Talaria Press: Thanks for joining us, today we’re kicking off the Talaria Press interview series by speaking with Dr. Nicole Salem. Dr. Salem, thank you for being here.

Nicole Salem: Please call me Nicole.

TalP: Alright, Nicole, let’s start with your profession. What do you do for a living?

NS: I’m an archeologist on the payroll of the Field Museum of Natural History inChicago,Illinois.

TalP: That must be interesting. How do you feel about your profession?

NS: I love it. It’s all I’ve wanted to do since I was a little girl.

TalP: What’s your favorite part of what you do?

NS: I’d have to say the excitement of discovering things that haven’t been seen or handled in thousands of years. It’s a pretty amazing experience, to open a site; a lot of people would find it tedious, but I guess I’m one of those strange people who likes scraping away the dirt little by little to see what’s hiding underneath.

TalP: What’s your least favorite part of your job?

NS: Oddly enough, there can be some pretty big egos in the field which can be a challenge to deal with.

TalP: Tell us about your family. Are your parents alive?

NS: Yes, they’re both still alive. My dad was an Army aviator when he was younger and when he left that, he went into construction inChicago. Mom was a housewife most of our lives, until we got into school, at which point she started helping Dad out at the office. They’re pretty amazing people.

TalP: How about siblings?

NS: I have a younger sister, named Janie.

TalP: What’s your relationship with her like?

NS: Complicated.

TalP: Complicated? Care to elaborate on that?

NS: I love my sister, but we’re so vastly different that it’s hard to get along with her. When we were young, we got along really well, but it seemed like when I hit college, Janie decided that I abandoned her or something and started acting out.

TalP: Siblings can do that sometimes… Speaking of your childhood, where did you grow up? What was your childhood like?

NS: My parents still live in the family home inEvanston, which is where we grew up. It’s a little upscale suburb outside ofChicago. Overall, I’d say I had a happy childhood.

TalP: What were you like in school?

NS: (laughter) Remember Hermione from Harry Potter? Yeah, that was kind of me, except my hair was better behaved and I didn’t have buckteeth. Admittedly, I was a bit of an obnoxious overachiever in everything I did.

TalP: (laughter) Well, let’s also not forget that it was often Hermione’s nerdiness that got Harry and Ron out of trouble. So, do you have any tattoos or scars?

NS: It’s not really a tattoo or scar, but when I was chosen by Sekhmet, a mark in the shape of her sigil appeared on the back of my left shoulder. It looks like a tattoo though so I guess that counts.

TalP: Do you have a significant other?

NS: Significant other? (laughs) That’s a very diplomatic way of asking if I have a girlfriend without directly asking if I’m a lesbian.

TalP: Okay, okay, guilty. I don’t assume either way. So, are you seeing anyone?
NS: (more laughter) Well, that’s kind of a personal question, but I am seeing someone. He’s a pretty amazing person… he’s really inspired me to push beyond my normal boundaries and grow into a much better person.

TalP: Sounds like he’s very special.

NS: Oh, he is. That’s all I’ll say about it, though.

TalP: Fair enough. So, do you have any children? If no, do you want them?

NS: Wow, with the personal questions… No, I don’t have any children. Honestly, I’ve never given it much thought, but I don’t rule it out.

TalP: Alright, stepping away from the personal issues, what do you like to do for fun? Do you have any hobbies?

NS: I studied martial arts in my youth, and made it into the competitive circles for a while. I parlayed that into collecting ‘primitive’ weapons and learning how to use them.

TalP: Do you prefer books or movies? Favorites?

NS: Both. I’ll read or watch just about anything that’s really well written. I love old-school sci-fi like Heinlein.

TalP: Do you have a favorite food or drink?

NS: Growing up inChicago, I’ve been exposed to a wide variety of foods growing up. I’ve always been particularly fond of Italian and Polish, though.

TalP: So, let’s go into a few more esoteric questions… What quality do you like most in a man?

NS: Willpower

TalP: What quality do you like most in a woman?

NS: Integrity.

TalP: What scares you most?

NS: Um… spiders.

TalP: On what occasions do you lie?

NS: (smirking) When people ask me about my greatest fears.

TalP: (laughter) Touché. Alright, then who do you admire most in the world?

NS: Wow, that’s a tough one. There are so many to choose from. I guess I’m going to have to say my friend Aramair. She’s the kindest, gentlest woman I’ve ever known, but she’s also tougher than people think. She’s also absolutely brilliant and a talented doctor on top of all that.

TalP: Do you support any charitable organizations? If so, why those particular ones?

NS: No formal charities, but when I’m not out at a dig somewhere, I’m one of the researchers the Field prefers to send out to visit schools and children’s groups. I also help out with occasional overnights for kids at the museum. As you might imagine, I have  a vested interest in encouraging a love of history in kids.

TalP: That definitely makes sense. Bearing all that you’ve said in mind, what do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

NS: Well, that’s hard to say. I suppose I would have to say my acceptance as NuruSekhmet. It wasn’t without its controversy and stress, but it’s really been a turning point in my life.

TalP: Yeah, I’d say that’s a pretty intimidating proposition. So, what are your goals for the future?

NS: That’s easier: defeat the bad guys, live happily ever after.

TalP: Well, if there’s any such thing, I’d say you deserve it if you beat the bad guys. One last question: If you had a free day with no responsibilities and your only mission was to enjoy yourself, what would you do?

NS: Wow, I really don’t know. I’m not really a sit on the couch and veg kind of person. Probably just spend time with my friends and family.

And there you have it, our interview with Dr. Nicole Salem. Thanks for reading, and keep an eye out for future interviews!

I’m incredibly proud to announce that my third novel and the culmination of the Sekhmet’s Light Trilogy, Shomu, has gone live in Kindle format. For those of you that have been reading for the last couple years, it means finding out what I’ve been keeping to myself for a while now: how Nicole’s story ends. 

It’s kind of surreal knowing that her story has been told, but gratifying at the same time to know that I’ve actually completed the trilogy. I hope that you’ll agree that the ending fits nicely with the mythology I’ve established. 

As of right now, I’m looking forward to what comes next. There will be one last touch on the SL universe, possibly before the end of the year. A collection of stories that I’m titling The Days Upon the Year to continue the calendar theme of the titles.

As readers will know, Ancient Egyptians had a three-season calendar, each containing four 30-day months. That 360 day calendar, however, leaves us with 5 rogue days unaccounted for. These are the epagomenal days, or Days Upon the Year. Each of these days is said to be the ‘birthday’ of the most powerful gods in the panthon (Osiris, Horus the Elder, Isis, Set, and Nephthys). They’re also said to occur outside of normal time and people believe that strange things happen on them.

For my purposes, each “day” will present a story that ties in with the Sekhmet’s Light trilogy or was touched upon in the novels, but wasn’t shared in its entirety to avoid bogging down the main narrative. You’ll get to see things like the story of the first NuruSekhmet, Aramair’s story, and others. They’re things that add flavor to the universe, but aren’t absolutely necessary to Nicole’s story. 

I’ve also plotted out my next novel, the first in my as yet untitled supernatural thriller series and was blessed with the idea for the second of that one as well. I’m also producing some short stories for the next Talaria Press Founder’s Anthology which has a fairy tale theme to it which should be fun, in addition to helping with proof-reading/editing my husband’s second novel.

Factor in my efforts to find a new day job and I’m on massively busy girl!

Ahem.

So, I hope that you’ll pick up Shomu, if you’ve been reading along. If you haven’t, I have a treat for you. In celebration of the completion of the series, I’m offering the first novel, Akhet, for your kindle Sunday through Tuesday this week. This is a great opportunity to grab it and start on the series, knowing that the whole story is there just waiting to be read!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to break out the ‘tasty adult beverages’ to celebrate!

So I dreamed last night that The Rock showed up at my house out of the blue, wanting to option the Sekhmet’s Light series for movies because he wanted to play Kemsefet.

Needless to say, my inner fan-girl was completely spastic.

Of course, my husband was all shades of amused upon hearing about this dream and told me “honey, you’re a professional writer now, you can’t freak out like that”. Yes, I do know that and I don’t know that I would completely freak out… I mean, I’ve managed to meet a lot of celebrities at this point in my life and not go all googly… But then again… it’s the freaking ROCK!

Anyway, it would definitely be cool to find out, doncha think?!

I have created a version of NuruSekhmet in the game Champions Online and, I’m happy to say, she has been kicking bad-guy butt and taking names. I absolutely love this game and highly encourage folks who like superheroes and comic books to check it out. You can not only create your heroes to run around beating up baddies, but you can also create their nemesis who will have minions that show up to mess with the hero… usually at bad times like when you’re in the middle of fighting someone else!

I’m inviting my readers to come fight alongside Nuru in their own superhero guises and gain some bonus experience points at the same time… (as well as some possible in-game goodies!) Just log into the game on Wednesday, June 8th and search for NuruSekhmet@NuruSekhmet in the game’s system and send me a friend invite. I plan on being online between about 4pm and 9pm, Pacific time. I have a device that grants me, and up to 4 teammates, a 20% boost to normal experience points gained during that time.

You might be saying at this point: But wait, I don’t have an account with Champions Online and I don’t have a lot of money to spare for that sort of thing..

That’s okay. CO offers a free-to-play format if you just want to try the game out or if you just don’t have money for a monthly subscription fee. Also, it has a sidekick feature which can allow me to fight at a lower level or for you to fight at Nuru’s higher level!

Millenium City is a big place and it needs heroes!

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