As part of SFFWorld.com’s Member Spotlight Series it’s time we turned it all around and talked to Nila, who has spent all this time interviewing everyone else.
What’s your SFFWorld.com’s forum alias and why did you pick it?
It used to be tmso, but on the odd chance someone might be looking for me, I changed it N. E. White, my pen name. I wish I had kept my original alias but I don’t want to keep flipping back and forth. Well, I do, but you probably don’t want me flipping back and forth, so it is what it is.
By the way, tmso stands for the mighty short one.
How did you discover SFFWorld.com and why did you decide to join?
Sometime in 2008 or 2009, I joined the Writer’s Digest forum. I had a print magazine subscription to Writer’s Digest and the online forum was advertised in it and that’s how I found that forum. I participated on the site for some time, but then, for some reason I can’t remember, I decided I didn’t like it there anymore. Exactly, why, I’m not sure, but I bet someone offended me and I felt the need to leave. Silly, I know. But if I hadn’t left, I wouldn’t have found SFFWorld.com! I did a Google search for science fiction and fantasy writing groups and SFFWorld.com came up. I joined because though the forum wasn’t as busy as the forum over at Writer’s Digest, the folks here seemed knowledgeable and friendly. Little did I know, huh?
How long have you been a member and what keeps you coming back?
I’ve been a member for six (looooooong) years. That seems like a long time, but compared to many other members, not very. What keeps me coming back? Hmmm, the chocolate chip cookies and the brownies. Oh, yeah, and I get to interact with all my online writing buddies. Also, I’ve gained an appreciation for the recommendation threads.
Why did you become a moderator?
Control, baby, control.
Actually, well, yeah, control. Why else?
Kater, a former moderator, used to keep tabs on the forum writing contests. He got a real job and grew up. Oops! I mean, he moved on, and there wasn’t anyone around to take over sticking and unsticking the contests every month. I asked to be a moderator so I could do that. You all didn’t even bother to do a background check, so here I am. Eventually, I plan to run the place.
We also need to talk about the forum’s annual anthology. Can you tell us about your motivation behind this and how it has been working with the three anthologies thus far?
After a few years participating in the monthly forum writing contests, it occurred to me that no one was ever going to read these lovely stories. True, many of the stories submitted to our forum contests are, how shall we say this, less than polished, but there are a few stunners in there. Many forum writers are not full-time writers and really have no intention of seeking publication with these particular stories, so I thought maybe they would allow me to publish them. I pitched the idea and the rest just happened.
For the first anthology, The End – Visions of Apocalypse, we had the grand notion we would run the selection process as we did the contests. That meant each entry was posted to the forum, and forumites got to read/vote for each. It got horribly complicated. We were planning a December 2012 publication date (in line with the end of the world theme, remember the whole Mayan calendar thing?) and had multiple deadlines with multiple voting periods. It got crazy. I can’t remember what all we did, but it was a chore. I promised myself I would never do that again. So, the next year, we did it a different way. (Funny thing, it meant I had more control over the whole process…)
Anyway, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I still don’t, but now I know just how extremely lucky I was to have managed to get Hugh Howey and Michael J Sullivan to participate in The End – Visions of Apocalypse. It’s like they say: You don’t know until you ask. I asked, they agreed to give me stories for free.
This anthology continues to be our best seller. I’m very proud of what we produced, though I do wish I had been able to present Tristis Ward’s word-graphic story, Mother and Child, in a more readable format. Come to think of it, maybe she’ll let us post that online? I’ll ask.
In 2013, I picked the theme. (Can you say control-freak?)
Lucky or Unlucky? 13 Stories of Fate featured a story from Mark Lawrence (another great author who graces us with his presence on the forum from time to time) along with twelve other stories. This was a difficult anthology to produce because the theme wasn’t to the forumite’s liking. It just didn’t inspire or maybe it was too vague. Either way, I had a hard time soliciting stories. I guess picking the theme all by myself wasn’t such a good idea.
So in 2014, I thought I would put the theme to a vote on the forum. Since the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One fell in 2014, it soon became the top contender and that’s what we went with for the 2014 anthology’s theme. Elizabeth Moon graciously offered her Traditions alternate history story for our featured author slot, making Wars to End All Wars a pretty special collection (imho).
But, even though I put it to the vote, the theme fell flat again. We didn’t get as many stories as I thought, but those that we got, I’m very pleased with. Though, to be fair, I probably shouldn’t categorize this as alternate history. The stories are definitely out there. Hmm, I guess I should change that on Amazon… Anyway, like I said, we didn’t get as many stories for this collection, but what is in there is worth reading. Igor Ljubuncic’s story, “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair”, was a finalist in the 2014 Sidewise Award. We are all very proud.
For this year, Andrew Leon Hudson is at the editorial-helm. We’ve decided on a a theme (ecotones) and we have secured reprints from Caribbean-American author Tobias S. Buckell (Crystal Rain, Xenowealth) and South African author Lauren Beukes (Zoo City, Broken Monsters). In addition, we have an original commissioned piece in the works by none other than Ken Liu (The Grace of Kings).
Get in on the fun and submit your story by August 31st, 2015!
What’s your favorite book?
That’s a terrible question.
I guess…if I was left on a deserted island with only one book, I would want that book to be the…Farseer Trilogy box set by Robin Hobb.
The second runner up would be His Dark Materials box set by Phillip Pullman. I’ve only ever read the first in that series and just haven’t gotten around to reading the rest.
Who’s your favorite author?
Carlos Ruiz Zafón. I wish I could write like him.
What’s your favorite genre (science fiction, fantasy, horror, steampunk, etc)?
Fantasy.
Where’s your favorite place to read?
Anywhere, I suppose, but in a car or train are best.
Favorite con (convention)?
What do you do when you are not reading or messing around on SFFWorld.com?
I have my own business in GIS (geographic information systems) consulting. It pays the bills and I get to make maps.
Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Nila. Anything else you’d like to add?
One of these days, I’ll write a novel. And you’ll want to read it, right? Right?! Well, even if you don’t, you might want to sign up for my newsletter or check out my blog where I’ll announce all my upcoming projects. Also, check out this gal, she’s nifty.
