Hello everyone! My name is Natacha Guyot, I am author, scholar and public speaker.

I was born in Paris, raised in Versailles and lived in London for a year. For the past years, I have lived in Brittany, near Rennes (and the Broceliande Forrest!)

I have always loved telling stories since I was a child. I created fan stories as much as original ones. I remember expanding on the Star Wars universe (movies and novels) with my Barbie dolls when little. And yes, I went as far as casting some of them for certain roles, since my parents always tried to get me the dolls that weren’t just regular blondes. Now, you aren’t surprised when I tell you that Science Fiction has been important to me since I was a toddler.

I ventured into writing my own stories during adolescence. My first novella goes back to this time, but I’ll get back to this in a bit. My first novel was finished in 2005, but afterwards, I fell off the original fiction bandwagon, despite continuing to take notes for future universes.

Writing never left me though and I thrived thanks to nonfiction! I did a lot of research papers between professional cinema school and my two Masters (‘Film and Media Studies’ from Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle and ‘Digital Culture & Technology’ from King’s College London). This gave me love for research and discussing topics that are dear to me.

After quitting my Ph.D. in 2012, I transitioned into being an independent scholar, author and public speaker. I am passionate about Science Fiction, Feminism/Gender Studies, Transmedia and Fan Studies. My early experience came mostly via academic publishing with individual chapters and conference papers. (all publications are listed HERE) This has helped me get used to guidelines and also to rejection. It taught me perseverance and gave me the inspiration to tell more about the themes that are important to me.

I was also lucky to co-edit a couple of academic volumes and I realized that editing collections of essays (and hopefully short story anthologies in the future) was something I enjoy doing as well. Diversifying my writing experience is very important to me and I find it makes my life richer.

Since summer 2013, I have been blogging and have enjoyed it a lot, especially with the great community I found via WordPress and other social media. I hadn’t expected it to be such a great development so it was an awesome surprise! One of the projects I am most excited now is the #SciFi Women Interviews monthly feature, which I started end of March. The aim is to talk about Science Fiction, writing, representation, fan creations with a woman who creates/likes/supports/writes Science Fiction. I am excited to say that I have guests lined up until end of 2015! I am blown away with the enthusiasm for the project!

So what have I recently published? What am I writing? A lot. No really, if my muses could just give me a holiday (even a single day), it would be fabulous! At the same time, I’d be lonely without them.

2015 has marked my first steps into indie publishing. I plan to remain a hybrid type of writer, but I love the options we have at this time. When I first thought about publishing independently back in the early 2000s, it wasn’t so easy!

My first title this year was A Galaxy of Possibilities: Representation and Storytelling in Star Wars. It is available on Amazon, in Kindle format. This collection of essays focuses on characters from the whole franchise, going beyond the movies. Women and children are at the core of the different chapters. If you are a Star Wars fan or have a general interest in Science Fiction and long franchises, you’d like to check it out. As a nonfiction author with an academic background, I always want my writing projects to be detailed and well informed but also available for a general audience. I am a firm believer that accessibility begins with how you write.

Last year, I joined a group of bloggers for ‘Feminist Friday’ discussions. In February, I thought that maybe compiling our work for an eBook would be a wonderful idea. This was how Feminist Bloggers: The 2014 Collection was born before being officially released on International Women’s Day in March. I served as contributor and editor on this eBook, available for free on Smashwords and at 99c on Amazon (all benefits will go to a pro feminist charity, yet to be determined by our contributor group). The topics are diverse from eight talented contributors.

2015 is a pivotal year for me as an author, because it marks my first self published titles but also my return to original fiction after a ten year break! I am still wrapping my mind around it. I have been actively writing role-playing posts for a multitude of characters (in the Star Wars universe, yes, there is a pattern) since 2008, but my original projects were still shelved.

And this first novella I wrote when a teenager? It’s coming out on April 15! I am so excited about this. It means something that my first completed work of fiction is the first one I get to publish. I have revised it and decided to go the indie road again. I normally write in English but I kept this one, La Cité de Sharianth, in French. It is Science Fiction for kids (age 7 to 10) and focuses on Ranooki, a teenager who never knew her mother, who had to disappear shortly after her birth because her people were outlawed from the main lands and society. Her quest for answers will finally move forward the day she is contacted to help her mother’s people before they get eradicated.

Speaking of fiction, I am currently working on a Paranormal short story series, Clairvoyance Chronicles. Each volume will be a collection of ten short stories. I plan to release the first volume this summer, and then publish a new one every year. There are Fae, Were of all sorts, Shape Shifters (they are different in this universe) and a couple other types of beings. There is no vampire though! They don’t exist but there is a reason why humans believe they do.

Right now, I am set on finishing the first volume of Clairvoyance Chronicles, but I already have several ideas for what I’ll focus on next. I can do editing/promoting/brainstorming for various projects at the same time, but actual writing? I do projects one after the other. What I know for sure is that I have enough to keep me busy for a long while!

When I am not writing (which is rare as even one of my favorite hobbies, role-playing, involves writing!), you will probably find me reading, watching movies or TV (including for research). I also love creating fan videos (you’re welcome to check my YouTube channel for Fantasy/Science Fiction related ones) and have done it for almost 10 years. I didn’t think I would still be doing this after such a long time. Some years I barely make three videos, others I make many more. It remains a creative outlet I always return to after a while. I also love baking and doing needlepoint.

And of course, my beloved muse Kenzi (adopted last December from a shelter), demands attention often enough that I can take mini breaks (or longer when if she takes the keyboard for a cushion or wants to be cuddled!). For the Lost Girl fans reading this, yes, she is named Kenzi because of Ksenia Solo’s character in the show!

I’m looking forward to connect with you! You can find me on the following social media:

LINKS

Website/Blog – Tumblr – Youtube

Facebook – Twitter – LinkedIn – Google+ – Goodreads – Pinterest

Smashwords – Barnes & Noble

Amazon:

USA – UK – FR – Canada – Australia