Samantha Vérant on Writing What You Know and Love

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 Samantha Vérant, author of The Spice Master at Bistro Exotique, the story of a talented chef who discovers how spices and scents can transport her—and, more importantly, how self-confidence can unlock the greatest magic of all: love.

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?

I’m an American living in France and, so far, all of my books have combined food, French/Franco-American culture, and female chefs making their mark in a male dominated industry. Because I live in southwestern France, I like to introduce people to places they might not know about. Although Spice Master takes place in Paris, I chose to base the story in the tenth arrondissement–an up and coming neighborhood and a bit off the beaten path. I had the location pinpointed and a general idea for the plot. I knew I wanted to write a fun book filled with a cast of diverse, quirky characters. I also wanted my protagonist, Kate, to be in the process of opening up her own restaurant. But the true inspiration came when I was eating dinner at a friend’s house a few years ago and she pulled out a tin of saffron and then told me she got it from her spice dealer. I had one of those bingo moments, although dealer wasn’t exactly the right word. Then, I was picking cherries at another friends house and she pointed out the plants in her garden. All of the components in the book came together.

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

A story wouldn’t exist without conflict and a character’s growth. I don’t make life easy for Kate, my heroine, and she has to fight for her dream while building up her confidence along the way. I always start a project knowing where I wanted to drive the beginning, the middle, and the end, filling the rest in along the way. My agent and I pitched this book via a proposal– a very detailed outline/synopsis. With such a detailed outline, all of my characters fleshed out, and all of my research on hand, it was easy to get to the heart of the story.

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

Not really. My agent, Jessica Mileo, is very editorial and we always start with an outline, some tighter than others. With all of my books, some scenes changed during the writing process–cut or added or expanded– to drive the story forward, but the general plot always remains the same. I suppose I’m a planster–a plotter who occasionally flies by the seat of her pants.

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

I have so many ideas on the burner! I’m currently working on another concept–women’s fiction/contemporary romance that will take place in New York and France, but instead of food I’ll be focusing on drinks. I’m also working on a domestic thriller I’m really excited about. One day, I also want to get back to a historical fiction concept I’m working on. This one focuses on wine and takes place in Northern California (Napa) and Bordeaux/Saint Émilion. I’m about a two and a half hours from Bordeaux–-so this book research is a writer’s (and self-professed oenophile’s) dream. Write what you know and love, right?

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

I usually write up a brief synopsis (around a paragraph or two) for each project I’m considering and then I run them by my agents. Together, we figure out which one we’re most excited about and I write on from there. 

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?

Your fur babies are adorable! I have one giant cat, Juju, a Chartreux, which is a French breed. He actually inspired one of the ‘characters’ in Spice Master. His full name is Juny de la Barguelonne and I used his last name in Sophie’s books and Spice Master. I named the cat in Spice Master Juju, but, aside from most of his physical characters and name, that’s where the similarities end. The cat in Spice Master wears custom-made diamond, emerald, and sapphire collars with matching leashes. I’m thankful Juju can’t read. We also recently rescued a little stray kitten, Aria, a white tabby with clear blue eyes. For the most part, she stays in the guest room, which is also my office. (She and Juju get along, but she’s afraid of the downstairs and the monster she calls vacuum). You can find her purring like a little motor on my lap when I’m writing. The only distractions come when the cats walk across my keyboard (at least my word count goes up?) or sit on pages when I’m redlining a manuscript. Mostly, the two fur balls provide inspiration. I’d say I have to find a way to incorporate Aria in one of my books, but, before she came into our lives, I used her name in Spice Master! (Aria is Charles’s, our hero’s, ex–a conniving super model). Save for their names, Aria the cat and Aria the model have nothing in common.

Samantha Vérant is a travel addict, a self-professed oenophile, and a determined, if occasionally unconventional, at-home French chef. She lives in southwestern France, where she’s married to a sexy French rocket scientist she met in 1989 (but ignored for twenty years), a stepmom to two incredible kids, and the adoptive mother to a ridiculously adorable French cat. When she’s not trekking from Provence to the Pyrénées, embracing her inner Julia Child, or searching out ingredients and spices, Sam is making her best effort to relearn those dreaded conjugations.

Kimmery Martin on The Inspiration for Doctors and Friends

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 Kimmery Martin, author of Doctors and Friends, which was written prior to COVID-19 about three doctors whose lives are transformed on the front lines of a new pandemic.

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?

I write medical fiction and decided in 2018 to feature an infectious disease doctor during a brand-new, worldwide viral pandemic as the protagonist of my next novel. (Yeah: I know. I am sorry.) The specific idea for the big central question of the plot was inspired by a book I read in 2019 about a physician who had to choose between two dying colleagues for an experimental antiviral treatment (Crisis in the Red Zone, by Richard Preston.) If that sounds too grim to contemplate, please know the novel actually includes quite a bit of humor and sweetness. It was also not inspired by you-know-what!

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

I am an inefficient plotter, plagued by a total inability to outline ahead of time. Therefore, my plotting method involves vomiting out 100K words and then wrangling them into some semblance of a suspenseful and coherent story afterward. I do not recommend my method. 

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

Most definitely. I can’t imagine that not happening.

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

Not a day passes that I don’t see or experience something funny or tragic or poignant or irritating or amusing and think to myself, yep, that’s definitely going in my next book. However, that sort of thing tends to lend itself to a subplot or a scene, rather than constituting the big overarching hook of a story. I usually start novels without a clear picture of how they will unfold and subsequently wind up trashing a lot of ideas.  

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

I’ve only written four novels, and of those four, only one—the one I am finishing now—percolated for a long time. I think at a certain point, a successful story jams up your mental bandwidth until you just have to finish it. It’s the one that constantly crops up in your thoughts when you are supposed to be doing something else, which, depending on the subject matter, can lead to some awkward interactions.

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? 

Yes, I have the world’s quirkiest rescue dog. He glommed onto me from the moment we met and would prefer never to leave my side. He participated in all the Zooms and hangs out next to me squeaking and snorting and nudging me while I am trying to write. His name is Charlie and he’s on my Instagram a lot too. 

Kimmery Martin is an emergency medicine doctor-turned novelist whose works of medical fiction have been praised by The Harvard Crimson, Southern Living, The Charlotte Observer and The New York Times, among others. A lifelong literary nerd, she promotes reading, interviews authors, and teaches writing seminars. She’s a frequent speaker at libraries, conferences, and bookstores around the United States. Kimmery completed her medical training at the University of Louisville School of Medicine and the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She lives with her husband and three children in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her next novel, Doctors and Friends, is available now.

Priscilla Paton on Nailing Inspiration

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 Priscilla Paton, author of When the House Burns which releases on February 14, 2023

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?

My mysteries are inspired by a real circumstances and crimes: instances of data theft and crimes against children for my first mystery, Where Privacy Dies, and drug dealing and sex trafficking for Should Grace Fail. Also, I serve on local nonprofits who support marginalized people and see data about abuse, homelessness, addiction, and mental health issues. That all sounds like a sensible beginning, but to tell the truth, “origins” remain mysterious. When I was beginning the Twin Cities series, the name for the male detective, “Erik Jansson” came immediately, though I had to work out his age, family situation, and experience. Then Deb Metzger burst out in full form, like Athena from the head of Zeus. Deb is like that.

When I started researching the newest book, When the House Burns, I had a different topic in mind—not the housing crisis and arson that are featured. What turned my interest around was the murder of a real estate agent in the region, though my fiction does not use the specifics of that crime. I was juggling my first concept (which may be used later) and the death of a realtor when it became evident during the Covid Pandemic shutdown that the basement of my residence had become toxic. I had to move. Suddenly having to pack unsettles the mind greatly, and new ideas came out of that experience. By the way, I put toxic basements to sinister use in When the House Burns. 

In addition, research tosses up fascinating stuff. In researching arson, I came across a Harvard Business Review article (to sum it up would be a spoiler) that sent my plot in a fresh direction. 

Yes, the subconscious or subliminal does make contributions. I decided to call a woman character, “Karma,” and the concept of karma ends up reverberating with other characters. My detectives, Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger, are a volatile match. Erik, who can seem like a boy scout, is devious with a sly humor. Deb, who’s lesbian, is outspoken and impulsive. I let them loose through free writing to see where their banter goes. 

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

With pain and agony. I have a few central points in mind, like the original crime scene and key scenes of conflict and action. Again, real life offers examples: I read about conflicts over real housing proposals, from absurd to serious, and also learned about a former ammunition plant site being prepped for development, a situation that had its own convoluted plotline.

I start as a pantser and after I have a chunk of crude draft start outlining.  (Only my outlines are cut and paste jobs, rewritten several times.) Then I set up a large white-board calendar to clarify which characters are involved on which days—this also prevents me from having three Mondays in a row. It’s a two steps forward and one step-in-a-hole process for me to construct an evidence trail and developments among the characters that work together to advance plot and therefore story.

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

I don’t think of my plot as firmly in place until I reach the line-revision stage. I’ve had characters significantly change in early drafts, which influences their motives and actions. For example, in When the House Burns, I first had a passive uncertain man, Edward. Edward morphed into Rafe Edward, and Rafe is driven and clever and dreams of vengeance and love. His boss, though, calls him ‘Edward’ to put Rafe in his place, which only incites Rafe to—well, you’ll have to read the book. 

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

I used to be a literary scholar reflecting carefully on what others wrote. It’s still a challenge for me to move into a quicker procreative mode, and I have to release my irreverent alter ego to have at it. Going out in the world helps, too. As other writers have noted, you don’t need to start with a big idea. A detail about a person you see, or a situation like a toxic basement, can spin out into more. It’s like catching fluff from the air and then making yourself stay at the computer until you’ve nailed that fluff to a premise. It’s hard nailing fluff.

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

As noted above, this happened to me with When the House Burns. I found that one topic kept me writing longer than the other, so it’s organic, or I’m like a dog. I go with the one that feeds me 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?

I’m pet-less at the moment, but two of my writing spots overlook bird feeders. One’s near the Mississippi River, a major flyway and home to eagles. It releases the imagination to see an eagle cruise by.

When I’m desk weary, I stretch and take music breaks. I leave periodically to eavesdrop on people in coffeeshops where there happen to be yummy treats. Writing requires profundity and treats.

Priscilla Paton writes mysteries set in the greater Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Priscilla grew up on a dairy farm in Maine. She received a B.A. from Bowdoin College, a Ph.D. in English Literature from Boston College, was a college professor and taught in Kansas, Texas, Florida, Ohio, and Minnesota. She has previously published a children’s book, Howard and the Sitter Surprise, and a book on Robert Frost and Andrew Wyeth, Abandoned New England. She married into the Midwest and lives with her husband in Northfield, Minnesota. When not writing, she participates in community advocacy and literacy programs, takes photos of birds, and contemplates (fictional) murder.