Nicole Sune Sbitani (she/her) is a diplomat by day and speculative fiction author by night. The views expressed in her newsletter or on her website are her own and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of State or the United States.
What is Fics & Dip?
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Hi, there! For years, many of my friends and family have asked where they can find my fiction writing and my thoughts on popular media set in my area of expertise, diplomacy (the most common requests are Madam Secretary and The Diplomat). Well, I finally created a place for all that with Fics & Dip! My goal starting out is to post every 1-2 weeks with updates on my fiction writing and/or thoughts on another creative work (including which books, stories, movies, shows, and games do international affairs well, which don't, and why). I hope this can be both a fun read and a resource for readers, watchers, other writers, and curious people who care about the world. All new subscribers will receive in their inboxes a copy of my first-ever professional science fiction publication, a flash fiction called "100 Ways to Pass as Human." Just sign up and reply to any newsletter email if you would like to request a topic for a future post or let me know what you think - it's that easy! Thanks for joining me! Nicole Disclaimer: The views expressed in my newsletter or on my website are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of State or the United States. |
Nicole Sune Sbitani
Nicole Sune Sbitani (she/her) is a diplomat by day and speculative fiction author by night. The views expressed in her newsletter or on her website are her own and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of State or the United States.
Hello! You may know that Brandon Sanderson is one of the most prolific and successful fiction authors of all time. Did you also know that he regularly lectures on the craft of speculative fiction writing and the business of publishing, and then kindly makes that content available online for free? I listened to his previous Brigham Young University (BYU) lecture series from 2016 on YouTube and have recently been working through an updated 2025 version of the same lecture series in podcast...
When I was in college, some of my friends and I exchanged handwritten letters. It was a nice way to stay in touch when we scattered to different universities, and I remember how exciting it felt to receive a letter in the mail - completely different than a text or email! There's something similarly special about reading my words on published paper instead of just on a screen. I'll forever be grateful to Exponent II for being the first to publish my adult fiction in this way, and I still keep...
We took a family trip to Chincoteague, an island in Virginia famous for horses. This fame comes from Misty of Chincoteague, a children’s novel written by Marguerite Henry. As a testament to how impactful this novel is, I read it in the early 2000s as a kid even though it was originally published in 1947! (Did any other readers go through a horse girl phase as a kid? I know there must be a few.) Although I didn’t have time to re-read the book before our trip, we did watch the 1961 film...