Apex Magazine Interviews Nina Munteanu About Story, Ecology, and the Future

Issue  #128 of Apex Magazine featured an interview that Rebecca E. Treasure did with me, posted on December 10, 2021 on their site. We discussed the power of story, the use of dystopian narrative, and the blur between fiction and non-fiction to create meaningful eco-fiction. Here’s part of the interview. For the complete interview go here:

INTERVIEW

Nina Munteanu, author of “Robin’s Last Song,” is a prolific creator with multiple books, podcasts, short stories, and nonfiction essays in publication. Her work spans genre, from eco-fiction to historical fantasy to thrillers, and of course, science fiction. Her work as an ecologist informs all of her writing, which circles around an essential exploration; the relationship between humanity and our environment.

 At the top of Nina Munteanu’s website, there is a quote: “I live to write, I write to live.” This sentiment is reflected in her fiction, which is not just about characters in compelling situations solving their problems with compassion, but is about all of us, our planet, our environment, and our future.

Nina Munteanu sat down with Apex for a conversation about story, ecology, and the future.

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APEX MAGAZINE: Your novels and short stories examine the role and evolution of humanity in the context of nature and technology. As an ecologist, what do you believe needs to happen—internationally, nationally, locally, and personally—to restore our planet and move forward in a sustainable way?

NINA MUNTEANU: All things animate and inanimate naturally oscillate toward equilibrium or balance in a kind of stable chaos of polarities. Goethe and Hegel told us this long ago. Our actions have exacerbated this oscillation through massive extraction, habitat destruction, and pollution with associated conflicts, take-over and subjugation. Everything is connected and all have contributed to climate change and habitat change. Our mission—given that we’re responsible for much of that imbalance—is to help the planet return itself to balance. That means ensuring that Nature’s natural checks can do their job to ensure functional forests and phytoplankton, a healthy ocean, a resilient biodiversity—all systems that we rely on for our own healthy existence. Restoring our denuded global forests, and the oceans will need the concerted and united efforts of all nations and individuals. We have the knowledge, the science, and technology; all that is needed is the will. And that can only change as our own narrative changes. That’s where storytelling plays a key part. Surveys have proven that fiction can be deeply persuasive through character journey that convinces at a deeper more emotional level (as opposed to a litany of facts that appeals only at an intellectual level).

AM: Do you believe industry and sustainability are compatible? What about colonialism and sustainability? Capitalism? In other words, is sustainability something we can achieve with our current systems, or is global systemic change required?

NM: Some people—mostly economists—would say definitely yes to the first question; we just need to be conservationist in our approach to doing business. But the very basis of capitalism is exploitation, not conservation. The driving force behind capitalism is fear and uncertainty and its main process is exploitation. From an ecologist’s perspective, this makes sense for a community during its early succession and growth stage …  when it first colonizes a new area. Ecologists call this approach r-selected (for rate), based on the need to be profligate and fast-growing to successfully establish. But as we reach a climax community and our carrying capacity—where we are now—this r-selected approach no longer works. We need an economic model that better matches this new paradigm. NOT based on continued growth! A climax global economy, one based on cooperation not competition. Elisabet Sahtouris calls this ecological economy “ecosophy.” In his book Designing Regenerative Cultures, Daniel Christian Wahl talks about changing our evolutionary narrative from one based on fear defined by a perception of scarcity, competition, and separation to one based on love defined by a perception of abundance, a sense of belonging, collaboration, and inclusion. He promotes a regenerative economy based on true reciprocation.

And moving forward we can take a lesson from Robin Wall Kimmerer who promotes a gift economy—an economy of abundance—whose basis lies in recognizing the value of kindness, sharing, and gratitude in an impermanent world. This is what she says: “Climate change is a product of [our] extractive economy and is forcing us to confront the inevitable outcome of our consumptive lifestyle, genuine scarcity for which the market has no remedy. Indigenous story traditions are full of these cautionary teachings. When the gift is dishonored, the outcome is always material as well as spiritual. Disrespect the water and the springs dry up. Waste the corn and the garden grows barren. Regenerative economies which cherish and reciprocate the gift are the only path forward. To replenish the possibility of mutual flourishing, for birds and berries and people, we need an economy that shares the gifts of the Earth, following the lead of our oldest teachers, the plants.”

AM: The language in your stories is richly thematic, using strong description to weave the subtext into the piece. For example, “killing two squirrels with one stone.” Is that something that comes about organically as you compose a piece, or a more intentional part of editing?

NM: I use both processes to achieve a final narrative that is multi-layered with metaphor, symbols, and deep meaning. The first process is through intuition derived through intimacy; the second process is more deliberate and generated through objectivity. Insights from intimacy come about organically, during moments of true inspiration, when my muse connects me to the deeper truth of a character’s voice and actions. Given that the inner story runs many layers (some of which I, as writer, may not even be overtly aware) and links in a fractal relationship with the outer story, those moments of inner inspiration happen as if of their own accord. That’s what writers mean when they admit that their characters “talk” to them and instruct them on what to write. When a writer achieves that level of intimacy and understanding, they can let the muse guide them.

Much of the description that is woven into story is generated through the editing process when I read the manuscript as a reader. The process involves letting the story sit for a while so when I return to it, I am reading more objectively. During this process, I apply my knowledge in storytelling craft to showcase combustible moments in plot, and work in foreshadowing, subtext, and compelling metaphor. A writer can’t add metaphor without context related to story theme (otherwise this may result in what the industry calls “purple prose”). Metaphor—given its roots in the deeper psyche of a culture—must arise organically from a deep, sometimes intuitive, understanding—where the personal meets the universal.   

AM: Your work takes complex topics that are nonetheless critical to humanity’s future and pulls stories with compelling characters out of them, making the science accessible, the warnings personal to the reader. This has always been one of the callings of science fiction. What is the role of stories in the climate action movement?

NM: Our capacity and need to tell stories is as old as our ancient beginnings. From the Paleolithic cave paintings of Lascaux to our blogs on the internet, humanity has always shared story. Story is powerful in how it helps us define who we are, what’s important to us, and where we are going. Stories compel with intrigue, stir our emotions, connect with our souls through symbols, archetypes and metaphor. Stories inspire action. We live by the stories we tell.

For too long, our stories have promoted a dominant worldview of exploitation and capitalism. We’ve been telling the patriarchal story of “othering” for too long; we need a new voice and a new worldview to replace our old stories of conquering and taming a “savage land” and “savage people.” When Copernicus proclaimed in 1543 that the sun did not revolve around the Earth, it took a long time for the world to accept and let go of its Ptolemaic Earth-centered view. But the world did come around eventually to the point now that this is common knowledge and lies embedded in our daily lives and language.

Storytelling about how the Earth takes care of us and how we can take care of Earth is urgently needed. This means shifting our stories from an exploitive capitalist narrative of separation toward an inclusive partnership narrative. This means embracing a more eco-centric worldview; a worldview in which humanity is not central, but lies embedded within greater planetary forces and phenomena. A worldview that sees humanity only as part of a greater entity, as participant in a greater existential celebration of life and the elements. A humanity that must learn to play along, not bully and take over. A humanity that must embrace compassion, respect and kindness; a humanity directed by humility—not hubris. It is my firm belief that until our worldview embraces humility in partnership with the natural world—until we cast off our self-serving, neo-liberal, capitalist ideologies—we will remain hampered in our journey forward. When we change our stories, we change our lives and we change the world along with it.

This is already happening with the emergence of a strong eco-voice by writers through the feminine voice, the gylanic voice, the voice of the marginalized, of ecology and the environment itself. Authors such as Barbara Kingsolver, Annie Proulx, Margaret Atwood, Richard Powers, Emmi Itäranta Cherie Demaline, Grace Dillon, and Cormac McCarthy give Nature a face and voice to care about. And caring is the first step.

AM: Your stories also bridge fiction with nonfiction, using speculative fiction as a lens to bring your subject into focus for the reader. How does that work? Why do you approach story in this way?

NM: Marcie McCauley with Temz Review observed that, “[Munteanu] does not appear to view fiction and non-fiction as separate territories; or, if she does, then this book [A Diary in the Age of Water] is a bridge between them.” In Herizons, Ursula Pflug called the book “a bit of a hybrid, and Munteanu a risk-taker.” Buried in Print wrote of the same book, “ultimately it exists in an in-between place, some mystical elements of the generational tale possibly alienating the dedicated science-y readers and the instructional elements possibly alienating fiction devotees. And, yet, I read on: strangely compelling.”

I find that I enjoy this in-between place that blurs fiction with nonfiction. It’s more edgy, gripping, and believable, albeit fantastical, even playfully challenging at times. For instance, I may subvert facts, creating semi-facts to tease the discerning reader (e.g. when the diarist in “A Diary in the Age of Water” observed that President Trump had gone blind from staring at the sun during an eclipse; while Trump did stare directly at the sun without eye protection during an eclipse in 2017, he did not go blind—yet). Readers have told me that the story was more impactful; they honestly didn’t know what was taken from fact and what was fictionalized. Such narrative reads like a true story and there is little more tantalizing than eavesdropping on another’s real experience and intrigue. The risk—that the blur will either confuse the reader or invalidate its truths and message—is hopefully addressed through compelling narrative that engages the reader. But this is also why I tend to include an extensive bibliography at the end of a novel or short story.

Readers have told me that my fiction/nonfiction storytelling trope, like “mundane science fiction,” grips my stories with a more keen sense of relevance. Given that I am writing mostly climate fiction and eco-fiction these days, that sense of relevance is exactly what I wish to achieve. 

AM: A last question. Both “The Way of Water” and “Robin’s Last Song” showcase the relationships women have with each other, the importance of human connection, the damage that disconnecting from each other can do and, inversely, the power of connection. In your view, what is the role of individuals and local communities in the climate crisis?

NM: There are many things we can do as individuals and as part of a community. I was recently asked this question by the Toronto Star and I responded with three things:

●      First, plant a tree; make an actual difference through action. By doing that, we get out from hiding under the bed and face the monster of climate change and show that we care and that we are not alone.

●      Second, vote for green politicians. Politicians need to hear directly from their communities. They need you to push them to act on climate change.

●      Third, find your tribe and create a movement. Everyone says that people have the power, but that power comes best through numbers and solidarity. Find your tribe and you’ll find yourself more motivated. So, start with you and your home: plant trees; put in a rain garden; put in permeable driveways and solar panels; lower meat intake, especially beef; don’t buy bottled water. Then connect with your physical community and social media community. Let them know what you’re doing and why. Work with your community. All members of a community can help change how your street looks and behaves by communicating with your local government, attending meetings, and having a voice. Initiate a tree-planting program in your parks and street greens. Do stream or lake cleanups. Let the leaders of your community know you care and are willing to do something about it. The wave of change starts local and ripples out into a global phenomenon. Change comes from the heart and heart is where the home is.

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For the entire interview, go to Apex Magazine, December 10, 2021.

Road along Otonabee River on a foggy winter morning, ON (photo and rendition by Nina Munteanu)

Rebecca E. Treasure grew up reading science fiction and fantasy in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. After grad school, she began writing fiction. Rebecca has lived many places, including the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and Tokyo, Japan. She currently resides in Texas Hill Country with her husband, where she juggles two children, two corgis, a violin studio, and writing. She only drops the children occasionally. To read more visit www.rebeccaetreasure.com.

Interview with Ontario Poet Susan Ksiezopolski

I recently had the wonderful opportunity of interviewing Susan Ksiezopolski, local poet who recently launched her first book of poetry "My Words" in the Toronto area. 

SF Girl: When did you start writing poetry and why?

Susan: I can’t really recall a time when I was NOT writing poetry. I started at a very young age and it stayed with me. Writing was a way for me to get the words out of my head and onto paper. It was almost like the words were jumping and screaming for attention to get out and if I didn’t capture them on paper they just circled around and around in my head. As I got older writing poetry became a way of expressing my experience of life. I enjoyed the creative process. It was both comforting and rewarding to see the reflection of myself and the expressions of my life experiences in the words on the page. It’s almost as if seeing the words in black and white confirmed and validated LIFE.

SF Girl: Who are your favorite authors and/or poets? Did you have a mentor or person who influenced you in your writing? What other events or places have influenced and continue to influence your writing?

Susan: I absolutely LOVE to read and I have an eclectic collection of favourite authors ranging from Charles Dickens (Tale of Two Cities), to Victor Frankl (Man’s Search for Meaning) and to Carl Jung and his various writings on psychology. One of my new favourites is Nina Munteanu, writing about contemporary strong female characters of substance positioned in quality science fiction stories.

My favourite poets include Maya Angelou, Pablo Neruda and Edgar Alan Poe. Maya has a unique way to use words to create vivid imagery; her words paint a canvas that brings her poems and stories to life. Pablo Neruda always fascinates me as to how his poems, even in translation, remain powerful and don’t loose their impact! I also enjoy reading Edgar Alan Poe’s, my two favourites of his are Eureka and The Raven – timeless classics!

My high school English teacher, Ms. Margaret Howe, was a great mentor who tremendously influenced my writing. She created the Writers’ Circle at Bloor Collegiate Institute as an outlet for our creativity and she invited Marshal McLuhan to judge our poems in 1976. He picked one of my poems for Writer of the Year Award and this was a great motivator for me to keep writing. Over the years, Margaret continued to encourage my writing, even beyond high school.

Other mentors that influenced my writing include world leaders such as Gandhi for his humanity, Mandela for his perseverance, Pope John Paul II for his message of hope, Mother Teresa for her demonstration of a life dedicated to service and love, Dali Lama for his teachings on compassion and Martin Luther King for his “I have a dream” speech. Their teachings influenced my writing.

My own life events also influence my writing. I like to write about places I have been, people I’ve met or experiences that I, or others around me, have gone through. Music has also been a great inspiring force behind my writing. The lyrics of Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, the Bee Gees and countless others would easily and often spark my creativity!

SF Girl: Define poetry. Define a poet. Would you say that your poetry carries a “message”? What role does your poetry play in your own personal growth?

Susan: A poem is a song where the reader brings the music. A poet is a lyrical storyteller, using the power of words and their meaning, sound and rhythm to convey a story or emotion.

The message that my poetry carries is my view of the world. A poet absorbs the world and events that shape the life and times they live in like a sponge. When the poet is full and totally absorbed, poems ooze out. The broader message that I hope my poems portray is fundamentally that of the human experience. Stripped of all our differences what is left are the words conveying emotion common to all humanity.

My poetry, like any poetry, initially starts out as a tool for documenting personal growth and insights. In coming back to the poems, my own personal growth is enhanced in re-reading and re-living the emotions behind them.  Looking at my poems from a different point in time and through a different lens always generates more enlightenment on the human experience.

SF Girl: Would you call your poems “Canadian”? If so, what makes them so?

Susan: Although I was born in Italy and I have one chapter in My Words written in Italian- I have always considered myself a Canadian. Therefore by default, naturally I would call my poems “Canadian”. They were generated from my Canadian experiences, such as growing up as an immigrant in Toronto, attending Bloor Collegiate Institute (my high school). There are a number of poems in My Words that are reflective of the urban environment that was my home and the community and neighbourhood that shaped and defined my “Canadian” culture.

SF Girl: When do you prefer to write? Do you have a special place where you write?

Susan: The inspiration to write can hit anywhere, while riding on a GO train, sitting on a “Red Rocket” in Toronto or walking in the park. I always made sure to have a pen and paper handy to capture the moments, now I have my handy iPhone. Sometimes if an image percolates a poem, I use my iPhone to snap a picture and then come back to it again to put it into words.

When I was younger I would write at the kitchen table in my parents home or sitting at my Dad’s desk. I do find though that a coffee shop is the best place to percolate poems. I find that there is something about the aroma of coffee, the coming and going of people and the soft music in the background that ignites the imagination.

SF Girl: Your book “My Words” consists of a collection of poems you wrote over a period of over thirty years, beginning with the early 1970s. As I read them, I could almost feel a palpable time wave wash over me from one period to another. Can you explain…

Susan: As I changed, my writing changed, capturing the relevance of the experience through the years. What was important to me as a teenager, a young married woman, a new mom, a middle age woman – this is reflected in my writing and translates into the sensation of a time wave.

SF Girl: The extensive collection of poems over a four decade period suggests prolific writing. Was there ever a time that you didn’t or couldn’t write? If so, tell us about it.

Susan: Writing has always been a part of who I am and how I express myself. I have never had a time when I couldn’t write. There are periods of time when my writing flowed more easily but when I didn’t write it was largely due to being distracted with the “busy-ness” of life.

SF Girl: Most of your poems contain very evocative language, metaphor and imagery. Do these come to you through inspiration, intuitively, or do you work them in through second and third drafts?

Susan: The imagery germinates, folds and morphs into the poem. The metaphors present themselves as I write. There is little editing that I do on my poems. The first draft is very often the final draft. The editing takes place intrinsically and holistically in the writing process itself. When I was collecting and preparing My Words for publishing, I had thought about whether or not I should edit the earlier poems, but in the end I did not edit any of them. I don’t like to edit my poems once they have been written – I feel that they have a greater impact in their raw, natural unpolished form.

SF Girl: Several of your poems explore our life journey as evolving souls. For instance, in your 2012 poem “Fragments United” your language, imagery and concepts (e.g., ‘connected in community’, ‘alone our world contracts’, ‘together our world expands’, ‘integrated and one’, ‘the sameness between us’, the vibration of the universe, and ‘energized’) suggest a spiritual, metaphysical worldview. Can you speak on this and how your worldview has evolved to what it currently is?

Susan: My spiritual view of the world set root from early on in my life. My grandfather had laid the groundwork with the Saint prayer cards he would send to me, long before I even knew how to read. The St. Francis prayer, Make Me An Instrument of Your Peace was and still is a favourite of mine.  When I was 10 years old I received my first Bible from a Baptist roomer that lived on the third floor of our home. These shaped my early interest in religion. I loved to read the Bible, the words and flow had a strong resonance for me.

In my teens I rebelled against the Catholic framework and disliked the formal institutionalization of religion. I felt that religion was created and defined by man and served to divide us rather than to connect us to the Divine. I have always felt a spiritual presence in my life grounding me to the view that there is a metaphysical force from which we all came from and through which we are all connected.

SF Girl: The proceeds of your book sales are going to United Way. Can you speak to us on this?

Susan: Volunteering and community involvement is something that I am very passionate about. The United Way programs touch many lives. Having been a volunteer and a Board member of the United Way of Halton Hills, I saw first hand the positive impact that the funded programs have on moving people out of poverty, helping children to succeed and building healthy strong communities. The call for action motivated me to donate all proceeds from my book to help fund much needed social programs. The $3,500 raised from My Words will benefit one in three Halton Hills residents.

Thanks, Susan!

About Susan:

Susan Ksiezopolski is a project management and change specialist. She is currently taking a break from 30 years of working in the public service and recently self-published My Words, a collection of her life’s poetry. In 1976 she was the recipient of the Bloor Collegiate Institute's Writer's Circle Writer of the Year honour, awarded to her by Marshall McLuhun. Susan was born in Italy and now lives and writes in the Toronto area of Ontario, Canada. Her website, where you can purchase her book, is: www.mywordsnow.com. You can find Susan on Facebook.

Costi Gurgu Interview and the Auroras



full cover art for Outer Diverse

When I first met Costi and Vali Gurgu at the World Fantasy Convention in Montreal several years ago, I had no idea that Costi would end up creating the stunning book covers for my latest Splintered Universe Trilogy or that his gorgeous wife, Vali, would serve as the model for the hero of my story, the relentless and steely detective, RHEA HAWKE. You can find his cover art and other artworks on Costi’s illustration site.


I recently had a chance to invite Costi aboard my intelligent ship, Benny, orbiting the Earth. After settling in the aft lounge with some pockta juice, we began the interview:

Nina: Hi, Costi. Thanks so much for agreeing to do this interview.



Costi Gurgu

Costi: Hi, Nina. The pleasure is mine.

Nina: You came up with a “Triptych” design for the Splintered Universe Trilogy. What inspired you to come up with it and what do you like about it?

Costi: There is the danger of spoilers in this answer. The fact is that your main character, Rhea, undergoes a certain evolution from a regular human being to… let’s just say something else. And that evolution has three parts, one for each book of the trilogy and it also has a touch of divine. So, the triptych design, so often used for religious paintings, fits like a glove on the entire concept.

Nina: Ooh! Neat! Where can I get a copy? … (grin) … Your design for Outer Diverse (and designs for the other two covers) carries a powerful image that conjures a portal or gateway into another world (which is what the trilogy is about). The reader is drawn into an infinite landscape, looking in, and Rhea is looking out. Can you tell us a little about how you conceived this compelling design. Is there a meaning behind the symbols and colours you used?



front cover design for Outer Diverse

Costi: To be honest, the initial idea was for the red ring to be a sort of mapping device and a radar combined into one, since Rhea travels great distances in her quest. Then I realized it might as well be a portal device on top of everything else and serve all her travelling needs.

There were two options —either we would look with her outside, to whatever target she had, or look towards her. I thought that it would be more powerful if we could look towards her and see her determined face, see the unflinching resolution in her eyes, while she’s pondering her next move and readying herself to use the device once again. But to look towards her and see her in a confining room of a space ship, or such, would have defeated the purpose. So I needed to have her against the infinite landscape as the backdrop. She is in a continuous journey to discover herself and this journey takes her literally through the infinite spaces of not just one universe.

Nina: Yes, I love the metaphoric elements you’ve woven into the design. The image speaks to us on many levels. Do you use music or other devices in your work to evoke your creativity? What other tools did you use to create the stunning cover of Outer Diverse (e.g., animation software, etc.)?

Costi: I’m always listening to music while working. The kind of music varies depending on what I’m working on. If I’m writing for instance, I need instrumental music, without words to influence my own ones. Also, it depends on the kind of feeling and mood I try to generate through my writing or my illustration. Music helps me channel those feelings into the right words or imagery.



Vali Gurgu as RHEA HAWKE

Technically speaking, I always start with sketches on paper, which I later scan. I mainly use Adobe Photoshop, but for this illustration I had to use Adobe Illustrator as well. Obviously, the layout and the typography were done in Adobe InDesign.

Nina: Your wife, Vali, was the model for Rhea Hawke. I understand you had a great time doing the photo-shoot (p.s., some of the additional shoots can be seen in the Youtube book trailer). I’ve attended several launches and events lately (e.g., Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Bucharest) and both the cover and the model have been extolled. One reader compared Vali to actress Catherine Zeta Jones. How does Vali feel about being somewhat of a celebrity?

Costi: I’m so happy to hear that. You know, I had to decide how to treat her image. I could have gone towards a more glamorous, shiny look, like in a fashion image, or I could just simply keep it more realistic. Despite Vali’s protests, I chose to keep it that way, because I wanted to offer a realistic image of an ex-police officer: a woman who was used to fighting and chasing criminals, rather than taking care of her appearances. Now, to hear that her rougher and tougher image created that kind of reaction gives me a sort of peace and satisfaction.

As for the celebrity thing, so far we only heard that from you. Not that we don’t believe you! We’ll see when it really happens in her presence. It’s always a good feeling to taste a little bit of celebrity now and then. It certainly gives one purpose and perspective. Not to mention hope.



Costi Gurgu cover art

Nina: You and Vali have had rich and varied careers in commercial art, law and writing. You’ve served, for instance, as art director for several high-end magazines including Playboy, and you taught graphic design at the college level. Can you tell me a little about your journey from Romania to England and finally to Toronto, Canada. Did the law degree help you in your entrepreneurial pursuits?

Costi: Well, yes, ironically the law degree took us places. We both loved studying law. It had a unique way of opening our eyes to culture, civilization and the importance of continuously learning. Yet, while we loved studying law, we hated practicing it. After our first year of articling in Bucharest’ Law Bar Association, we didn’t like what we were doing, but more importantly, we didn’t like the people we were turning into.

Therefore, we decided to change tracks and try something a bit different. We left for England, hoping we’d get into some Master degree in Maritime Law. So, here we are, at “Open Day” at Westminster College in London. We’d enrolled for some English classes and saw a crowd at one of the Graphic Design Program tables. Some Photoshop wizard was doing a demonstration. For our untrained eye it was absolutely wonderful! We started asking questions and the “wizard” encouraged us to take his class. I don’t remember what it was called, “Digital Manipulation” or something. We replied that we’re there for Law studies, so he said—well, why don’t you take my class just for fun? So, we did and by the end of the semester we enrolled for the Graphic Design Certificate and forgot everything about Maritime Law or any other kind of Law. We’d just discovered the wonderful world of design, illustration, art direction and photography!



Costi Gurgu cover art

Nina: That’s COOL! Did you pursue illustration and design in England?

Costi: Well, three years later saw us going back to Romania; our families expected us to go back to the Bar Association and behave responsibly. But after showing my portfolio around I got a designer job at Playboy Magazine! The Art Director and I launched its first Romanian edition issue a few months later. Three years later I became the Creative Director of MediaPro Group, the largest publishing company in Romania and Vali took on the position of Art Director of Playboy Magazine.

Two years later we came to Canada to pursue a dream. So, yes, I could say that my law degree created the perfect opportunity for me to discover my passions for visual arts. It took me to England and eventually to Canada. Life is funny that way.

Nina: Does Vali help you with your work and do you help her with hers?

brooding RHEA HAWKE

Costi: We help each other a lot in our work. Because we worked together in our first legal job and after that in our first design job, we have become a team. We have different approaches to the art process and we have different styles. I went deeper into illustration to complement my design skills, while she chose photography to do that.

Even now, for the most important projects we have for our different employers we involve each other not only for need of feedback, but also for need of different ideas and fresh approaches. We basically complement each other.

Not to mention that she’s always my first reader for any piece of fiction I write. She’s the toughest reader I have but in the same time I know she’s also the most sincere one.

Nina: Name some artists and their cover designs that you like and why. How would you describe your own artwork (e.g., magazine and book covers)? Who are your influences?

Costi: Where should I begin? I always loved the paintings of Rene Magritte and Giorgio de Chirico. I also have to mention Dali and H.R. Giger. They’re just incredibly good and inspirational.

I can’t miss Neville Brody, one of the most famous and brilliant designers of all time. Not too many book covers, but you have to look for his music album covers and typography compositions, and magazine covers. He’s done a lot of covers for the legendary The Face Magazine. You have to see the book The Graphic Language of Neville Brody. Absolutely beautiful.

Special mention goes to Edward Gorey. His art is amazing.

From the usual suspects of SF&F artists, I like Michael Whelan, especially his horror covers. See for instance Lovecraft’s Nightmare, both parts, or some of his personal studies. I like Frank Frazetta and Rodney Matthews. And there are others, many others, the list would be just too long for the purpose of this interview.



RHEA HAWKE

Nina: Costi, your artwork on Outer Diverse is eligible in the Art Category for an Aurora Prix and the Hugo, the Canadian and American prizes for work in the science fiction and fantasy fields, respectively. How does that make you feel?

Costi: I try not to get my hopes too high. It’s a long way from eligibility to winning. But just to be in the game really feels good. From another perspective, it’s part of my dream coming true. It’s part of my journey and the reason I’m here. It’s so good to be noticed and to exist outside your family’s and friends’ awareness.

Nina: Speaking of…when I was in Bucharest recently to launch my fiction writing textbook at the Gaudeamus Book Fair, I heard a lot about this guy Costi Gurgu, a rather well known and accomplished writer in Romania. You’ve sold five books and over forty short stories in Romania and won over twenty awards. Tell me about this guy, Costi the writer. What have you written and where can we find it?



RHEA HAWKE on the hunt

Costi: In truth, half of my reason for coming to Canada is related to my writing.

I made my debut in Romania, in 1993 and since then I published constantly in magazines and anthologies. I edited three anthologies. I won each and every award there was in Romania, several times. Among those, I won the prestigious Vladimir Colin Award twice (for my first story collection and for my first novel), and the Writers Union Award (a literary award) for the debut for my first book, a story collection entitled The Glass Plague.

My stories have been published in Romania, Hungary, Poland, Denmark, England, Canada and USA.

My latest sales have been to the Danish anthology Creatures of Glass and Light, the Daw Books anthology Ages of Wonder, Wildside Press anthology The Science Fiction Megapack, Millennium Books steampunk anthology The Second Revolution, and the anthology Voices—New Writers from Toronto, published by Co-op Writers and Toronto Public Library.

Nina: What are you working on now—besides more covers for my Splintered Universe Trilogy, that is?

Costi: A few months ago I launched my latest book in Romania, another story collection, entitled Chronicles from the End of the Earth. I’m working on the English version of some of the stories in that collection.

Right now I’m writing a horror story for an anthology from Romania. I’m also in the middle of my new novel, for which I don’t even have a working title. All I know for now is that it has magic and it has science and some bits of dark happenings, so it will probably be a cross-genre. It is also supposed to be the first book of my first trilogy.

I’m thinking of a comedy movie script for next year. I’ve never tried a movie script, but I’d really like to write one.

Nina: Sounds like fun, Costi! With your sense of humor, it should be a great success. Thanks so much for joining us here on Benny. I wish you the best of luck in the Auroras and the Hugos and in all your writing and illustration projects. It’s been an honor to work with you.

Costi: Again, my pleasure, Nina. And thanks for the Plockta nectar. It was … eh … interesting.



…See? He’s so polite!



Costi Gurgu

If you love art and agree with me that Costi’s stunning artwork on Outer Diverse merits recognition, please share this post with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In and elsewhere.

Better yet, NOMINATE Costi for the PRIX AURORA in the “Best Artist” category (if you’re a Canadian). You have until March 31st to nominate.

Just as good, RECOMMEND his exemplary cover art for a HUGO AWARD in the category of “Best Professional Artist”. Third Party Sites where you can recommend Costi’s cover art include: Live Journal Community; NESFA, and SF Awards Watch.

If you’re already a member of the World Science Fiction Convention, you can NOMINATE Costi for a HUGO. You have until March 11 to nominate.

Outer Diverse is for sale at Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Barnes & Noble as well as other quality bookstores near you. It is also eligible for an Aurora. The Splintered Universe trilogy follows the turbulent career of galactic guardian Rhea Hawke, whose unswerving passion for justice though faulty vision of the world collide in ways unimaginable as she searches for answers to a spiritual massacre. Visit this page for more details about the trilogy.

Nina Munteanu is an ecologist and internationally published author of novels, short stories and essays. She coaches writers and teaches writing at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. For more about Nina’s coaching & workshops visit www.ninamunteanu.me. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for more about her writing.