Nina will be starting her American Book Tour shortly, beginning with the 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 [...]

Steven Soderbergh’s stylish psychological thriller, released November 2002 in the United States by 20th Century Fox , eloquently captures the theme of Stanislaw Lem’s 1961 book. Written almost fifty years ago, “Solaris” is an intelligent, introspective drama of great depth and imagination that meditates on man’s place in the universe and the mystery of God. Soderbergh’s [...]

Nina’s book got some very nice reviews from fellow Canadian authors, Lynda Williams (author of Righteous Anger and others of the Okal Rel Universe series) and Jennifer Rahn (The Longevity Thesis). Nina recently reviewed Lynda’s book, Righteous Anger on Lynda’s blog, Reality Skimming. Here’s what these authors had to say about Darwin’s Paradox: “Lively action with a [...]

In my last post, I concentrated on characters. Moving on to language, here are five things that I guarantee will improve your story:   1.      Voice: This is the feel, tone that applies to the overall book (narrative voice) and to each character. The overall voice is dictated by your audience, who you’re writing for: youth, adults, [...]

Have you ever wondered how an editor decides not to read your cherished tome past the second paragraph of the first page and has pegged you as a beginning writer? This used to really bug me… Well, as a published author and occasional mentor, I do from time to time read manuscripts (please don’t send [...]

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 [...]

Nina recently appeared on HiSciFi, the Friday night radio show that calls itself the “Ultimate Geek radio Show”, broadcast every week on CJSF (90.1 FM) from Simon Fraser University near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada . Its two charismic hosts, Irma Arkus and Jevon Ryan, interviewed Nina about “Darwin’s Paradox” and they asked some revealing questions, according to Nina. “We had [...]

Nina was recently interviewed by Stephen St. Laurent while doing a book signing at the Granville Chapters in Vancouver. Nina talks about her book, what she’s currently writing and her upcoming trip to Paris to do research on her next project. You can view the video here. Happy viewing! addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.darwinsparadox.com%2Fninas-interview-at-chapters-granville%2F'; [...]

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 [...]

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 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 [...]

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 [...]

Nina recently made signing appearances at two Indigo bookstores on the North Shore of Vancouver, British Columbia. She met many interesting people and signed lots of books. “I really enjoy meeting my readers and having stimulating discussions with people on topics of evolution, chaos theory, endosymbiosis and the like,” said Munteanu in a recent interview in [...]

Guess what? My book, Darwin’s Paradox, has been nominated for the Canadian Science Fiction & Fantasy Aurora Award for 2008! I am so jazzed! I should be…This is a prestigious award, basically Canada’s top prize for science fiction writing. And I’m honored to be among some of the giants of the SF & F craft [...]

Michael Mennenga and Michael Stackpole of Dragon Page Cover to Cover talk with Nina Munteanu about her eco-thriller, Darwin’s Paradox. Nina also talks about the differences between technical writing and fiction writing, and how she’s managed to make both types of writing help her write better in both realms. Here’s the podcast:  Cover to Cover #297A: Nina Munteanu [...]

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 [...]

For those of you visiting or living in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia (Vancouver area), Nina is making several appearances in February and March. You can still catch her at the following venues: Book signing: Sunday, February 10 at Chapters, Pinetree Village in Coquitlam from 1:20 until Nina decides to party… Book signing: Saturday, February 23 [...]

Does ‘Dark Matter’ to Philip Pullman?…Dark Matter… “Dust” … call it what you want… It makes up 90 percent of our universe, according to astronomers. This makes the kind of matter that you and I see rather exotic; while we must accept the existence of the most common element, dark matter, on … well … [...]

I just wanted to share with you a most wonderful book review from Tricia Ares at Modern Matriarch… Book Review: Darwin’s Paradox November 19, 2007 — Tricia Ares Munteanu, Nina. Darwin’s Paradox. Dragon Moon Press. 320 p. ISBN-10 189694468X (ISBN-13 9781896944685) $19.95 If you read the acknowledgements at the front of Nina Munteanu’s latest book, you’ll realize Darwin’s Pradox [...]

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Toronto, ON ~ Bakka-Phoenix Science Fiction Books. It’s Canada’s oldest science fiction bookstore. Located in Toronto’s funky Queen Street West, this shop has hosted many a big name science fiction writer signing, including Robert J. Sawyer, who used to work there during his salad days. Those of you passing through Toronto, Canada, or who live there, [...]

Worldwide Release DARWIN’S PARADOX IS OUT TODAY! It’s been an incredible journey bringing Darwin’s Paradox to light!  It has just been awe-inspiring to watch this project develop into a global affair…  Please join us in celebrating! The book is currently being sold at: Amazon United States Amazon Canada Amazon Germany Amazon United Kingdom Amazon France Amazon Japan The book can be found throughout North America (both [...]

One day away from “Darwin’s Paradox” launch at Amazon (and other bookstores around the world)…I’m kind of beside myself, looking on and whispering: “Hey! Comb your hair, girl!”… Oh, in honor of the book, Karen Mason created the really neat widget of “Darwin’s Paradox” over to the right there. If you like the book, or what [...]

 A World on the Brink of Violent Change… When an intelligent virus and an intelligent machine community conspire to threaten the world with destruction and chaos, the only person who can save humanity is the woman who caused the cataclysm in the first place. Compelled by the virus awoken inside her, Julie Crane returns to the [...]

Fifteen “Okay, let me do all the talking,” Daniel said sternly to his willful daughter as they peered through the bushes at their gateway into Icaria, the glass tower rising from the outer-city rubble that rippled in the heat. “Remember, I used to live here.” “That was twelve years ago, Dad,” she reminded him. “Things probably changed [...]

Press Release Darwin’s Paradox: Runaway Bestseller from Acclaimed Author Nina Munteanu A World on the Brink of Violent Change… When an intelligent virus and an intelligent machine community conspire to threaten the world with destruction and chaos, the only person who can save humanity is the woman who caused the cataclysm in the first place. Chicago, IL (Bluehost/PRWEB [...]

Fourteen Julie walks SAM’s cold matrix with unease. No longer sparkling, the crystal walkway under her feet ripples as if alive and she feels her stomach twist with alarm. As the cloying wind blows into her face like an old man’s putrid breath, Julie knows she will see the dark figure again. Feet moving mechanically, against [...]

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Thirteen They’d walked four days and Daniel felt his breaths drag through him like a hollow wind. “Slow down, Angel,” he called out, annoyed at her sprinting ahead of him like a white-tailed deer. He walked gingerly to keep his blisters from pinching his heels. “Isn’t it lunch time by now?” he said, stopping to catch [...]

Twelve It was over twelve years since she’d had a warm bath, Julie thought as she slid into the steaming water and shuddered with the tingling rush of awoken sensation. Unfortunately that also included her many cuts and scrapes, which stung sharply. As if the little injuries awoke the large one, her arm began to throb [...]

Eleven The skyship shuddered briefly as it landed on top of one of Icaria’s high towers that rose out of the decrepit outer façade of the ancient city. Julie recognized it as the Pol Station. Of course. No surprise there. Then a realization slammed into her and her breaths seized in her chest ~ what if she’d [...]

Ten Angel was pulling his arm. “Dad, they took Mom!” “What?” He turned to his distressed daughter from his workbench. Lately, she looked more like a scamp than a young girl, taken to wandering off to explore while he worked silently on projects with little meaning. “I couldn’t talk to her,” she continued, her words rushing out like [...]

Nine It took her a while to realize that the thunder in her head came mostly from outside. Some motor was pulsing to the rhythm of the sharp pain that resonated through her head. Her whole body ached, she felt sick to her stomach and her arm smoldered with a brooding pain where the laser shot [...]

Eight Julie walks SAM’s cool crystal matrix with a disquiet she is unaccustomed to feeling here. She can’t find SAM. Abruptly the glittering walkway swells into a fetid-smelling hollow and Julie knows she will see the dark figure again. Moving mechanically against her will, she rounds the corner and sees the dark figure. The smell of [...]

From my vantage point in the aft lounge of Nina’s spaceship, I had the remarkable view of the stirrings going on below on planet Earth.  I kept getting interceptor messages all morning about the teleporter schedule being booked to capacity already for next month. Wondering what all the commotion was about, I checked the ship’s logs.  Sure [...]

Seven As she crested a ridge above a stunning vista of the river valley below, Julie stopped to wipe the sweat that was dripping into her eyes and took in the view of the swollen river, lined with a thick canopy of trees and shrubs. The river had widened considerably here and was dotted with numerous [...]

One of the most important devices to spice up narrative and increase pace is the use of dialogue. There’s a reason for this: we read dialogue more quickly; it’s written in more fluid, conversational English; it tends to create more white space on a page with less dense text, more pleasing to the reader’s eye. [...]

When Karen Mason persuaded me to let her create and run this website for my book, “Darwin’s Paradox”, I had no idea how much talent she would bring into this project. Besides being a shaman of incredible power, she runs Starfire World Syndicate and is herself an accomplished writer, private pilot, and cryptologist. We had [...]

Six In the dim light of pre-dawn, Julie rose from the bed with a sad but determined look back at Daniel’s sleeping form. He murmured something in his sleep and continued breathing heavily. She dressed quickly then slipped the gun into the makeshift holster at the small of her back. After stuffing more clothes, her knife [...]

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Five Daniel wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, set his mortar trowel down beside the unfinished cabin wall of their new campsite then rose to stretch. He watched Julie’s slender figure below him, as she negotiated the river cobbles with the ease of a dancer. She pirouetted from one rock [...]

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Four Angel bounded into their campsite as Julie sliced winter carrots for supper. “I still can’t find Aard, Mom,” she said, coming alongside her mother. Julie responded without looking up, “I don’t think you’re going to find him, honey.” Daniel, who’d been patching the roof of their hut, looked down at them with sudden interest. Aard had disappeared [...]

  In honor of Nina’s appearance at Con-Version, Calgary’s Premier Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention, we have decided to offer our readers a treat! Follow along as Nina virtually transports you through her latest science fiction thriller… addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.darwinsparadox.com%2Fpodcast-darwins-paradox-chapter-one%2F'; addthis_title = 'PODCAST+%7C+Darwin%26%238217%3Bs+Paradox+%7C+Chapter+One'; addthis_pub = ''; Share This

 This weekend marks the 23rd annual Con-Version; Calgary’s Premier Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention.  The event is hosted at the Calgary Radisson Hotel from August 17th through the 19th.   Swarms of sci-fi and fantasy fans will descend on Calgary for this much anticipated event. Nina will be participating in guest panels, workshops and giving readings of her new book, [...]

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Three Gathering her lower lip in her teeth, Julie peered over the ledge of the gorge. She could just make out the tree that had saved Angel’s life, its gnarled branches stretching out from a crevasse about ten meters down. She firmed her lips with determination and tied the rope to a pitch pine tree behind [...]

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  Do you believe in the collective conscious? How about coincidence? What about fate? I find so often that events, occurences, observations happen around me as though out of design, as if they are connected like the gossamer web of a spider. For instance, when I’m doing research for a book on a particular subject, certain [...]