Questions and Answers
What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on three projects. One is the sequel to The Soul Cages. I am also working on two stories for an upcoming anthology, and the third project is a science fiction/mystery with a female inspector named Cybil Lewis.
Who (Fact or Fiction) would you most like to meet, and what would you ask them?
I would like to meet Lawrence Sanders and I would ask him how he continued to make his McNally character funny and entertaining.
Is there a book or story you wish you had written?
I wish I would have written The Mists of Avalon.
Is writing your full time occupation, if not what is?
My full time occupation is public school teacher.
What was your first professional sale? How did it feel when you received the acceptance?
My first professional sale was Browne Candidate. It felt like I had been doused with a pail of ice water.
Who is you favourite author?
This is a hard question! If I HAD to choose, I would select Sue Grafton.
If you could give one piece of advice to a would-be author, what would it be?
Learn how to edit your own work. It sounds really simple, but it is truly difficult.
Are you for or against e-books?
I am for ebooks of course! I'm an ebook author <g>.
Are you a music fan? If so, what?
If so, what? I am a huge music fan. I love Sting, U2, Counting Crows, Matchbox Twenty, Whitney Houston.
Why do you like SF/F/H?
I like science fiction and fantasy because I get to control the universe. How wonderful to be able to create, destroy and invent people and circumstances.
What book are you reading at the moment?
I am currently reading BLOODWIND by Charlotte Boyett-Compo.
Do you prefer writing about the near future or the far distant future?
I prefer writing about the near future.
As a reader do you prefer Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror?
Fantasy.
Do You Always know a Story's Ending When You Begin Writing?
Never. During the course of writing, my characters take on a life of their own and they begin to do and say things that I often disapprove of, yet they carry their own fate until the very last page.
Why do you think SF gets a bad press?
I think SF gets bad press because it's very difficult to understand. It requires imagination, which many people no longer have. Even the Lego sets now come with a picture on the box on how to assemble it. When I was a child, the box came with a bunch of Legos and YOU used your imagination to create whatever your heart liked.
What's the most memorable thing said in a review of your work?
The most memorable thing said in a review of my work was when Cindy Penn of Wordweaving said,
"A powerful voice in women's fiction, Nicole Kurtz is a writer that commands reader's attention."
Have you won any awards for your writing?
I've been named a finalist in the EPPIEs for Science Fiction for my novel, Browne Candidate.
Plug away - what do you have coming out?
I am currently in the middle of three projects. My most recent release, The Soul Cages, is my quite different from Browne Candidate. The Soul Cages deals with one woman's role in the greater scheme of life when an Oracle predicts that she is a savior for the Pixlis galaxy. But first, she has to intergrate herself into her five senses.
Thanks again!
Many Thanks, Nicole!
Relevant LinksNicole Givens Kurtz Main Bibliography
Nicole Givens Kurtz's Website
