Nina and guests at Ad Astra

I discussed water and the production of “Water Is…” this weekend at Ad Astra, one of Toronto’s premiere speculative fiction conventions. Attended by readers and authors, we explored the many properties and identities of water, its rich history and the stories or water on planet Earth and the Universe. I also mentioned the Watermark Project, an initiative by the Lake Ontario Waterkeepers, to raise awareness of water through personal “watermark” stories by people from around the world. The result of the project is a large interactive database of stories attached to waterbodies all over the world for others to explore. I have yet to provide my watermark submission, but intend to soon.

I had two ARCs to give away and asked for ideas on how to select the two people who would walk away from the dozen or so people there with a copy of the book–not yet released. Allan Weiss, author of his newly released book “Making the Rounds” (Edge) suggested each person provide their story of what water means to them and I would choose the best. That didn’t work (I couldn’t choose–they were all so fascinating and different), so we went with a card-shuffle to select the successful new owners of my book. Here are a few examples of what I received:

Water Is…

…Life distilled
that drips
in each globe
a new reality
a new life
in the same old
Universe

…The ultimate archetype of transformation, metamorphosis, of birth and rebirth.

…The force that has bound my life together.

…Peace, constantly moving, cleansing and refreshing.

…That which connects the elements that make the universe conscious.

Thank you so much for sharing these reflective and elegant thoughts on water and your connections with it.

Water Is… (Pixl Press) by Nina Munteanu
On sale worldwide May 10, 2016

Nina Munteanu is an ecologist, limnologist and internationally published author of award-nominated speculative novels, short stories and non-fiction. 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.