Seeing Shelby Van Pelt

It’s quite cold in Woodstock, Illinois in December. My watch tells me the temperature is 16. 16? Funny, it doesn’t feel that warm. Thankfully the coffee shop, Ethereal, serves warm coffee and pastries. I am trying, and failing, to get some writing done before I walk (yes, walk) the half block to the historic Woodstock Opera House where Shelby Van Pelt, author of Remarkably Bright Creatures, will be speaking at 10am.

So, why am I attending this particular, ticketed, author event? Because I want to steal her secrets, obviously. Her first novel was a resounding success. She sold 2 million copies of her FIRST novel. I’m bracing myself to sell exactly two copies of my first novel, and that’s only if I give my mom a discount.

But here’s the thing about Woodstock in December: it’s the kind of place that makes you believe in the magic of storytelling. Famously, this is where the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray was shot. The Opera House itself has a cornerstone that claims it was built in 1889, and you can feel the weight of all that history, all those stories, seeping through the walls. It’s the perfect place to listen to an author talk about octopuses and grief and secrets to selling 2 million copies of anything.

I’m sitting here in Ethereal, if you haven’t been, which is exactly the kind of cozy coffee shop that should exist in every small Midwestern town but somehow doesn’t. I’m trying to focus on my own fictional town. Blue Lake, Wisconsin doesn’t exist on any map, but in my mind, it’s as real as Woodstock. Maybe more real. At least in Blue Lake, I control the temperature and can make it a reasonable 72 degrees year-round if I want. Realistic in Wisconsin? No.

The truth is, I’m not really here to steal secrets. (Though if Shelby lets slip the magic formula for selling 2 million copies, I’m taking notes.) I’m here because I need to remember why I’m doing this. Writing a novel is lonely work. You spend months, years even, talking to people who don’t exist about problems you invented. Some days it feels absurd. Most days, actually.

But then you go to an event like this, and you see a real author who wrote a real book that real people loved, and suddenly it feels possible. Maybe even probable. Well, let’s not get carried away. Possible.

I’ve been working on the first book in my Blue Lake Mystery Series for what feels like forever. It’s about a possible murder in a small Wisconsin town where everyone knows everyone’s business. Woodstock, with its town square and historic buildings and the way people actually know each other’s names feels a bit like I want Blue Lake to feel.

It’s almost time to walk over to the Opera House. My fingers are finally thawing. My word count is still embarrassingly low. But I’m going to go listen to a successful author talk about her craft.

Shelby Van Pelt talking candidly about the work and the luck involved in getting Remarkably Bright Creatures published.