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Nicole Babb is a recovering litigator who, now that she’s left private practice, is trying her hand at telling her own stories, instead of other people’s. She lives in New Orleans with her husband, Carlos, and dog, Daisy. She enjoys good wine, the occasional bad wine, yoga, and board games. Nicole started writing in 2022. Since then, she’s experimented with various genres, from political satire to horror to sci-fi. Her favorite pieces are set in that place in between the real and not-real, with larger-than-life characters and an extra helping of snark. This is her first published piece. 
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Interview with Nicole Babb
about her story "A Wine for Every Occasion"
Gold Winner in The Scribes Prize
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What inspired this piece?
I’m part of a wine circle that gets together every couple months to drink wine based around a pre-selected theme. The themes have gotten progressively weirder with time, and this summer, we ended up with “The Tunnel of Love” for our June tasting. I wrote “A Wine For Every Occasion” to pair with a J.B. Becker 2021 Riesling Spätlese Trocken—which is a really versatile wine, indeed—and I’m absolutely delighted the story is being enjoyed outside wine circle (and presumably, by at least one person who hasn’t been drinking).
What draws you to the micro-fiction format?
I love the way micro-fiction forces the author to pare back the story to only the barest necessities. In doing this, we rely on the reader to fill in the blanks, and every reader brings a little piece of themselves into the story. I think this is what makes micro-fiction so relatable as a reader, because every character is us and every story is ours – even if just a little bit. And that makes it really fun to write.
Who are some authors that inspire you?
This is tough to answer because there are so many. But the authors I find myself drawn to over and over are those that create big worlds and characters I want to be friends with. Some that come immediately to mind are: N.K. Jemisin, Martha Wells, R.F. Kuang, and Leigh Bardugo.
I’m part of a wine circle that gets together every couple months to drink wine based around a pre-selected theme. The themes have gotten progressively weirder with time, and this summer, we ended up with “The Tunnel of Love” for our June tasting. I wrote “A Wine For Every Occasion” to pair with a J.B. Becker 2021 Riesling Spätlese Trocken—which is a really versatile wine, indeed—and I’m absolutely delighted the story is being enjoyed outside wine circle (and presumably, by at least one person who hasn’t been drinking).
What draws you to the micro-fiction format?
I love the way micro-fiction forces the author to pare back the story to only the barest necessities. In doing this, we rely on the reader to fill in the blanks, and every reader brings a little piece of themselves into the story. I think this is what makes micro-fiction so relatable as a reader, because every character is us and every story is ours – even if just a little bit. And that makes it really fun to write.
Who are some authors that inspire you?
This is tough to answer because there are so many. But the authors I find myself drawn to over and over are those that create big worlds and characters I want to be friends with. Some that come immediately to mind are: N.K. Jemisin, Martha Wells, R.F. Kuang, and Leigh Bardugo.