Get to Know Our Friend, Shelby Van Pelt!
What would you be if you weren't a writer?
I think I’d love working in animal rescue or advocacy. I do volunteer work in that area, but in another life, I’d take it to the next level. Like opening a cat café. Which I’m sure would be a thousand times harder than I could ever imagine. But…good coffee and dozens of cats. Sounds dreamy!
(Let’s agree never to share this idea with my husband. I can already see his eyes rolling out of his head at the idea of me slinging cappuccinos while scooping dozens of litter boxes and doing it all with a smile.)
What's the biggest misconception people have about you and your work?
I think readers are sometimes surprised when they come across my flash fiction and other shorter works and realize that some of those pieces are quite a bit darker than Remarkably Bright Creatures. In real life, I can be quite sarcastic, and sometimes my sense of humor is slightly twisted.
When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?
Growing up, I thought I’d be a journalist. I always loved writing, but never focused on fiction, as I didn’t see myself as particularly creative. Putting together no-nonsense prose on a tight deadline was more my jam. But then I ended up going to a small college that didn’t offer a journalism major, so that kind of fell off the radar as a career prospect.
I was in my mid-thirties when I first dabbled in creative writing. I registered for a continuing-ed workshop on a whim, mostly hoping it might be a way to meet people, as I’d recently moved to a new city. I never dreamed it would inspire me to eventually write a novel. It took me a few years to make that happen, of course, but I’m so glad I signed up for that class!
Tell us about the first piece of fiction you ever wrote.
Oh, this is cringey. I was in elementary school and going through a massive Laura Ingalls phase (hey, it was the eighties). I remember filling this whole notebook with an epic story about a girl and her bestie journeying across the prairie in a covered wagon. There was a lot of illness. Dire circumstances and drama. Then, at the end, these two girls just, like…decided they were over it and somehow went home to their parents and ate ice cream and watched TV. Clearly, at age eight, I knew nothing about hardship and privilege, to say nothing about satisfying story endings.
Do you have any writing rituals?
Actually, lately, I’ve been trying to de-ritualize my writing. To view it as a thing that can happen any place, any time. On my laptop, on my phone, in the notebook that lives in my purse while I’m sitting in the carpool line. I’m a total procrastinator, and sometimes I find myself using habits or rituals (or the disruption thereof) as an excuse to put it off.
I know that, for many folks, having a routine that allows them to put on their “writing hat” is super helpful, so maybe I’m still trying to figure out what that looks like for me. Because I wrote so much of RBC during the early months of the pandemic, I struggle sometimes with how to recreate the focus I somehow drummed up back then. The ridiculous part is that life is so much easier now! My kids are in school instead of home. I have a dedicated writing nook with a desk and an ergonomic chair instead of a sticky, cluttery kitchen table. I should be able to crank out word count. But it’s often a struggle.
One ritual that stands, though, is that I have a hard time writing in total silence. I need coffee-shop din and/or music, and my playlist is always songs I’ve heard a million times before. Familiar background noise. My earbuds go with me everywhere.
Is there a particular independent bookstore or library you'd like to shout-out?
I’ll plug Wheaton Public Library not only because it’s mere blocks from my house and I spent a ton of time camped out at a desk there (pre-pandemic) when I was drafting RBC, but because I’m speaking there September 29. The event is in-person, but there’s a virtual option as well. You know, in case anyone hasn’t gotten their fill of hearing me ramble after our Friends and Fiction chat.
The last book you raved about:
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford. I don’t know how a book manages to do both historical fiction and near-future light-dystopia and do both exceptionally well. And to balance several unique stories and voices in a way that feels totally organic. I love that it has just a slight element of the speculative/weird, but in a very grounded way. I could not put it down!
Tell us about your work-in-progress.
Well…it’s in progress! I’ve been warned that sophomore novels are difficult to write, so I’m trying to give myself grace about the fact that I haven’t yet finished, let alone polished, a second manuscript. I do have loads of scenes, featuring characters that intrigue me and an idea of the themes I want the story to revolve around. Beyond that, I’m just as curious as everyone else about what will come of it!
