Katherine Irene Kurtz

Katherine Irene Kurtz

American writer, novelist
Date of Birth: 18.10.1944
Country: USA

Content:
  1. Biography of Katherine Irene Kurtz
  2. Early Career and Personal Life
  3. Literary Career

Biography of Katherine Irene Kurtz

Katherine Irene Kurtz is an American writer and novelist known for her fantasy and crypto-history novels. She was born in Coral Gables, Florida, USA. Her father worked as a radar specialist at Bendix Avionics, and her mother was a secretary at a law firm. Kurtz believed that her soul was brought into this world during a powerful hurricane. She claimed that she cannot remember a time when she couldn't read and recited a poem flawlessly at the age of two. She joined the school and local public libraries during her elementary school years and developed an interest in history and chemistry. Her passion for chemistry later helped her reach the semifinals of a young researchers' competition in her state. This victory allowed her to graduate from the University of Miami with a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1966. She continued her education at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she studied medieval history and obtained a master's degree in arts with a dissertation on the history of medieval England in 1971.

Early Career and Personal Life

In 1969, Katherine Kurtz was invited to join the Los Angeles Police Department as an administrative assistant. After completing her master's degree, she became a senior instructor at the Police Academy until 1981. During her time at the University of California, she joined the Society for Creative Anachronism, a group that recreates medieval European culture. She became known as "Bivian Fraser, Countess of Sterling" and twice held the title of "Queen of the West." It was during this time that she met her future husband, Scott MacMillan, who is a publisher and producer. They got married on April 9, 1983.

In 1986, the couple moved from California to Ireland and purchased HoliBrook Hall Castle in County Wicklow. Currently, Katherine Kurtz, along with her husband, Scott MacMillan, and his son from a previous marriage, Cameron, reside in Virginia, USA, where they returned in 2007. Kurtz developed a love for fantasy during her school years, with J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and Andre Norton's works having the greatest influence on her. Over time, she developed her own style and preferred working in the subgenre of historical fantasy, where "the action takes place in a world similar to real medieval Earth, with magic that resembles psychic abilities."

Literary Career

On October 11, 1964, during her time at the University of Miami, Kurtz had a vivid dream that became the basis for her novella, "Lords of Sordor," completed in October 1965. The University of California and her studies in medieval history significantly influenced her initial concept, and when she offered her debut novel to Ballantine Books after her education, it differed from her previous work. The novel "Deryni Rising" was published in August 1970, followed by two sequels that formed the first trilogy of the Eleven Kingdoms series, known as "The Chronicles of Deryni."

In the following years, the world described by Kurtz in the first trilogy continued to develop. From 1976 to 1981, she published the "Legends of Camber of Culdi" trilogy, with the final novel winning the prestigious Balrog Award. She also released two more trilogies, "The Histories of King Kelson" (1984-1986 and 1989-1994) and a companion novel, "The Bride of King Kelson" (2000). In 2003 and 2006, the first two novels of a new trilogy, "Childe Morgan" and "In the King's Service," were published, with the author currently working on the third novel. Additionally, Kurtz published a collection of short stories called "The Deryni Archives" (1986), a grimoire titled "The Deryni Magic" (1990), and an encyclopedia called "Codex Derynianus" (1997, co-authored with Robert Reginald). She also edited a collection of stories by her fans, "Deryni Tales" (2002).

Besides historical fantasy, Katherine Kurtz has also worked in other genres. In collaboration with Deborah Turner Harris, she wrote two series: the historical detective series with elements of mysticism, "The Adept" (1991-1996), and the crypto-historical science fiction series, "The Templar" (1998-2002). Together with her husband, Scott MacMillan, she wrote a detective series about vampires called "The Knights of Blood" (1993-1994).

Katherine Kurtz has received several awards for her work, including the Edmond Hamilton Award in 1977 for her novel "Camber the Heretic" and the Balrog Award in 1982 for "Camber the Healer."

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