The Nano Watt Hall of Fame

⭐️ Science Fiction || @marsaumell⭐️

Meet Mar (@marsaumell), a skilled software translator hailing from a quaint town near Barcelona. But despite her professional focus, Mar finds contentment as an amateur writer, cherishing the dream of professional recognition if the opportunity ever graces her path.

Beyond her creative pursuits, she is a proud mother, navigating life with a broad-minded Catholic perspective and is a resilient survivor, triumphing over the challenges posed by a past tumor.

In 2022 she managed to secure two admirable feats of becoming a Wattpad creator and shortlisting for the Wattys of the same year.

Her Wattys Shortlisted novel 'Browser City' won the grand winner prize in The 2023 NanoWatt Awards, in the Science Fiction Category and follows the digital adventure of Shannon and Ajax in a race against time to save their beloved cyber city from catastrophe!

Digital, anthropomorphic beings live in our laptops, smartphones, and other devices, but humans aren't aware of their existence despite being their creators.

Shannon Wise, search engine in Browser City, has to fight off Pitt and Nekari, malware and spyware that have come to her city hoping to infect it and obtain the User's credentials and sensitive data. She will have to do it with the help of Ajax Eagleye, a recently installed, stern antimalware and adblocker that gets easily pissed off, in order to save her city.

A know-it-all search engine. An angry rookie with an ego problem. A clueless User. A foul Hacker. Many innocent, digital lives at stake. All of them pieces in the Developer's chess game.

Will Shannon and Ajax be able to defend Browser City, and thus save the Operative System and the sensitive data stored there, without the User's help?

A digital Science-Fiction & Action story, with a sprinkle of Romance!

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How does it feel to be a grand winner of the 2023 Nano Watt Awards? Were you confident that you would make it this far in the competition?

I'm elated that my book was chosen as a grand winner. While I'm not usually seeking recognition for the stories I write, it feels great to be appreciated.

In your own words what is your winning entry about?

My story is about empathy and love in a broad sense, beyond romanticism. Family, friendship, trust, creating and preserving bonds without pressure, judgement, or any other kind of constraint... in a digital world.

Could you share with us the inspiration behind your story?

Back in summer 2020, Wattpad got cyber attacked. My account was affected. After the shitstorm, many appalled users were losing their minds online... while I thought: "Wait a second. This is a great conflict. What if those cyberthreats were characters in a story? What if I created worthy opponents for them, in a digital city?" Thus, Browser City was born.

And, in short, what was the process like in taking this book from novel idea to finished product? Were there any challenges or pleasant surprises along the way?

The process was... interrupted many times. At the time, I had a longer novel to finish. A much more serious one which required a lot of time and effort. So, to chill out for a bit I came back to Browser City, just for fun. I had chosen a special requirement for it: to add as many action scenes as possible. Action scenes have always been difficult for me, so I wanted to use this story as a training exercise. Another difficulty is length. I'm a bloody chatterbox. So, I wanted to reach 50K AND not drag the story too much further. Pleasant surprises? I succeeded at hitting those milestones just in time to submit the story to the Wattys 2022.

Having completed a full novel what encouragement would you give to writers struggling with self doubt and creative blocks?

Self-doubt, creative blocks, or any other obstacle might appear sooner or later (or repeatedly) in your writing journey. My advice is to take it easy. Take a break from writing for some time and do things you also love: do some exercise, travel, meet with friends, etc. Inspiration and positivity will definitely hit you back when you least expect it!

In terms of its genre, How would you say your book defy or compliment the expectations/tropes?

Browser City is an odd science-fiction book because it doesn't fully comply with the definition of the genre. Tech setting and plot? Check. Fictional world rules follow those of the real world? Check. But... I love what the Science-Fiction Ambassadors say about this in their book "How to Write Science Fiction?": "Science fiction is what could be, but isn't; fantasy is about what couldn't be." Can digital non-human creatures exist inside our devices in real life? Could they exist in the future? I don't think so, not in the present or the future (but I'd love to). But my book sure does fit in the genre as other digital-world-based works of fiction like Tron or ReBoot, for example.

If there was one character that potential readers had to read your book just to meet, who would it be and why?

Many readers love little Zita because she's charming, daring, and funny. But if you're a darker kind of reader, you'll love the main antagonist more, Nekari. She's wicked but fun, and she's got a scythe and an unnerving but visually-appealing regeneration process when she gets wounded.

In terms of your writing style and storytelling what authors and/or creative media have influenced you throughout the years?

My favourite author is (and will always be) Neil Gaiman. Did I say "author"? Sorry, my bad. I meant to say "god". I love the creators of "ReBoot" and "Tron", core source of inspiration for this story. I also adore Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Alan Moore, David Lloyd, Lovecraft, Poe, René Goscinny, and the people at Guerrilla Games behind "Horizon Zero Dawn", just to name a few.

If you could have a crossover between your book and one of the books of a favourite published/ Wattpad author, who would it be and why?

I'd pick a crossover with "ReBoot". Their perception of time is the same, as well as who the good/bad characters are in terms of their roles and why. It'd be amazing to see Enzo teaming up with my dear Ajax in battle scenes!

What other works or stories in the works can readers look forward to from you?

At the moment, I'm publishing a science-fiction story called "Haywire Ranger" (great for readers who love "How to Train Your Dragon", soon to be finished) and an MMORPG-based story called "Net Salvagers" (for those who love "Sword Art Online"). In December or January, I'll start publishing another science-fiction story called "Suits Versus Healer", a story about a young doctor seeking the cure to a pandemic in a human colony in space.

Now that the award season has ended, what can you say on your Nano Watt 2023 experience? Can we expect to see you in 2024? 😄

Participating has been great. I look forward to joining in 2024!

And before you go we must know....ketchup on your fries or ketchup to the side?🍅🍟

Oh dear... I hate ketchup-please don't kill me. LOL

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Thanks again Mar for chatting with us and congrats on your win!

You may find her winning entry Browser City in our TNW GRANDWINNERS 2023 reading list or visit her profile at marsaumell