1. What inspired you
to write this book?
It
was 2020, I was a freshman in college with real independence but no real
responsibilities, so I spent my days dreaming and my nights writing. The
soundtrack to my life at the time, and by extension this book, was folklore by
Taylor Swift, and I was also reading a lot of literary fiction (Normal
People by Sally Rooney, Writers and Lovers by Lily King) and fiction
that defied the laws of genre (The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E.
Schwab, The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey), which heavily
inspired the overall tone of Whispers of Ink and Starlight.
2.
What exactly is
it about — and who is it written for? Whispers of Ink
and Starlight
is about Nelle and James, a woman written into life and the man who helps free
her, and their journey as they search for themselves on a breathtaking trip
across Europe. It’s written for anyone of any age (over eighteen) with a
thirst for a little magic in the mundane. Anyone with a quiet dream. Anyone who
feels trapped, who needs to escape, to lose themselves in the pages of a book,
and maybe cry once or twice.
3.
What do you hope readers will get out of reading
your book?
I
hope readers leave my book feeling a bit more powerful with their voices and
their potential. When you leave Nelle and James’s story, I want you to feel
inspired to create something of your own. A novel, a screenplay, a painting, a
sculpture, a song—anything! The way James feels after seeing the live
performance of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is how I hope you
feel after reading Whispers of Ink and Starlight.
4.
How did you decide on your book’s title and cover
design? Arriving at the
title was a long and arduous journey. It changed countless times with every
draft, until, finally, the title fell in place from the text itself while I was
doing copyedits with Lake Union. I knew I needed the word ink in there,
as it’s such an integral part of the story, both as a symbol and in the magic
system. Whispers gave it a serious, mystical, mysterious tone. Starlight
was the part of the title that actually surprised me with how well it fit. As I
was reading though the book, countless references to stars and the night sky
slapped me in the face. A theme of the novel is chasing your dreams, and what
word better captures the magic of that journey than starlight?
5.
What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow
writers – other than run!?
Write
what feels right, and edit it to death. I wrote a few novels and self-published
The Daughter of Light Trilogy before I started Whispers of Ink and
Starlight, and when I was halfway through the first draft, I had a gut
feeling that it would be the one. It didn’t feel like a wishful hope. Though
I’m mostly here because of luck, at that time, the publication of Whispers
of Ink and Starlight felt like a certainty. As for editing, you can never do too much. Be your own
harshest critic and expose yourself to critique partners so that critical
feedback stings less. Be ruthless. Delete those overused adjectives. Study
every line of dialogue to make sure it’s interesting to read. Ensure that every
scene is accomplishing more than one thing for your story. Keep it tight, which
doesn’t mean keep it short. Fonda Lee’s The Greenbone Saga is a massive
trilogy and contains some of the most well-written, tightly plotted books I’ve
ever read. She doesn’t let a sentence go to waste. Lastly, read from as many genres
and authors of different backgrounds as you can.
6.
What trends in the book world do you see --
and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? Two things I notice are the rise of
audiobooks and the increasingly common indie-to-traditional publishing
pipeline. Audiobooks have always been popular, but I’ve noticed an uptick in
people getting into reading through listening to books, and I think it’s
wonderful. The more people who are reading the better, and don’t forget that
most libraries have the audiobook you want to listen to for free. Many of my mutuals on TikTok and
Instagram have either built fanbases around their self-published novels, which
have helped them in getting eyes on manuscripts for traditional publication, or
they have had traditional publishers pick up their previously self-published
works. Whichever trajectory this goes, it’s exactly the kind of dynamism the
publishing industry needs. Because of indie publishing, more and more power
goes into the hands of writers and their readers, which in my opinion, is
always a good thing.
7.
Were there experiences in your personal life or
career that came in handy when writing this book? I lived in rural Georgia for twenty
years, so when I was writing the first part of the book, which is set in
fictional small-town Lincoln, I
drew heavily on my own experiences. Lincoln is based off the towns around where
I grew up, down to the gazebo in its square and its fireworks festival.
Describing the sticky weather of summer in the south, the fireflies, the
honeysuckles, all came naturally to me.
8.
How would you describe your writing style? Which
writers or books is your writing similar to? I would describe my writing style
as simple but colorful. I want my books to be accessible to anyone, no matter
how skilled they are at reading, so I avoid using extremely abstract metaphors
and concepts. Especially when writing a novel about magic, it’s important to me
to keep the prose grounded. I also believe that less is often more, and I have
drawn inspiration from authors like Sally Rooney, Octavia Butler, and Coco
Mellors to hone a razor-sharp style. These authors all favor plot-propelling
and character-revealing details over illustrious descriptions of setting, which
is something I aspire to in my own writing.
9.
What challenges did you overcome in the writing of
this book?
Through
the drafts of Whispers of Ink and Starlight, I teetered back and forth
between underwriting and overwriting. The first draft was barely a novella, and
truthfully read more like a script. It was severely underwritten, but the bones
of the story were there. I think people would refer to this as a “zero draft.”
In my revisions, I bulked the novel up to 130,000 words, which is the length of
a high fantasy book. That was too long, and when I was editing again, I
realized that most of what I’d added, though necessary for the journey, was
repetitive and clogged the story. With that in mind, I cut it down to around
90,000 words, which is the length of the published book. With every book I write, I hope to
continue growing and changing as a writer, but this one taught me to understand
how to strike a balance between underwriting and overwriting, how to find that
sweet spot in the middle where the story soars.
10.
If people can buy or read one book this week
or month, why should it be yours?
First
of all, it’s short, just over 300 pages. I love short books, so that’s always a
selling point for me. I like to know that I can consume a full story in a
reasonable amount of time.
Mostly,
though, people should read my book if they want to escape and feel. I won’t lie
and say that Whispers of Ink and Starlight is happy all the time. The
novel’s moments of hope and love and light are balanced with the dark, the sad,
the heartbreaking. But at its core, this is a novel about escape. It has just
enough mystery to keep you intrigued, enough romance to keep you invested, and
themes of independence and belief in oneself that, hopefully, stick with you
long after you finish reading.
About The Author: Garrett Curbow is the author
of the Daughter of Light trilogy, which was short-listed for
the Publishers Weekly Selfies Award. He lives in Savannah,
Georgia. For more information, visit:
https://www.instagram.com/garrettcurbow
https://www.tiktok.com/@garrettcurbow (over
176k followers!)
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For
the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He
formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the
head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the
director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many
first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with
best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen,
Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard,
Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C.
Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.
His
writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s
The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully). He was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs
He
hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and
has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah
Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association,
Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and
Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the
2024 IBPA Book Awards.
His
letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal,
USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester)
and The Washington Post. His first published book was The
Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook. It
was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.
Born
and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids,
and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.
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