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.