Starfire

You Are Light

I am Earth

You are Air, I am Wind

You are Sound, I am Frequency

You are Word, I am Scribe

You are Star  

I am Flame

Together, we are starfire…

Mem lamed hey

Nina Munteanu Signing The Last Summoner at Chapters Markham

Nina wearing her intelligence glasses...

I'm signing my latest historical fantasy The Last Summoner at Chapters in Markham (Woodside Mall) on Saturday May 25th at 1-4 pm.

Come join me for lively discussion, argument, laughter and debate on the "what ifs" of history and on feisty lady knights, medieval battles and customs, and time travel.

Get your personally autographed book of The Last Summoner, three months on Amazon's Bestseller list. Special "prize" for 50th customer! :)

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.

Nina Munteanu Discusses The Last Summoner at Alternative Grounds

A few Fridays ago I had the pleasure of doing a lecture / discussion and reading of The Last Summoner in the Roncy district of Toronto. The historical fantasy takes us back to Poland in 1410 on the eve of the Battle of Grunwald between the warrior monks of the Teutonic Order and their oppressed Prussian slaves. The Lady Vivianne Schoen, Baronness von Grunwald has a vision … a vision of a different battle. And a different world. When she discovers that she can alter history, she is branded and chased as a witch. Vivianne flees through a time-space tear to an alternate present-day France, ruled by Teutonic Black Knights; where she must decide how to remake the history she authored...Every choice has its price...

The Venue

Located on 333 Roncesvalles Avenue, in the heart of the Polish District (affectionately known as Roncy), Alternative Grounds is a cool funky intellectual granola kind of coffee house. LOL! What does that mean? Deep with high ceilings, the café opens into an eclectic assortment of tables and seats that range from old 60’s vinyl chairs to comfortable couches, surrounded by warm shades of brick wall, adorned with original art work and wooden shelves.  A small globe of the world sits on one table. You help yourself to one of a variety of unique mugs and fill up with fresh roasted fair trade coffee. People sit in groups, chatting, or alone with their laptops. Many are obviously regulars. You can see it in their body language; like the place belongs to them. 

“Alternative Grounds Coffee House and Roastery is a community-based business,” says Linda Burnside, owner. “We believe that the practice of business and the strengthening of community should go hand-in-hand.” Their café is rooted in the concept of “welcome”, evident in the arrangement

The Coffee

Alternative Grounds originated in 1995 as a roaster of only fairly traded coffees; back when little attention was paid to fairtrade and why it was important, says Linda. Alternative Grounds was one of the first licensees when in 1998 Fair TradeMark Canada, an independent fair trade licensing and regulatory body came into being. They are the only roaster in the area that roasts solely fair trade coffees and in 2005 they became a certified organic processor.

Alternative Grounds Café roasts and custom blends their coffees daily, providing the highest and freshest quality coffee you can get and supports the people who actually grow the beans and are stewards of the land. That’s what fair trade means. “It also helps show that there are other ways of doing business, ways based on mutual trust, cooperation and respect,” says Linda. They are a member of Cooperative Coffees, which allows them to access a wide variety of coffees and collectively contribute to the development and support of emerging cooperatives. It’s a win-win scenario.

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.

The Journal Writer by Nina Munteanu Now Out

The second book in my Alien Guidebook Series The Journal Writer: Finding Your Voice was released in March 25, 2013 by Pixl Press (an imprint of Starfire World Syndicate) and is now in bookstores around the world, including Chapters, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and other quality bookstores.

The Journal Writer: Finding Your Voice is a guidebook for anyone who writes. It provides steps on how to get started in journaling, how to keep going and how to keep safe. I discuss the full range in expression from writing on the computer, the use of social media and sharing on the Internet to the benefits of good old-fashioned handwriting on paper.

Here’s a small excerpt of the book taken from the Introduction:

There are as many reasons for writing a journal as there are people in the world: to express, to heal and clarify, to create, learn and influence, to record, to celebrate, to share with friends or the world even...and everything in-between. The journal is a way to connect—to yourself and to others—with gentleness, compassion and deeper understanding. It’s a “safe home” where your deepest thoughts can reside without fear of judgment, blame or need for justification. A place where you can be just you. 

From the private locked notebook to digital files to global blogs and Facebook, writers today have so many choices for expression. We are all writers and there is something out there for you. 

This guidebook will help you make the right choices. I go over the tools you need to consider before you get started. I also show you the steps on how to get started and—just as important—how to keep going. I cover how to get the most out of your journal writing experience and discuss safety issues. To help, I provide you with examples and practical exercises. References appear at the end of each chapter. There’s also a bibliography at the back in case you want to read more and an index to find things in here.Enjoy, learn and, above all, have fun!  

The Alien’s Guidebook Series is dedicated to helping and empowering men and women through writing and

the creative process. Whether you’re writing fiction or expressing yourself through “life” or “wellness” writing, my hope is that The Journal Writer—like its predecessor The Fiction Writer: Get Published,Write Now!—will help you and others achieve your goal.

If you think The Journal Writer can give you and others important life skills, please tell others about it! You can provide a review on Amazon or email me (nina.sfgirl@gmail.com) with a testimonial that I can use to help promote this book on helping others journal and write expressively.

The Journal Writer was commissioned by Romanian publisher Calin Vlasie of Editura Paralela 45, who had already translated and published The Fiction Writer in 2011 (Manual de Scriere Creativa. Scriitorul de fictiune).  I attended the launch of The Fiction Writer in Bucharest in November 2011 and drank copious amounts of Romania’s national drink Tuica (plum liquor that packs a punch!) with my publisher.

Scriitorul de Jurnal: Descoperirea vocii interioare (The Journal Writer: Finding Your Voice) was published by Editura Paralela 45 and launched at the Gaudeamus Book Fair in Bucharest in November 2012.

Romanians can buy Scriitorul de Jurnal:Descoperirea vocii interioare (The Journal Writer: Finding Your Voice) on the Editura Paralela 45 site and various other online bookstores.

About Editura Paralela 45:

Editura Paralela 45 Publishing House was founded in November 1994 by Calin

Vlasie. Over the years, the company specialized in the production of books, magazines, newspapers and copybooks. Their main branch offices in Romania include Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca.

They originally focused on educational books and contemporary Romanian literature. Since 2000, editorial production diversified; they currently publish Romanian and foreign literature, social and human sciences, philosophy, history, religion, law, economics, science books, art books, practical books, literature for children and teenagers, university textbooks, didactical methods books, handbooks and auxiliary books.

Currently, Editura Paralela 45 Publishing House develops three series and 54 collections, covering over 90 editorial areas including: biography, business, children, Christian, college, fiction, computer, cookbooks, criticism, cultural studies, diet, drama, education, enternainment, erotica, essays, family, fitness, food, foreign languages, health, history, how to, language, law, lifestyle, literature, mathematics, medical, memoir, parenting, philosophy, poetry, psychiatry, reference, relationship, religion, school, science, self help, software, spirituality, sports, teaching, technology.. Most of these collections are registered with the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM). From 1994 to 2011, they have published over 3200 titles in over 13 million copies.

The publishing house participates in key book fairs in Europe (Paris, London, Frankfurt, Bologna, Geneva, Tel Aviv, etc.) and has won numerous awards, both for editorial work and its published books. Awards include: International Book Fair "Gaudeamus" ("Excellence Award" in 2001 and 2008), the Writers Union of Romania, Association of Professional Writers in Romania, Romanian Academy, the Writers' Union of Moldova, Romanian Publishers Association, magazines "Cuvantul" "Romania literara", etc., the "Francophonie Award”, the Prix Saint-Exupery / ValeursJeunesse (2006).

Editura Paralela 45 has translated and published numerous foreign books (from English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Swedish and so on). Foreign publishers that they worked with include: Harper Collins, Ebury Press, A. M. Heath & Co, Hay House, MacMillan, Simon & Schuster, Transworld (from UK), Curtis Brown, Facts On File, Grand Central Publishing, Hyperion, Knopf Doubleday Group, Pearson Technology Group, Penguin Group (USA), Albin Michel, Actes Sud, Calmann-Levy, Bayard, Robert Laffont, Tallandier (France), Bertelsmann, Ullstein, Eichborn, Rowohlt (Germany). And now Starfire World Syndicate (USA)!

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.