Garrett Curbow is the author of the new novel Whispers of Ink and Starlight. He also has written the Daughter of Light trilogy. He lives in Savannah, Georgia.
Q: What inspired you to write Whispers of Ink and Starlight?
A: It was 2020, I was a freshman in college with exclusively online classes, and a lot of free time to sit alone and write. I wanted to tell a love story without being confined to the traditional tropes and expectations of the romance genre.
For the overall atmosphere of the novel, I pulled from Taylor Swift’s folklore, with its whimsical, stripped-back production and gut-wrenching lyricism.
I took literary inspiration from a blend of authors I admire. I loved the realistic relationships Sally Rooney constructed in her novels Conversations with Friends and Normal People, and the magical realism in V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
Overall, what inspired the heart of Whispers of Ink and Starlight were my own hopes, dreams, and fears. Like James, I had unfulfilled dreams of being a published author, and like Nelle, I needed to escape.
Q: How did you create your characters Nelle and James, and how would you describe their relationship?
A: Before Nelle and James were fully formed, I knew what kind of story I wanted to tell. Two people in their early 20s with larger-than-life dreams. When I started the first draft, the shapes of their characters already existed in my mind, but their unique quirks and personality traits came as I wrote.
James is stoic, nervous, and protective. Nelle is light as air, fiery, and selfish. With every subsequent draft, their personalities became clear as day. They became real people, living in my mind and on the page.
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: Whispers of Ink and Starlight was the fifth title for this novel. With every draft, the title changed. I wanted to slam my head into the wall trying to come up with something that would capture the romance, the drama, the magic, and the hope of this story.
In conversation with my editor, we finally came across the perfect title by pulling words and imagery from the book itself. Whispers connotates a mysterious, misty atmosphere, ink is central to the conflict and plot, and starlight captures the hopefulness of Nelle and James’s relationship, the wishes they make for their futures.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?
A: I mostly want readers to feel inspired by Whispers of Ink and Starlight. Inspired to write, to travel, to fall in love, to chase their dreams. My takeaway from writing this story is to not settle for unhappiness, and I hope, when people finish reading it, that they let that idea simmer for a while.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m doing edits on my next stand-alone novel (though there might be series potential there). I won’t say too much about it, because at this point, anything could change, but it is a gritty, sparkly story about a 23-year-old demon slayer named Jules who has dreams of being a popstar, her best friend Peter, and the musician they meet who derails their lives.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: If you read Whispers of Ink and Starlight, be prepared for the unexpected. Although romance is a big part of the themes and the characters’ journeys, it does not follow the traditional rules of a romance novel, which is why it’s classified as literary fiction.
I love a genre-obeying book, the comfort of knowing the kind of story I’m getting into, but that was not my goal with Whispers. In fact, it was the opposite of my goal. I wanted this novel to twist, to turn, with the freedom to end it however felt the most right.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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