Nina will be starting her American Book Tour shortly, beginning with the do dogs need vitamins
west coast. In the next few weeks, as she crosses America, you may see her smiling face in your local Barnes & Noble or Borders bookstore, where she will be doing signings (and possibly readings). Cities we have targeted include (but are not limited to):
- Spokane, Washington
- Bozeman, Montana
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Kansas City, Kansas
- Columbia, Missouri
- Saint Louis, Missouri
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Chicago, Illinois.
Look for Nina's ongoing commentary as she journeys across America on her personal blog, The Alien Next Door.
I met Nina briefly in Paris and we got her book, Darwin’s Paradox, into the hottest bookstore there: Shakespeare and Company. This bookstore, which offers shelves of books from a variety of genres and topics–and all in English–is situated in the Latin Quarter, which for centuries has been the centre of bohemian Parisian creativity and intelligentsia.
For over fifty years, the bookshop has housed numerous writers and hosted readings by published and unpublished authors. Run by Sylvia Whitman, daughter of the legendary George Whitman, the bookstore looks like something in a Harry Potter movie, with stacks upon stacks of all sorts of literature. Upon entering, you’ll find yourself in a place Henry Miller described as “A wonderland of books”.
Shakespeare and Company is open evey day from 10:00 to 23:00. If you’re touring Paris go check it out. The selection of English books is impeccable, with many by local writers.
If you’re a young traveling writer looking for a place to crash, Sylvia might put you up too!
While I was there, we briefly toured the city, including the impressive Tuillerie Gardens on the Right Bank.
Nina took me to vitamin b12 dogs
her "outdoor" office, located in Place Saint-Michel on the Left Bank with a great view of Notre Dame Cathedral. I asked her how she liked Paris over a pastis (anise-based liqueur) and cafe creme.
"I love Paris," she said. "I love everything about it, the food, the people, the architecture, the streets...The street performers who sing with feeling...the couples kissing on every street corner...that quiet reserve that just melts once they recognize that you are lost... their reverence for art and literature... Parisians know how to live. They have no problem waiting at length in line for fresh croissants at their favorite patisserie or will linger over lunch at a cafe to discuss the finer points of life over an espresso or cheese and wine. They are so civilized."
I asked her how her research was going.
"I confess that I have done some of my best work here... that pastis can be very inspirational!" Nina confided to me with that typical impish smile of hers.
Almost two weeks ago, and with great coverage by the local press (the Surrey Leader), I fulfilled a fantasy by appearing at the Strawberry Hill Chapters store in Surrey, British Columbia, to sign my book, Darwin’s Paradox. Once or twice a month I used to meet three other friends who’d formed a writer’s group we’d called Critical Ms. Starbucks coffee in hand, I used to meet them in the small alcove with comfortable chairs to trade industry stories, critique each other’s work, and dream of 
having my book on the shelf behind us (it was the science fiction section of the store). Last week I realized that dream and more! What’s really cool is that one of the other Critical Ms writers, Lois J. Peterson, is also launching her book this fall. It’s a YA novel called, Meeting Miss 405 by Orca Press. I even had a surprise visit from Brian Hades of Edge Publishing, the parent company of Dragon Moon Press—he was just passing through town… Sure! Brian had found these cool see-into-the-future glasses at a strange Vancouver antique shop and thought of me… funny that…But don’t I look intelligent in them?…
My signing at the Granville & Broadway Chapters store in Vancouver the following week was yet 
another adventure. As always, I met very interesting patrons, including two Romanian ladies (Silvia Boiceanu and cats vitamin
Maria Moise) who, after introducing themselves, decided to linger and watch me “in action” and occasionally waved at me, smiling. I also met Twyla Anderson, a budding novelist and practiced my French with Agnes Lacombe, an elegant lady from France. Hildegard Zander engaged me in a long philosophical conversation that ranged from the transcending songs of French singer Gilbert Becaud to the environmental basis of cultures.
Then Stephen Saint Laurent, Prince George videographer, stopped by and gave me an impromptu interview. I also had the unexpected pleasure of meeting a long-time friend who I hadn’t seen in a while. She’d spotted Chapter’s billboard advertisement outside the store and had noted the time. Barb Meier is a talented artist and craftsm
an who makes books from scratch (paper, cover and binding!). That’s Barb pointing at my display. My sister, Doina Maria (and my partner in imagination from when we were kids) is standing beside her. She’d come to lure me away with promises of calamari and red wine.
My book signing at the Granville store experienced some added excitement as a student 
rally of over 500 protesters passed the store in a flourish of banner waving and boisterous shouting. The patrons of the store, myself included, emerged to watch as police-escorted demonstrators waving “Free Tibet from China” signs and shouting slogans, marched past us. Tibetan supporters from Vernon to Victoria were rallying against the violence in the tumultuous Chinese-controlled region; they marched from the art gallery to the Chinese consulate, where they chanted, burned Chinese flags and acted out scenes of violence. 
I will finalize my local book tour with a signing at Blackbond Books in Richmond and a Chapters store in Burnaby (Metrotown). Then I’ll be flying to Paris, France where… I think Darwin will take a holiday with me. Truthfully, I am travelling there (and possibly to Berlin) to research my next book, a historical fantasy about a young girl in medieval Prussia who discovers that she can alter history.
Brian Brown of Dragon Page recently reviewed Nina’s book, Darwin’s Paradox. This is what he had to say:
The Gist: Julie Crane has a vitamin b complex dogs
lot of skeletons in her closet. She had the unleashed the Darwin virus on the world, murdered a government official, and then ran away from all the chaos she had created.
That is what the history books say, but often history is changed, twisted and confused from what really happened.
Julie fled into the wilderness outside of the cities with her husband. Outside of the influence of everyone and everything Julie learned to live in this wilderness. She gives birth to her daughter Angel and looks forward to living a life with nature.
All of this is shattered when Julie discovers that she is being hunted again. She makes a journey back to the city, alone. Julie’s daughter convinces her father to go after Julie and they too make their way to the city.
Back in the city Julie is confronted with the political intrigue, societal differences, and the mass of humanity she left behind.
It’s up to Julie, her family and new friends to unravel what is true and what is false and set things right for the future
The Good: This is a book of heavy, heady concepts in this book, chaos theory, human neurophysiology, ecosystems and sustainability, viruses, AI’s and more. It really gives some oomph behind the story of Julie and the other characters.
The vision of the future is well done and I’m a sucker for near future stories that have all of the elements of political intrigue, cybernetics, rebels against the system, AI’s going wonky, and a glimpse at future life.
The Bad: The human story elements seemed a bit weaker than the world itself and the concepts of humans living in the future. It seemed that Julie was moving on a very linear path through the world and not really deviating. For me, some of the supporting characters seemed more interesting, like her daughter Angel or the quirky, sleazy ex-Mayor.
It’s a bit confusing at the start with the barrage of the background information you get at the beginning.
The Ugly: Nothing really ugly to report.
Nina Munteanu weaves a good story that has some large concepts peppered through it. The story does have warts but they are easy enough to gloss over and dig into the main story. There are some nice twists and turns and rabbit holes to follow the tale down. I hope that future books have more about the world, the citizens who inhabit it, and the politics of city states.
I easily recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a nice mix of science fiction, political intrigue and some big scientific concepts. Go pick it up!
The book signing at Chapters in Pinetree Village (Coquitlam, British Columbia) was splendid. I first met with wonderful and helpful Chapters staff (they are all so friendly!), including managers Jenny and Linda. They even treated me to a Hazelnut latte from the Starbucks there! (I guess they wanted me awake and spry to glad-hand potential Darwin readers, which of course I did!).
No sooner had I set up my Valentine’s Day table, when a natural dog supplement
diverse and interesting group of readers streamed in and greeted me with avid interest. I met young and old (thanks to the chocolates I had out front, no doubt!) and engaged in some diverting and challenging discussions on evolution, creationism, artificial intelligence, synthetic life, among other topics. For instance, I met Louise, an environmental activist at Simon Fraser University, George Meech, another writer (see his “The Mating of Mala” by I Universe, available at Chapters), Janet and Kimberley, a mom and daughter (about the same age as Julie and Angel); Brent, who is fascinated by the architecture of the universe and topics like chaos theory, autopoiesis and synchronicity; Dominika, a behavior psychologist (she’s going to have fun reading about Julie!); John and his daughter, an avid sociologist. I also met Bruce (a fantasy writer) and Gina, a teacher, both who are writers looking to publish.
As always, these signings are a wonderful opportunity for me to connect with readers of different backgrounds, cultures and interests (and not necessarily those who read my book), all intelligent and interesting people. I thank Chapters and their kind staff for this wonderful opportunity. My tour continues in the Lower Mainland with these events:
- Book signing: Saturday, February 23 at Indigo, Park Royal in West Vancouver from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
- Book signing: Saturday, March 1 at Indigo on Marine Drive in North Vancouver from 2 pm to 5 pm
- Book signing: Saturday, March 8 at Chapters at the Langley Town Centre from 1 pm to 4 pm
- Writing Workshop: Thursday, March 13 at the Fraser Valley Regional Library (Pioneer Library) in Ladner at 7 pm
- Book signing: Saturday, March 15 at Chapters, Strawberry Hill Center in Surrey at 1 pm to 5 pm
- Book signing: Saturday, March 22 at Chapters, Granville & Broadway in Vancouver at 1 pm to 4 pm
- Book signing: Saturday, March 29 at Chapters, Metrotown Centre in Burnaby at 1 pm to 4 pm.
