I absolutely love dabbling in many genres. I have read a few historical novels (I'm thinking of The Name of the Rose, for instance); even a few prehistorial as well (like Jean Auel's books), and besides all kinds of science-fiction, I do also read the occasional romance and fantasy. I have been fascinated by novels by John Irving, as much as Michel Tournier or Milan Kundera. Imagination is the keyword here. One of my first reading passions was science fiction, especially in my teen years, so naturally this is what I went for when I tackled my first real project. I love to try and see how people manage and thrive in different times, environments and situations. I dream of writing a story that helps consolidate or restore one's faith in humanity.

From my social bio, you might have read that "I'm writing a cool science fiction story featuring a drifting city spaceship, a wannabe sleuth, murders and a brewing rebellion... and an antique wooden treasure chest." (If you're interested, you can read my short story CRADLE at www.nicolaslemieux.com. - No pressure of course!) The story is set in a far future, about three millennia from now, and it takes place in what is called an O'Neill cylinder colony, which is actually a stranded starship turned into a drifting city in the middle of nowhere for centuries. I am still putting touches to the culture and thematics used in this world, and to the story itself. But my hope is it conveys this hope that we can find good in the world - any world, and that it comes from its people - the humans inhabiting it.

I've been at it for a number of years, sometimes more than I dare to admit, and I guess I gathered ideas here and there, and mixed them together as they came. The challenge now is to not add too many new ideas, as they keep coming, but shaping this into a coherent, balanced whole that will work and grip the reader from beginning to end. It's a demanding craft, also fulfilling and enriching, and I'm happy I get a chance to learn and hone it in my life time. Do you have a particular creative project you would like to dedicate yourself to?

I think we must choose to thrive in the process rather than focus too exclusively on the goal and hypothetical reward, because that would feel like a perfect recipe for discouragement and depression - to which I am not immune either. I do my best to navigate between the two extremes, keeping my eye on the ball as well as enjoying the scenery. Not always easy, but I make myself trust that it's possible if I take it slow and (mostly) steady, one small step at a time. They say "trust the process". I try to do that. Other times, when I think "I don't know how this works; I don't have what it takes, and so on, blah blah blah... but I'm gonna do it anyway." I don't know how it will turn out, but I guess it's also part of the fun.

My wife is in the visual arts, and from watching her work, I could easily see myself revel in something like painting, printing, even pottery one day. Music did it for me for a long time too. I think any art form can mix and combine our experiences and passions in ways we don't suspect until we allow it to happen. I'll be excited to learn what you come up with!

I think all art forms are a kind of research into our inner worlds, and the act of unearthing them, venting them and putting them into words, shapes or colours, is the work we want to do. But whether we do it or not, we're still doing it I think, because ultimately, life itself is an art form, so whether we think of ourselves as artists or not, we are in a way, and the courage it takes to live is inside of us because we are alive. Thanks for saying it's inspiring. I think it is too - life is, if we take the time to look at it this way.

One scene at a time; one archaelogical dig at a time. I like the metaphor! Storytelling gets you digging into your own inner monsters and personal challenges. It gets you digging up your hidden gems and strengths you didn't even know you had, to unearth and polish and share with the world.

Could we say archaeology is the science, "logos" of the ancient, "archaea", in an etymological sense? Archaeology, then, and storytelling, have a lot in common. I don't know too many stories exploring that theme, and sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't go into it more... There was Anathem, by Neal Stephenson, with an alternate history - very rich and deeply explored. Also by the same author, Cryptonomicon, intertwining two narrative threads, one taking place nowadays and one during WWII. Although I can't conjure many of these stories from the top of my head, I suspect there might be many, many more. I wouldn't be surprised if our combined brains conjured them out of the blue while doing other things!

I was always fascinated by science and tech, as far as starting a bachelor's degree in Physics, but I was torn between two worlds at the time: science and music. They are not incompatible, but rather complementary in my view, but at 18, I needed to make a career choice, so I went for singing "while I was young". I won't ever regret doing this, because it led me to so many wonderful experiences.

But then later, approaching my thirties, I grew tired of struggling financially, and frankly, I missed touching on more tech and science, so when I bought my first PC back in the mid 90's, it didn't take long before I started building websites - and the rest is history. After a decade of combining the two activities; programming by day and singing by night, I stopped singing completely by the end of 2006, back when I was 40. I needed the freedom to look at other things. So about my IT work, it's been a while already, and though it pays decently, and it keeps providing interesting challenges, my sights have turned elsewhere. Writing seems like the one art to touch them all, so to speak. So outside my IT job, this is where I have been putting my creative energies over the last decade and a half. There you have it, in a nutshell!

These days, I'm obsessed with my work in progress, Seven Drifts. It's a science fiction story, it's a mystery novel, it's a rebellion story. Over the years I've been working on it, it has grown beyond what I could imagine when I started (I could only hope at the time; now I find myself immersed in a whole new world, unraveling questions I didn't know I had, problem solving plot issues I didn't know existed, planning what's to come and how to better shape the whole project, etc.

I would be drawn to many other kinds of writing if I let my mind fly out of focus, but I would never finish what I have set out to achieve. I took part in a couple "writing battles" over the past couple years, and enjoyed the experience, as it gave me a welcome change of scenery, but I found it slowed me down considerably at the same time. One thing to consider, though: inside one same project, there can still exist many different kinds of writing. Characters have various worldviews, backgrounds and cultures. One of them comes from the deep past. Another is a singer. A lot of music is mentioned within the story; even lyrics. I get to touch on many things!