Book jacket biographies don’t tell us nearly enough about the authors we love. That’s why Zibby Mag launched the Author Snapshot, giving readers an inside look at the lives and work of our favorite writers.

This week we are featuring bestselling author TJ Klune! Many of you might know his previous books The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door, but we’re excited to dive into his latest novel, In the Lives of Puppets!

Where do you get the inspiration for your characters? Each character is so unique, quirky, and filled with emotion! 

To be quite honest, In the Lives of Puppets exists because I bought a Roomba vacuum cleaner, put googly eyes on it, and listened to it beep as it learned its way around my house. It wasn’t long before he had a name (Hank) and this entire world exploded in my head about this family made up of different parts. The book exists because I spent money on a vacuum cleaner.

Nurse Ratched and Rambo are designed to be the so-called Jiminy Cricket/Talking Cricket, the “conscience” of Victor. They represent curiosity, anxiousness, joy, cynicism, anger, and even violence. 

While Victor has his own thoughts and mind, Rambo and Nurse Ratched speak aloud the thoughts many of us have given a specific situation. They mimic humanity, but in the end, I think part of them is human too.

What does your writing process look like? Has it differed with each new book you write?

The process is mostly the same these days, thankfully. Once the voices in my head start talking loud enough, I sit down and begin creating an outline. It’s not set in stone—these things need to account for the days the imagination goes in an entirely different direction. But it gives me a good idea of where I want to go, and I continue to fill it in as I go on and get to learn my characters better. Before I start writing, I try to do as much research as necessary on whatever subject is in the book. That way, I don’t run into moments where my story exceeds my knowledge base. That can still happen from time to time, but the research I typically do means those are minor divots versus a canyon.

Are there particular real life events that you pull from when writing your novels? Is there a certain message you hope to instill in your readers?

I think every writer puts pieces of themselves into their stories, either in character or place. I grew up in the forests of Oregon where the beginning of Puppets takes place. I know those woods like the back of my hand, and I get to reimagine them with stories like this, and the Green Creek Series. Even Under the Whispering Door, though the location is never specifically mentioned. I’m very much a sensory-minded writer, so when my characters are traipsing about the forest, I want them to hear the birdsong, the wind, and feel the leaves crackling beneath their feet.

What do you hope readers gain after reading In the Lives of Puppets?

I hope people remember the rules that end in be brave. It might seem like it’s getting harder and harder to do just that, but I know we’ve got this.

Are there any new projects you're working on that you can share?

Many things that I can’t quite discuss quite yet. However, a little tease: I have a short story I wrote that’ll be released for free at some point this year that’s set in the Puppets universe, but takes place many, many, many years before. It’s a chilling look at what humanity is becoming.