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In the nearly 6 years that Nicole has worked at Quirk, she has helped to publicize and market all things Quirk — including the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series, William Shakespeare's Star Wars, The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy, and more! She oversees everything from Quirk's books, to its brand, to this here blog. 

If you were stranded on Mars and could only have one book to read, what would it be?

For a book person, this is an impossible question! And I've spent an unnecessary amount of time thinking about this and have devised some criteria:

1) It would be something that I've already read because I'll want to be able to re-read it—who knows how long I'll be stranded there!

2) Said book would have to be something that affected me rather than pure entertainment because I'm presuming that I'm on my own and will have a lot of time with my thoughts.

3) It can't be too dense or esoteric because reading should be enjoyable.

So! In pure Oscar's fashion, the nominees are:

1. Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life
2. Zadie Smith's White Teeth
3. Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals

And the winner is: Zadie Smith's White Teeth because it meets all of the criteria. Plus, it's an epic story about family, friendship, and identity—all things that are important to me and give a lot of opportunity to mull over.  

Tell us about something cool you keep at your desk.

This cute little Adipose stress ball. Adipose are the cutest aliens and they're from one of my all-time favorite episodes of Doctor Who. I mean how can you not love this little blob?

What's your fandom?

Doctor Who! I'm currently eagerly awaiting the new season and think that a Tardis that could take me to 4/15 would be perfect.

I think the history nerd in me is really drawn to time travel. As a kid I was obsessed with Quantum Leap and as an adult Doctor Who has been a fun combination of storytelling and time travel that I really enjoy. And while the Doctor is immortal there is something so incredibly refreshing that he's flawed and human – just like us. AND the writing is fantastic, there's a look back at the past and an imagining of the future, and at the core it's a story about friendship because none of us can go through life alone.

What's an unexpected talent or side effect you've picked up while working at Quirk?

It's funny that Quirk created the Worst Case Scenario series because I feel like that's the unexpected talent I've picked up while working at Quirk. And to clarify, I don't mean that I've become MacGyver and can survive with the string from a yo-yo and a bobby pin! It's more that I tend to envision what could possibly go wrong and then try to make sure to iron out any potential problems ahead of time…

If you were a Quirk book, which one would you be?

My Best Friend's Exorcism! Minnesota Public Radio called the book "Campy. Heartfelt. Horrifying." I'm not saying I'm campy or horrifying but I think that I'm a heartfelt person who would do just about anything for a friend.

Illustration by Christina "Steenz" Stewart

When people consider the early history of comics, a few names spring immediately to mind – Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Bob Kane, Steve Ditko, and newspaper cartoonists like Charles Addams and Charles Schultz. Rarely do you hear about the women who paved the way for modern comics, especially not the women of color who created pioneering comic strips. One such voice is Jackie Ormes, the first black female syndicated newspaper cartoonist, who created dynamic characters that rejected the negative stereotypes that permeated depictions of black women at the time.

Jaimie Cordero is the CEO, Glitter Jedi, and one of the all around fantastic ladies behind Espionage Cosmetics. Glitter is important, friends. Check out the interview below!

There’s a little supervillain in all of us. Okay, maybe there's a LOT of supervillain in all of us. Whatever the case may be, you can't devise ominous master plans in your lair without a name to match your evilness. 

Moneka Hewlett is the Vice President of Sales at Quirk. This week she’s killing it overseas at London Book Fair, and we’re here to highlight her awesomeness.

Let's see how she answers our five questions!