Kurtz, Sylvie

views updated

KURTZ, Sylvie

PERSONAL: Born in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, Canada. Education: John Abbott College, A.S. (social science); Florida Institute of Technology, A.S. (flight technology).

ADDRESSES: Office—P.O. Box 702, Milford, NH 03055. Agent—Linda Kruger, Fogelman Literary Agency, Dallas, TX. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer.

WRITINGS:

romance novels

Broken Wings, Leisure Books (Norwalk, CT), 1996.

Silver Shadows, Leisure Books (Norwalk, CT), 1997.

One Texas Night, Harlequin Enterprises (Buffalo, NY), 1999.

Blackmailed Bride, Harlequin Enterprises (Buffalo, NY), 2000.

Alyssa Again, Harlequin Enterprises (Buffalo, NY), 2001.

A Little Christmas Magic, Silhouette Books (Buffalo, NY), 2001.

Flesh and Blood, Harlequin Enterprises (Buffalo, NY), Book 1: Remembering Red Thunder, 2002, Book 2: Red Thunder Reckoning, 2002.

Under Lock and Key, Harlequin Enterprises (Buffalo, NY), 2003.

The Seekers, Book 1: Heart of a Hunter, Book 2: Mask of a Hunter, Harlequin Enterprises (Buffalo, NY), 2004.

A Rose at Midnight (tentative title), Harlequin Enterprises (Buffalo, NY), 2005.

Personal Enemy, Silhouette Books (Buffalo, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Sylvie Kurtz told CA: "Flying an eight-hour solo cross-country flight in a Piper Arrow, with only the airplane's crackling radio and a large bag of M & Ms for company, I realized a pilot's life wasn't for me. The stories zooming in and out of my head proved more entertaining than the flight itself. Not a quitter, I finished my pilot's course, earning my commercial license and instrument rating.

"Since then, I've traded in my pilot's license for a keyboard, where I let my imagination soar to create fictional adventures that explore the power of love and the thrill of suspense.

"I write because I'm not good at anything else. It's an internal drive. Being socially challenged, I'm always trying to figure out what makes people tick, why they do what they do, why they act the way they do. Writing allows me to try to decipher how people interact. It also provides a good excuse to research new and interesting things with each project.

"My work is influenced by life in general. I clip newspaper and magazine articles, collect nonfiction books, get hooked on television news-magazine stories. Ideas jump from there and get twisted and turned into a story.

"Several things (place, person, situation) click together, causing an 'a-ha!' moment that leads to 'what-if' questions. From there, I draw up character sketches, throw them into conflict, and see what comes up. Before I start writing, I like to have an idea of the psychological spine of my story and an idea as to where it will end. Then I write and let myself be surprised along the way.

"The mind and how it works fascinates me, so most of my stories grow from a situation that has a psychological element. What would make a mind forget its past? How much does physical beauty dictate how we live our lives? How does one get through grief? I believe in the power of love to change a life, in the values of loyalty, fidelity, and honor, and in the reality of a mutually beneficial partnership. So those elements show up in the romantic parts of my stories. And since fairness doesn't always exist in our world, I like to see the bad guy 'get his' in the suspense part of my stories."