Costumed attendants ply through the crowds at Northern Fan Con
Last weekend I drove north to Prince George to join publisher/writer Lynda Williams and her team at Reality Skimming Press at the Northern Fan Convention. Held at the CN Centre, the con and trade show was very well attended, with booths that held anything from realistic light sabres to SF books to anime figurines and collectible cards--and so much more. The con also featured shows with media celebrities, cosplay, workshops, and--of course--the obligatory costume contest.
Awesome characters at Northern Fan Con
I helped man the publisher's table where we were selling books in the Okal Rel series; I also sold out on my two latest books "A Diary in the Age of Water" and "Gaia's Revolution."
Lynda Williams with a happy book buyer
Nina Munteanu before her books sold out at Northern Fan Con
Oh! And I got to play with a Stars Wars stormtrooper and tai fighter. Not bad for one weekend!
Nina looking fierce and happy with two good friends at Northern Fan Con
I got my first copy of "Gaia's Revolution" in the mail today and took it for a celebratory 'walk' in the local marsh by my house near Vancouver, British Columbia.
I then celebrated the book finding itself an Amazon Bestseller at a local riverside restaurant with a view of the river and marina.
Gaia's Revolution is the first book of The Icaria Trilogy, a clifi eco-fiction thriller that explores a collapsing capitalist society in Canada through ravages of climate change, societal decisions, and a failing technology. Gaia's Revolution opens in Berlin, 2022, then moves to Canada, where ambitious twin brothers Eric and Damien Vogel ignite a revolution that could save the planet or erase humanity altogether. Fanatical deep ecologist, Monica Schlange, plays the brothers like chess pieces in her gambit to 'rule the world'. She captures three orphans in a web of intrigue to reshape humanity and its place in the natural world. But the orphans will ultimately determine the direction of humanity and launch a new set of rules no one envisioned.
This is a story about Canada's future, a fast-paced political thriller that touches on issues Canadians may soon or already face: environmental devastation of climate change, social unrest and polarization, eco-terrorism, environmental technocracy and behaviour engineering, DNA-targeted plagues, and techno-clones.
"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, author of The Steele Chronicles (on Angel of Chaos, Book 2 of The Icaria Trilogy)
Nina Munteanu is a Canadian ecologist / limnologist and novelist. She is co-editor of Europa SF and currently teaches writing courses at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for the latest on her books. Nina’s bilingual “La natura dell’acqua / The Way of Water” was published by Mincione Edizioni in Rome. Her non-fiction book “Water Is…” by Pixl Press (Vancouver) was selected by Margaret Atwood in the New York Times ‘Year in Reading’ and was chosen as the 2017 Summer Read by Water Canada. Her novel “A Diary in the Age of Water” was released by Inanna Publications (Toronto) in June 2020.
"Gaia's Revolution," Book 1 of the Icaria Trilogy (published by Dragon Moon Press) is now on Amazon and available for pre-order (coming out March 10, 2026).
And check out who's already reading it!
Check out Books 2 and 3 of the trilogy too!
Nina Munteanu is a Canadian ecologist / limnologist and novelist. She is co-editor of Europa SF and currently teaches writing courses at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for the latest on her books. Nina’s bilingual “La natura dell’acqua / The Way of Water” was published by Mincione Edizioni in Rome. Her non-fiction book “Water Is…” by Pixl Press (Vancouver) was selected by Margaret Atwood in the New York Times ‘Year in Reading’ and was chosen as the 2017 Summer Read by Water Canada. Her novel “A Diary in the Age of Water” was released by Inanna Publications (Toronto) in June 2020.
Gordon Katic of CBC tells us that Finn Slough lies on the front lines of climate change. "Nestled on the banks of the Fraser River, this community will eventually be overcome by flooding as sea levels rise." I'm not surprised; the slough community lies on the edge of a saltwater marsh. Coastal erosion from increased tanker traffic in the Fraser River has also increased, impacting the marsh's ability to act as a buffer for waver action.
As climate change increases the frequency and severity of flooding and coastal storm surges, BC municipalities are preparing for the sea level to rise by half a meter by the year 2050. Actions included investment in protective dykes. But Finn Slough's homesteader community sits outside the dyke system. Several homes have already flooded from seasonal high tides. Even the boardwalks that connected the homes flooded, leaving people stranded. Tamsin Lyle, engineer with Ebbwater Consulting says bleakly, "It's not a good news story. Probably 60-70 years from now, this entire piece of land is going to be underwater every single day."
Nina Munteanu is a Canadian ecologist / limnologist and novelist. She is co-editor of Europa SF and currently teaches writing courses at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for the latest on her books. Nina’s bilingual “La natura dell’acqua / The Way of Water” was published by Mincione Edizioni in Rome. Her non-fiction book “Water Is…” by Pixl Press (Vancouver) was selected by Margaret Atwood in the New York Times ‘Year in Reading’ and was chosen as the 2017 Summer Read by Water Canada. Her novel “A Diary in the Age of Water” was released by Inanna Publications (Toronto) in June 2020.
