I recently managed to snag 
Nina for a phone interview about her success with Darwin’s Paradox and here it is:
Karen: You’re pretty busy these days with your ongoing book tour, radio interview appearances and other marketing endeavors. You also work as an environmental consultant and mother of an active family. How and when do you get a chance to write?
Nina: (she erupts into wild laughter) You mean fiction writing? What’s that?… Well, I’m actually marketing a science fiction space adventure trilogy that I recently finished. My current novel, which is a historical fantasy—about a girl in medieval Prussia who discovers that she can alter history—is three-quarters done and awaits a trip to Paris to confirm setting and other accurate portrayals in the book, like the taste of wine and cheese. So, I’ve already written quite a bit. But, that is not to say that I am not writing now… I still actively blog (see the Alien Next Door, her blog on science, movies, books and pop culture), write short articles for magazines and newspapers and, of course, I also write full time in my job as a scientist.
Karen: So, when do you do your non-science writing?
Nina: (grinning) When I should be sleeping!
Karen: How long did it take you to write Darwin’s Paradox?
Nina: (laughs) I’ve been writing Darwin’s Paradox all my life, I think. No, really…(now with a crazy smile)…I started writing stories when I was ten years old, amusing my older sister with tales of outer space and aliens. Darwin was actually my first book—not counting the two manuscripts in my dresser drawer—even though it was published after I published my two e-books (Collision with Paradise and The Cypol) and it took the longest to write. My subsequent books have taken me on average a year to write, which includes research.
Karen: What inspired you to write Darwin’s Paradox?
Nina: Darwin actually evolved literally from a concept and a story I wrote when I was seventeen (which I never did publish). It’s only taken a few decades for Darwin to evolve into the form it is now! I was always fascinated by nature’s ability to “perceive” and align herself to changes imposed upon her. Lovelock’s concept of Gaia and how we humans relate to our ”intelligent” planet was always something I wanted to write about. When a classmate in university ecology half-seriously told me that his ambition was “to make algae sing” I laughed. But then something actually resonated with me. I started seeing evidence for Nature’s Intelligence everywhere. In chaos theory, fractals, synchronicity, co-evolution and endosymbiosis … I also saw how we separate ourselves from and abuse nature. But, even when humans build a better mousetrap, nature always seems to build a better mouse. That we are evolving is inevitable and irrevocable. How and into what and through what means…that’s the open question for all of us. You’ll have to read the book to find out how I answer it.
Karen: You mentioned research. Can you tell us how important research is in your writing?
Nina: I find it indispensible. I prefer to both read and write a book that has substance, something that grounds me, and, as a reader, has something to learn. So, my books invariably explore real questions and issues that require attentive research. Darwin had many such concepts: chaos theory, artificial intelligence, viruses, biotechnology, autopoiesis, and co-evolution to name just a few. Of course, I am skilled at doing research from the work I do as a scientist, so I find it both facile and very enjoyable to do. It is difficult not to get too enamored with all the neat things you find and throw them all into the novel. I know of at least one very well regarded Canadian science fiction writer who falls in this trap time and again. It’s hard not to do. It’s exciting stuff. But, it doesn’t fit into a story, particularly a fast paced one. Less is more.
Karen: What do you think the role of science fiction is in our lives?
Nina: Well, SF provides an excellent metaphoric platform for social commentary within the context of an entertaining story. The best form of education is also entertaining. Look at the best comedians. I think education is the responsibility of storytellers in any genre. To illuminate, to provoke, and to inspire all lie within the purview of the writer as artist. To quote Susan Sontag: real art makes us nervous.
Karen: Having lived on both sides of the fence—fiction writer and educator of science—which side of you wants to dominate the other or keeps on popping up in your mind?
Nina: That’s a good question!—oops, usually when someone says that, they don’t have a clue, but, I’ll try…I’d say that being a scientist and a science educator has given me the objectivity and discipline to study and research topics and premises I use in my stories. As for dominating and popping up in my mind, I’d have to say that the fictional side, the story-telling side, always wins. I get some of my best ideas from my science workplace and my scientific research. But the thematic elements of stories (the relationships and characters) take over and rule my imagination. To put it simply, I suppose I would say that I’m an artist who uses science, rather than a scientist who uses art—but don’t tell my boss!
Karen: Has your fiction helped your non-fiction?
Nina: Yes, it has! Thanks, Karen, you’ve exonerated me. Any form of writing is still “storytelling”; journalists would be the first to agree with me. Even a good science dissertation tells a story, of some sorts. I found that, as I crafted my fiction writing, my non-fiction writing—mostly my technical and science writing—became more readable, more palatable to a wider audience. Many of my clients are not scientists, so communicating complex science to them is often a challenge. Most scientists fail miserably at this. My fiction writing has helped enormously with my communication skills. And, yes, I do tell them a story, one they enjoy reading, because they understand it.
Karen: In fact, I’ve noticed several reactions on your science blog, The Alien Next Door, that have said that very thing. You have a talent for taking real and often difficult science topics and making them accessible and interesting to the non-scientist. How do you think that came about?
Nina: (laughing) Thanks for saying that, Karen. Anyway, it’s probably because I needed to understand it first! I’m not really a very complicated person when it comes to science…
Karen: Name some of your favorite books and why.:
Nina: Oh, I have so many, Karen. Check out my virtual library at www.librarything.com and you’ll find my fifty favorite SF books. My all-time favorite books, however, include classics, literary fiction and even non-fiction. I have an eclectic taste and like to read many different things. Here are just a few: Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy; Maximum Ice by Kay Kenyon; The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles; The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman; Lord of the Flies by William Golding; Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy; The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje; Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak; One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez; The Night Country by Lorne Eisely; and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. Why these, you ask…because each one is a masterful story, even the non-fiction ones. Because they make me think and cry and laugh and feel so alive.
Karen: Thanks, Nina.
Nina: Thanks, Karen! A pleasure!
Check out Nina’s very popular blog, The Alien Next Door, for more of her unique and insightful thoughts on science, books, movies and pop culture.
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Nina for a phone interview about her success with Darwin’s Paradox and here it is:
March 12th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Great “behind the scenes” view!
March 12th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
[...] Karen Mason wrote a fantastic post today on “Karen Mason Interviews Nina Munteanu”Here’s ONLY a quick extract… fantasy—about a girl in medieval Prussia who discovers that she can alter history—is three-quarters done and awaits a trip to Paris to confirm setting and other accurate portrayals in the book, like the taste of wine and cheese. … [...]
March 12th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
[...] Anonymous Patron wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt [...]
March 14th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
That was fun! Let’s do that again some time.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Paris Attactions…
Wow, cool!…
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:03 am
fractals in nature…
Very resourceful information….