Niniane Ui Maine, An Interview
Niniane
Ui Maine is one of the early settlers to the territory we know as Pan Historia.
She's an avid Librarian with resources on things celtic and ancient, and
of late has been especially active in the exciting novel, The Io Effect.
Top of the morning to you, Niniane! You have been selected as a featured personality for the upcoming edition of the Pan Historian!
Mind if I waylay you and ply you with a few questions before you continue on your journey?
How'd you find Pan Historia, and what made you stay?
I came to Pan Historia during the Beta testing phase. AS was crumbling and was on borrowed time. I was writing with a group of people from the Clan Urchurdan and they decided to make the leap over to PH. I decided to leap with them. When I was let in I helped with the planning and getting the story line back in place for the novel Scotia.
Would you be willing to tell us a few things about your offline self?
I originally came from San Francisco, California but have moved around a lot since then. Not sure where to actually call home but San Francisco is still one of my favorite cities. Now I live out in the country and don’t miss the city life one bit. I’m a civil servant who doesn’t think much of her job but it pays well and I’m hoping once my daughter graduates I’ll be able to make the move to something different. I love music and play the violin, although not as well as I did when I was younger. I’m really more of a book worm than anything. Give me a good book and I’ll be content for hours.
You are in the Io Effect novel. Who are you there, and what are you bringing to that novel?
In the Io Effect I am Niniane, Arch Druidess of Eire (Ireland). It’s a part I brought with me from AS where I was Ninian CuChulain. I came to this novel because of the crash of PH. I read some posts about people being out of place and time and thought it was a great concept. I was at the Pan’s Den under another name and didn’t want to participate in that form so I just read. As soon as it became a reality at PH I joined up. Right now The Io Effect has got to be my favorite novel and I enjoy the skill and diversity of the writers. I bring with me a knowledge of the Celts and Ireland of another time.
You also play in Scotia. Again, who are you there, and what are you bringing to that novel?
I also am the Arch Druidess in Scotia. My character has been writing with the founder of Scotia, Conachar Urchurdan, since 1998 and it is in Scotia I’m able to maintain the last ties to the characters and people I’ve known for so long. Admittedly I’m not bringing much to Scotia now. Since the crash some of the main characters haven’t returned and Scotia is in still finding its place.
Since you are a librarian, which areas of history do you mostly study?
Do you have special interests in the realm of the Celtic?
Not only the Celts but ancient history and archaeology as a whole. I love to do research and history has always been one of my greatest loves. Writing Niniane has given me an insight to the Celtic people I wouldn’t otherwise have had.
Would you have a fun yet obscure tidbit of history to share with us?
Since March is the month of St Patrick’s Day I’ll give you one about him and Ireland. It’s said that there are no snakes in Ireland because St. Patrick got drove them out. The reality is that the snakes referred to in that saying are the Celtic Priests known as the Druids who were driven from the Ireland with the coming of Christianity.
If you had a free round trip airline ticket to any place on the planet where you could spend two weeks exploring, where would you go?
Ireland of course! I’ve been planning a two week trip there and have all the places I want to go mapped out starting at Newgrange which is one of the oldest stone structures on earth, even older than the pyramids.
Since Niniane is Irish, and the theme this edition is Song and Dance, do you have any comments on Celtic music?
I love Celtic music!. There’s a woman named Pamela Bruner who plays the celtic harp. She has several albums out and a list of them can be found at this link. I would highly recommend her music to anyone.
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Featured Character Coordinator: Dr. Taniko Kishimoto
Featured Novel & Reference Book Coordinator: Amashelle
Editor: Myrrhine