You’re My Inspiration with Nicole Givens Kurtz

One of the most common questions authors face is a deceptively difficult one to answer: “Where do you get your ideas?” Yet, the answers to that common question can be almost as interesting as the resulting story. Welcome to You’re My Inspiration, a column dedicated to discovering what inspires a particular author and their work. Whether it be a lifelong love of mythical creatures, a fascinating bit of history, or a trip to a new and exciting place, You’re My Inspiration is all about those special and sometimes dark things that spark ideas and result in great stories.

This week, we bring you publisher and author Nicole Givens Kurtz, whose latest, Kill Three Birds, was released on July 20th from Mocha Memoirs Press!

Imagination Takes Flight

I fell in love with Stephen King at an early age. So young, in fact, my mother had great concerns about my mental status. Once such book struck me as outstanding, Eyes of the Dragon. It was a different story from his other horror titles, but no less impactful. Around this same time, I read my first Sue Grafton novel, A is for Alibi. These twin seeds grew together into one large, leafy plant of my imagination — fantasy and mystery.

Despite the genre rules that allows bookstores and online stores to market and categorize titles, most stories include mash-ups or combinations of other genres. For example, Eyes of the Dragon, was a fantasy, with dragons and evil wizards, but it also served as a mystery and a story of love, honor, and faith.

I have been a fan of science fiction and fantasy as well. My readings leaned toward comics and Ray Bradbury, until I discovered Octavia Butler, which blew my mind. Suddenly, African Americans had a starring role in a science fiction story! I wanted more of this, and as I grew as a writer, I started writing the stories I wanted to read.

So, I wrote them, and I have for the last 20 years. They are all mashups. A common thread throughout all of my series, Cybil Lewis, Minister Knights of Souls, The Candidate had a unifying thread — suspense and mystery. The two things that anchored in me as a reader. The wind that allowed me to rush through books, devouring the twists, the turns, the fantastic!

Christian Cooper

For my upcoming release, Kill Three Birds: A Kingdom of Aves Mystery, I wanted to create a fantastic world that didn’t borrow so heavily from Tolkien. One that relied on fantastic creatures, but not the ones we usually see in the fantasy genre. I’ve been intrigued by birds since I was a teenager, but I didn’t have a ton of knowledge or information. I went to the mighty Google, and I searched on Black bird watchers.

What I found became the foundation for the Kingdom of Aves. Black birders and bird watchers — those who were bird watching but as often times the only Black person in the bird watching group — suffered harassment and racism. My research into Black bird watchers happened about two months before the situation with Christian Cooper and the attempted assault via police on a him by a white woman walking her dog. What this did was show the importance of promoting my story and allowing Prentice, my main character, tell hers. It’s a small thing, yes, but I believe that Kingdom of Aves was meant to be written.

Dr. Drew Lanham

Throughout the Kingdom of Aves, nests — which are like states or providences — are named after Black or female ornithologists, and the eggs (cities) are named after white, male ornithologists. The center of Aves is named after Dr. J. Drew Lanham, a prominent Black ornithologist who lectures at Clemson University. By naming the nests after Black ornithologists, I hope to make them familiar to my readers.

Another article was recently published about Black bird watchers, and it served to further reinforce and inspire my world-building in the Kingdom of Aves and specifically with Kill Three Birds. The CNN article was written in response to the Christian Cooper situation, and again served to inspire my own writing about Aves.

Toni Morrison said that if we don’t see the story we want to read, then go write it. I’m paraphrasing, but I wanted a fantastic story that centered women as the ruling class, and Black women were heroines. Aves is matrilineal and they worship the goddess. It includes winged humans, mystery, and stories of relationships, love, faith, and honor. It’s everything that inspires me wrapped into one fun, suspenseful novella.

I hope it does the same for you.

Nicole Givens Kurtz is the author of eight novels, and over 40 plus short story publications. She is a member of SFWA. Her science fiction novels have been named as A Carl Brandon Society Parallax Award’s Recommended title (Zephyr Unfolding), Fresh Voices in Science Fiction finalist (Zephyr Unfolding), Dream Realm Award Finalist in Science Fiction (Browne Candidate), and EPPIE Finalist in Science Fiction (Browne Candidate). Her short works have appeared in Serial Box’s The Vela: Salvation, Baen’s Straight Outta Tombstone, Bram Stoker Finalist in Horror, Sycorax’s Daughters, and White Wolf’s Vampire the Masquerade Anthology.

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Author Photo by Kecia Stovall 

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