Khristin Wierman on the Inspiration Behind Buck's Pantry

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. 

Today’s guest for the WHAT is Khristin Wierman, author of Buck’s Pantry

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

For me, the ideas come at random moments—usually when I’m focused on something else entirely. For this book, the first flash came when I was taking a nap. For one of my other books, the first inkling came when I was in the shower.

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

I just started writing scenes. From there, I began to get a sense of what fit in the story and what did not.

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

I haven’t had a real reversal, but I’ve certainly felt surprised about where and how the story ultimately went. 

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

Not often, but they do come—often when I’m thoroughly enjoying something else entirely. 

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

It’s so interesting you ask that because I’ve got two sort of bubbling in my mind. I’ve started writing scenes from both, and I think I’ll just have to see which one takes flight first.

I have 6 cats and a Dalmatian (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?

Rocco, my cat, is the best writing buddy. But he’s my only one. I do have wonderful relationships with my editors and a small group of beta readers, and those help as well. 

Khristin Wierman spent twenty years rising through the marketing ranks of Fortune 500 companies, building a career that was lucrative, ego-boosting, and a little bit soul-crushing. So she quit. And had no idea what to do with her life. Writing novels ensued. She was born and raised in a small East Texas town—which means she came into this world a Dallas Cowboys fan and ardently believes “y’all” is a legitimate pronoun. Some things she enjoys are playing golf with her husband and stepson, poker, yoga, chocolate, the Golden State Warriors, and the daily adventure of life with an adorably imperfect cat named Rocco. She lives in San Francisco, California.

David Bell on How Publishing Does and Doesn’t Change You

It’s time for a new interview series… like NOW. No really, actually it’s called NOW (Newly Omniscient Authors). This blog has been publishing since 2011, and some of the earlier posts feel too hopeful dated. To honor the relaunch of the site, I thought I’d invite some of my past guests to read and ruminate on their answers to questions from oh-so-long-ago to see what’s changed between then and now.

Today’s guest for the NOW is David Bell, author of The Finalists where the competitive selection process for a prized college scholarship turns deadly.

Has how you think (and talk) about writing and publishing changed, further into your career?

I’ve certainly become more aware of the business side of things. Many moons ago, I wrote just to write, and publishing was a distant dream. Once books were published, I found myself thinking more about publishing trends and the marketplace. 

Let’s talk about the balance between the creative versus the business side of the industry. Do you think of yourself as an artiste or are you analyzing every aspect of your story for marketability? Has that changed from your early perspective?

I never thought of myself as either an artiste or as a businessperson. I always wanted to write entertaining books that a lot of people would read. If the books were well-reviewed or appreciated in some other way, great. But I didn’t expect it. If anything, the longer my career has gone on the more I’ve swung back around to trying to write just for myself. Writers can’t chase the market. Even publishers don’t really know what’s going to catch on and not catch on. So why not have fun?

The bloom is off the rose… what’s faded for you, this far out from debut?

In a good way, I’ve come to realize how little real control I have over my career and the response to the books. Writers have an obligation to promote books they write. But there’s a limit to how much a writer can influence the sales and reception of the book. Again, I can do what I can do. But I’m not likely to be able to create a viral video of me falling on the ice that ends up selling one million books.

Likewise, is there anything you’ve grown to love (or at least accept) that you never thought you would?

Even though public events and readings are nerve-wracking, I’ve grown more and more comfortable doing them. It’s one of the few times we can meet readers and have someone applaud for us. I’m jealous of musicians who can play every night and hear applause. I ear applause a few times a year, but it’s nice.

And lastly, what did getting published mean for you and how was it changed (or not changed!) your life?

It meant I wouldn’t die without seeing my name on a book in a bookstore. It meant that I was good enough for it to happen. And somehow, I’ve sustained it. But it didn’t make me a different person. Whatever problems a writer has when they write the book they still have after the book is published. Publishing isn’t magic. It won’t turn you into a different person. That you have to do on your own. 

David Bell is the USA Today-bestselling author of twelve novels from Berkley/Penguin, including The Finalists, Kill All Your Darlings, The Request, Layover, Somebody’s Daughter, Bring Her Home, Since She Went Away, Somebody I Used To Know, The Forgotten Girl, Never Come Back, The Hiding Place, and Cemetery Girl. He is a professor of English at Western Kentucky University where he co-founded the MFA program in creative writing.

A Hell of a Lot of Research on Heaven

Research for a novel? Not my interest. That’s why I decided to write fantasy. You can make everything up, right? No historical accuracy issues, no one to call me out on how a police detective or a doctor works, no worries about geographical blunders. Perfect!

I was so naïve. 

Growing up in a Christian church, I’d always had an interest in angels. White robes, halos, harps and beautiful, bright, shining beings. I got this. Only, I wanted to write about Lucifer, before his fall from Heaven. The story—a version of it—existed, obviously, so I figured I’d read up on it as a starting point, then jump to my own ideas from there. Quick and dirty and get it done. 

I started with the Bible, completely misremembering how little information there is on the battle of the Heavens. Three measly Bible verses. (Revelation 12 7-9). And it said that Satan, personified as a dragon, was thrown down to Earth with all his angels. Earth?? I thought he was cast into Hell! 

More research: Paradise Lost, the epic poem by 17th century English poet John Milton. (Okay, okay, reading excerpts and summaries…) Ah, so this is where our more common perceptions of Lucifer and his battle against God came from. Maybe?

But Milton talks about other angels, too: Uriel, Raphael, Abdiel, Michael. I knew of Michael, had heard of Raphael, but who were the others? 

Which led me to more and more resources digging into angels’ names, their meanings, and the functions or roles of each angel. My pared down list? 82 names. (Did you know “Samael” is also an angelic name of Satan? Or that the angel Kasbeel tried to get from Michael the secret name of God to use in an oath so he’d have power over the other angels? Or that the angel Manit has the power to grant wishes?)

And that led me down a rabbit hole of research places in Heaven (according to the lore, East of First Heaven is where Gabriel resides; Seventh Heaven surrounds the throne of God and contains what is good and beautiful). I discovered classes and types of angels (Angels of Mercy, Angels of Destruction, Choirs of Angels, Angels of Sanctification); I came across the hierarchy of Angels (the highest being Seraphim, the lowest simply common Angels). I found different creatures (deva who were nature spirits, djinn who were created from smokeless fire, sirens and phoenixes.) 

My research came from books, websites, articles, magazines. Since this wasn’t an academic project, I didn’t care about credibility. If I found a piece of lore interesting, whether it had been corroborated by another source or not, I jotted it down. Anything and everything to do with angels, demons, heaven and hell. 

I was hooked! I loved rooting for little-known details; I was addicted to searching out more and more and more (just one more link, one more website…)

I kinda forgot I was supposed to be crafting a novel out of all of this. 

By the time I realized I should actually get to my story, I ended up overwhelming myself. I wanted to put in everything! Even as I started writing my manuscript, I ended up tying myself into knots. 

It was only when my book coach reminded me of a fundamental tenet of writing that I began to focus: build your world to serve your story. 

So I restarted. I focused on Evangeline, Lucifer’s daughter, and what I wanted her journey to be. Then and only then did I start to shape her world, a world I’m proud of creating. A world worthy of Evangeline and Michael and Gabriel and Lucifer and all my other characters.

I pared down, stripped away, then added my own elements (it is fantasy, after all!) Pages and pages and pages of research sat unused. I cringed at first. Then I smiled. 

I have a lot to work with when I write the sequel.

Jen Braaksma is a writer and book coach with a decade of experience as a journalist and nearly two as a high school English and writing teacher. Her first book, Evangeline’s Heaven, launched August 30, 2022 from SparkPress. Follow her on Facebook (@JenBraaksma), Twitter (@JenBraaksma), and Instagram (@jenbraaksmabookcoach) or visit her website.