fiction pieces became my entrance into the world of fiction (much harder to break into) and I used this venue to polish my writing skills in fiction (don’t let anyone tell you that non-fiction can’t be exciting, bending to many of the same rules as in fiction writing). Once I began publishing fiction stories, I never looked back. And as far as I’m concerned, the sky’s the limit now.

Not too long ago, I quit my day job and moved across the country to an artistic community on the east coast. I am currently travelling the world and pursuing my dream as a full-time author and writing coach. It’s not an easy life. And it can be lonely at times. But it is so incredibly fulfilling and blessed with meaning.

Come, walk with me and pursue your dream. It’s for the taking.

Bozeman itself is a colorful and attractive city with cultural diversity and a level of “coolness” that comes from being a university town set amidst lofty mountains with a western flavor. Bozeman is located in the Gallatin Valley, surrounded by magnificent mountain ranges. North of the city, the Bridger Mountains attract thousands of skiers each winter. The Gallatin Range and the Madison Range, south of Bozeman, rise more than 10,000 feet and have peaks covered with snow much of the year. Montana State University is located in Bozeman, with a very attractive campus and programs that range from agricultural sciences, engineering to the fine arts. I spent some time there, particularly in the student union building, where the bookstore and the pub were. I would so enjoy teaching here; I just might…My son wouldn’t mind it too much either. According to PubClub.com: “this is place to go if you love to be outdoors and ski…ski bums are all over the campus and so are the hippies…its a true party college.” The Museum of the Rockies, located on campus, features many wonderful paleontology exhibits. Jack Horner, the world’s top dinosaur hunter and an adviser to the movie “Jurassic Park,” works at the Museum. Occasionally, Museum visitors see Professor Horner inspecting the Museum’s latest exhibits.

The visitor’s guide describes Bozeman as “a charming town. In a John Wayne—Norman Rockwell—Bob Marley sort of way.” The town’s history goes back to the time when Gallatin Valley (where Bozeman lies) was used by Indian tribes, including the Flathead, Sioux, Shoshone, Nez Perce, and Blackfeet, who all hunted for game and edible plants. According to tribal lore, Indians agreed not to fight in the Gallatin Valley, instead conceding to share the area’s beauty and resources with one another. European fur traders came in the 1700s, with Lewis and Clark leading a historic expedition to the Three Forks of the Missouri in 1805. Mountain men roamed through the area trapping beaver and acting as guides.

The town is named after John Bozeman, a Georgian who’d left his family to find fortune in the West. The town was named in his honor in 1864, shortly before he was killed near Yellowstone under mysterious circumstances.

Yellowstone National Park, just south of Bozeman, was created in 1872 and is the first and oldest national park in the world. Bozeman is often referred to as the “Yellowstone Connection”. After an unsuccessful bid to become the state capital, Bozeman was chosen as the site for the new agricultural college, which became Montana State University, home of the fighting Bobcats.

Bozeman currently supports a population of 30,000 interesting “urban cowboys” from young to old and funky to intellectual. From appearance, dress, comportment and speech I was treated to an attractive and exciting commingling of southern wild west and northern yuppy vogue. Travel & Leisure Online wrote: “The look on the street is Carrie Bradshaw in cowboy boots. No need to pack a blow-dryer; the Keep it Wild philosophy extends from nature to hair, which is also left untamed.” I felt at home.

• Show, don’t tell: a common error of beginning writers is to use dialogue to explain something that both participants should already know but the reader doesn’t. It is both awkward and unrealistic and immediately exposes you as a novice. For instance, avoid the use of “As you know…” It’s better to keep the reader in the dark for a while than to use dialogue to explain something. Which brings us to the next point.
• Have your characters talk to each other, not to the reader: for instance, “Hello, John, you loser drunk and wayward son of the most feared gangster in town!” could be improved to, “You stink like a distillery, John! Wait ‘til papa’s thugs find you!”
• Avoid adverbs: e.g., he said dramatically, she said pleadingly; instead look for better ways to express the way they said it with actual dialogue. That’s not to say you can’t use adverbs (I believe J.K. Rowling is notorious for this), just use them sparingly and judiciously.
• Avoid tag lines that repeat what the dialogue already tells the reader: e.g., “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “Do you have a dog?” she asked.
• He said, she said: reduce tag lines where possible and keep them simple by using “said”; another sign of a novice is the overuse of words other than said (e.g., snarled, hissed, purred, etc.). While these can add spice, keep them for special places as they are noticed by the reader and will distract otherwise.
• Pay consistent attention to a character’s “voice”: each character has a way of speaking that identifies them as a certain type of person. This can be used to identify class, education, culture, ethnicity, proclivities, etc. For instance one character might use Oxford English and another might swear every third word.
• Use speech signatures: pick out particular word phrases for characters that can be their own and can be identified with them. If they have additional metaphoric meaning to the story, even better. For instance, I know a person who always adds “Don’t you think?” to almost everything they say. This says something about how that person… well, thinks… I knew another person who always added “Do you see?” at the end of their phrase. Again rather revealing.
• Intersperse dialogue with good descriptive narrative: don’t forget to keep the reader plugged into the setting. Many beginning writers forget to “ground” the reader with sufficient cues as to where the characters are and what they’re doing while they are having this great conversation. This phenomenon is so common, it even has a name. It’s called “talking heads.”
• Contradict dialogue with narrative: when dialogue contradicts body language or other narrative cues about the speaker, this adds an element of compelling tension and heightens reader excitement while telling them something important. Here are a few examples:

  “How’d it go?”
  “Great,” he lied.

  “I feel so much better now,” she said, jaw clenched.
  “It’s okay; I believe you.” His heart slammed.

  Well, you get the picture, anyway. Hope this helps. Keep writing!

“We’re just children,” she counters. “We have nowhere else to go. If you turn us away you’ll be sentencing us to sure death. They don’t care who they kill. Please, you must help us.” Her hands reach out in supplication. “We work hard and we don’t eat much.”

When she finally raises herself off the floor without my help, she scoops my little brother in her thin arms, takes up her tattered clothes and limps back to the sleeping barracks. She does not look back to see if I’m following.

~~~~

Tikulin, who was born and lives in Zagreb, Croatia, recently confided in me that he had never been to North America. I find this ironic, considering that his art is showcased internationally, having appeared in every country imaginable. Tomislav Tikulin’s art work has graced the covers of many SF and Fantasy books including Chris Robertson’s Voyage of Night Shining White, Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous With Rama, and recently Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine (50th anniversary edition).

Tikulin creates convincing images grounded in reality then throws them into fantastical alien landscapes. Many of his pieces evoke a sense of yearning within a grand tapestry of his imagination. Through the use of lighting, tone, filigree and color, Tikulin infuses his imagery with mood and “motion”. His art flows with a tender ache for “more”… a call to adventure…a hero’s mythic journey…a sweeping vision of the future…a whole world to discover…

When Tikulin agreed to illustrate my book, Darwin’s Paradox, I was ecstatic and honored. After some conversation back and forth, he produced the striking image you all know. It has, I can assure you, been one of the main reasons people have picked up my book off the bookshelves.

Eager to meet the man responsible for the success of my book, I notified Tikulin that I would be in Zagreb, refueling, and invited him aboard my sentient ship, Vinny, for a drink. To my delight, he readily and intrepidly agreed.

Like all his predecessors, Tikulin rode the crystal beam with the ease and the sublime frisson of a Ray Bradbury character. He didn’t get sick either, I observed, as my stomach growled its typical objection. Like a giddy twelve-year old kid on his first rocket ship ride—wait, this probably was his first rocket ship ride—Tikulin asked a million questions and I had to bat his hand away from the colorful crystal controls several times. Humans! So curious!…

~~~~

Once we get on board Vinny, and thinking to put Tikulin at ease so I can better interroga—er interview him, I instruct Harry, my bot, to fetch us each a pint of Canadian beer, this time a Kokanee lager. As we settle into two comfortable chairs in the aft lounge with our beers, I make my move.

SF Girl: I lean forward and make direct eye contact with this good-looking Croatian from Zagreb and decide to start with something mild and innocuous. “So, when did you know that you wanted to be an illustrator and how did you get your start?”

Tikulin: He meets my gaze with intense laughing eyes of candor. There is something very genuine about him that sets me at ease and I realize that it’s me who is nervous; not him. Tikulin drains half of the beer in one long draught, leaving some foam on his upper lip, then begins in a strong Croatian accent, “Well, it happened a couple of years ago. I was involved in the production of a point and click adventure game. My job was to make backgrounds, matte paintings, etc.” In fact, he was Chief 2-D artist on the project. “I realized that I had learned a lot of things during that production and that I must do something with that knowledge.” Tikulin tilts his head to one side and ponders the past. “I also worked as a comic colorist for many years and had a promising career but I made a decision to do something else and that was a turning point for me…[After meeting] some publishers, that was the start of a new career,” he ends with a boyish laugh.

SF Girl: I decide that he’s getting a little too comfortable as he draws another long appreciative gulp of Canadian beer (maybe he doesn’t get out much, I conclude). Still… Thinking to stir him from his beer-induced contentedness, I pry, “What does your family think of your art?”

Tikulin: He throws his head back and guffaws. “Like any other normal family, they would be more than happy if I did something else… occupations like a lawyer, doctor, or just working in some nice and clean factory…”

SF Girl: Before I realize it, I’ve grown maudlin, reminiscing about my own parents’ wish that I’d chosen a normal career like planet-building engineer in the Zeta system (very lucrative work, I might add!) or an accountant with the Galactic Bank instead of the space-adventure scoundrel I’ve become… When I find him staring at me with those dark George Clooney eyes, I quickly regain my composure and ask, “What kind of things did you draw as a kid?”

Tikulin: He eases back into the soft chair, a loose smile sliding across his face that makes the thirty-two year old artist look like a boy. “As a kid I was drawing more or less the usual stuff…cowboys, Indians, spacemen, etc. I love movies, especially scifi movies…I spent many hours watching TV, maybe too much!” He flashes a grin then adds, “That was the trigger for me.”

SF Girl: “What is it about science fiction and fantasy that draws your interest, particularly to illustrate in these genres?”

Tikulin: “I love movies. I’m a movie geek. I watched a thousand times Alien, Blade Runner, original Star Wars Saga, Star Trek and other nice movies and series. I was hooked as a kid with fantastic landscapes, green slime aliens, space heroes and all sorts of villains.” So, he’d met some of my relatives, I conclude…Tikulin continues, “I like the old masters. I’m not a big fan of modern cyberpunk stories. My heart is full of sorrow because Hollywood doesn’t make Sci-Fi films like they used to.”

SF Girl: Totally disarmed by this gentle (and very good looking!) Croatian, I ask, “What’s next for Tomislav Tikulin?”

Tikulin: He flashes another of those wonderful boyish smiles. “To have fun, to make lots of covers, to make covers for Frank Herbert’s Dune, and one day to create production illustrations for a big Sci-Fi movie.”

I don’t doubt that he will. To see more of Tomislav Tikulin’s artwork or to contact him, here’s his website: http://www.tomtikulin-art.com/.

http://www.darwinsparadox.com/

• Barnes & Noble
• Chapters-Indigo
• White Dwarf Books (Vancouver)
• The Sentry Box (Calgary)
• various online bookstores (as an ebook)

You can also buy or order the book at Target (www.target.com), one of the major department stores in the U.S. as well as India and Malaysia, Wallmart, or purchase it online at Buy.com, another major retail store.

And those are only the ones I know about (the writer tends to know paltry little when it comes to publishery stuff). If you’ve enjoyed my blog articles and short stories and enjoy thoughtful and provative science fiction (with a kicking plot) and are inclined to purchase Darwin’s Paradox, then here are a few things that I unabashedly, shamelessly exhort you, dear reader, to do:

• If purchasing through Amazon, purchase my book on the day of release (November 15, 2007) to drive sales that day into such significant figures to make my book noticeable on the Amazon radar (which will place the book so that more people will see it)
• go to your local bookstore and ask them to order Darwin’s Paradox

And if you’re interested in an audiobook (with voice artist Heather Dugan) we’ll be arranging that too, hopefully.

So, today’s Friday Feature, is run by the incredibly talented and energetic Karen Mason and dedicated to my book, “Darwin’s Paradox”. And through no major stretch of the imagination, it’s also called “Darwin’s Paradox“.

What wonderful items can you find there? Well, here are a few juicy bits:

• Chapters One through Thirteen of the book (available in eight different languages: French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese)
• podcasts of chapters One to Thirteen (so far) done by voice artist Heather Dugan
• schedule of my appearances (including conventions and booktours)
• select interviews
• writing tips
• media kit (including press release, media material, etc.)

I am so indebted to Karen for tirelessly running this site and for her astute advice on blogging, internet navigation, media design, logic, human behaviour (remember, I’m an alien) and good wine.