This week, Khristin Wierman joins the blog to discuss her book of women’s fiction, Buck’s Pantry
Author Name: Khristin Wierman
Book Title: Buck’s Pantry: A Novel
Book Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Release Date: September 6, 2022
Publisher: SparkPress
Welcome, Khristin! What sparked the idea for this book?
Two things. I knew I wanted to write about how we unwind ourselves from the knots of our past. I specifically wanted to do this from the point of view of a person trying to help a family member who struggles with mental illness, as that was something I experienced in my own life. From a more humorous point of view, I wanted to write about the culture clash between an East Coast woman married to her corporate job and a conservative Southern soccer mom. I grew up in Texas and left to pursue a corporate career on the East Coast, which allowed me to experience both perspectives intimately.
What do you hope readers will take away from this story?
Books have been many things for me: an escape, a reason to laugh at times when my life was particularly bleak. And they have also been a source of new ideas. When we’re young, so much of our world can be defined for us, by our parents and the place where we live. Books, especially novels, have given me exposure to new options in terms of how to view the world and myself in it. At the end of the day, I hope the book is a joy. And if it’s not, that readers will feel free to set it aside and find a story that resonates for them.
Any words of wisdom you give your pre-published writer self (or to a new writer)?
To my pre-published writer self, I’d say this: Think of writing like being a chef. You could make the most wonderful chocolate cake in the world. But if someone is allergic to chocolate, or doesn’t particularly like the texture of cake, or is starving and craving a savory meal, what you’ve created won’t be enjoyable or even digestible for them. Expecting everyone to love and crave your books just isn’t realistic. Find people who enjoy this kind of story. You’ll be shocked at how amazing it feels when just one person tells you how much they appreciated your book.
Are you working on a new project? Please tell us about it.
I am! THIS TIME COULD BE DIFFERENT is on the SparkPress roster for Fall 2023. Here’s what it’s about: A compulsive overachiever, Madeline lives by the credo that easy is synonymous with mediocre—which is why, at forty-nine, she’s a Senior Vice President at a prominent bank, spends more on face cream than she used to pay for a pair of shoes, and panics anytime she’s a foot away from her phone. Madeline works alongside her best friend Emma—a master juggler of her own career, marriage, and motherhood to a fourteen-year-old daughter, who speaks only in baffling acronyms. The path ahead for both women is brimming with opportunity. There’s only one problem. Madeline is miserable. And her career is beginning to take a toll on life with her fiancé. Reluctantly agreeing to yoga, meditation, and her new-agey therapist’s other whacky suggestions, Madeline seeks purpose in her life while trying to unravel the source of habits she wants to change. Feeling as if she’s risking everything, she just might unlock a world more fulfilling than she ever could have imagined.
Fantastic! So, where can readers find you?
https://www.instagram.com/khristin.wierman/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100056127603646
Thank you, Khristin! Buck’s Pantry is OUT NOW.
In a small Texas town, three women—Gillian, a former prom queen and furious juggler of her three children’s manic schedules; Lianna, a foul-mouthed East Coast banking super star; and Aimee, a woman capable of far more than her current life will allow—find their lives converging.
Gillian, reeling from the revelations her husband shared at a fundraiser she hosted just days ago, is suddenly grappling with what she has always believed about politics, family, and her own comfortable life—and aghast at some of the choices she’s made. Lianna is en route to close a deal and languishing in the August heat. Desperate to return to her beloved New York and a first-time visitor to rural Texas, she’s certain she has landed in one of the outer rings of hell. Aimee, though withering under the covert dysfunction and mental illness lurking in her family, still manages to shine in her low-level job and allows herself to dream of a life far away. When Gillian and Lianna stop at the same convenience store, they find themselves in an unthinkable situation. Aimee may be their only hope—if she can put the pieces together.