This month’s "Meet the Member" features Kimberly Moravec, a freelance science editor with a special interest in artificial intelligence. In her spare time, she loves writing science fiction, and has recently published a zombie novel called Undead on Arrival.
Tell us a little about yourself and why you come to Unicorn Studios?
I'm a freelance editor who specialises in editing research papers for English as a second-language scientists. There's a vast amount of research performed around the world, but all of the top scientific journals are in English, and it can be difficult for scientists to disseminate their work, even when that work is very good, because of the language barrier.
My area of focus is artificial intelligence, although I can handle most topics in computer science, electrical engineering, and robotics. I also wrote several chapters from scratch on artificial intelligence and computer vision for a textbook for a German university last year.
I come to Unicorn Studios because, like most people who work from home, it's hard for me to concentrate when laundry needs to be done or the sun is shining and a walk through the fields sounds like fun. And it's a bit lonely in my little cottage deep in the Suffolk countryside!
What was your first job?
At uni, I was a volunteer DJ at the university's radio station, and the opportunity to become the station engineer popped up. I hardly knew what I was doing, but fell in love with making things work. I even changed my course to electrical engineering as a result.
Undead On Arrival published last year
What work accomplishment are you most proud of?
So being a science editor is my day job, but by night, I write science fiction. Last year I made the leap and published Undead on Arrival, which is a zombie novel about a detective who has three murders to solve (one of them is his own).
I'm proud of it because it took me over ten years of trying to get good at storytelling. Along that journey, I joined and quit several writing groups.
About two years ago, my friend Charlie and I started an online writer's group called All Writer's Online Workshop. Organising and leading groups is way out of my comfort zone, but it was worth it for the incredible boost we as writers have given each other as part of a community. Anyone who is at a point in their writing where honest, respectful feedback would be helpful is more than welcome to visit to see if we might be right for them!
Are you an early bird or a night owl?
Night owl, definitely!
Favourite memory standing at the top of the Shard
What’s one of your favourite memories this year?
Standing at the top of the Shard on the way home from a conference on self publishing. Looking over the side, I saw it was possible to climb down the outside, and from that moment I knew the sequel to Undead on Arrival would be set mainly in the Shard. The title of the sequel will probably be Each Dawn We Die, but in my heart, it will always be Die Shard.
What’s something you’re planning on doing in the next year that you’ve never done before?
This year, my partner (who is an artist) and I plan to kickstart a 24-page comic, Chihuahuas of the Corn. I wrote the script, he did the layout, drawings and inking, and I'm going to do the colouring.
Chihuahuas of the Corn
When working what is your guilty pleasure?
Sneaking a bit of nice cheese from the fridge (probably the only thing Boris Johnson and I have in common).
If you could snap your fingers and become an expert in something, what would it be?
Producing top-quality video content. Whether you're into science communication or science fiction, it seems like video is a medium that really differentiates freelancers.
That said, there's a lot of people that can do it really well, so getting noticed on YouTube or other social media platforms means hitting that expected level of quality. It's a whole new set of skills, although the new tools available are making it easier.
What is your hidden talent?
Colouring comics! And illustration.
A hidden talent colouring comics
What three people would be your fantasy coworkers at Unicorn studios? And why?
Phoebe Waller–Bridge. She's an amazing writer and I imagine a lot of fun to hang out with. And probably the filmmaker Danny Brocklehurst for the same reasons. The third would be Donald Knuth, the pioneering computer scientist. I think he'd probably sit quietly in his corner but always have something very profound to say when asked.
Would you rather be a tiny unicorn or a giant hamster?
Being a tiny unicorn sounds fantastic, but I'm going to go with giant hamster. I'd spend my days hanging out with Godzilla, King Kong, and Mothra in the Hollow Earth, occasionally popping up in the Sea of Japan to terrify Navy ships for fun. I wouldn't step on any cities, though. Promise.
Kimberly selling Undead on Arrival at a book fair
Benefits of joining Unicorn Studios
Productivity
Work-life balance
Cost effective
Collaboration
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