Saturday, August 02, 2008

BOM: How the Idea Germinated

Today's peculiar creature:  the pygmy marmoset. :-) 

The idea for "Then Comes Marriage" hit me while I was doing housework--making the bed, as I recall.  I was thinking about my husband and about how we are ENTIRELY two different people--in fact, if you are familiar with the Myers-Briggs personality types, I'm an INTJ while my hubby is an ESFP, and you can't get more opposite than that. 

So I was thinking that it might be fun to write a book with alternating chapters--sort of a "he said/she said" type thing.  Then I realized that it wouldn't work if a female writer slipped out of her skin to write the opposite gender's part, because then you'd get a woman's approximation of what a man thinks, and not a true representation! 

So then I thought of my pal, Bill Myers.  Bill's an INFJ, which isn't quite my opposite in personality, but I was looking for opposite gender.  :-)  Bill's books are truly wonderful, if you haven't read 'em--in fact, they're a lot like mine in that he likes to take a high concept and run with it.  (Must be the IN and J that we have in common. )

Anyway, I ran the idea by Bill--opposite takes on a couple's first year of marriage?--and he agreed to write it with me if we could find a publisher.  So we wrote up a proposal and sent it off to Zondervan, which agreed that it was a dandy idea. 
 
BTW, if you decide to look for his book (hint: try Amazon.com), you might consider checking out the audio version for several reasons.  First, it comes on a tape with one of Terri Blackstock's novellas, so you'd get two for the price of one.  Second, Bill and I actually read the book ourselves in alternating chapters (a real "he said, she said"), so it's kind of fun.  And funny. You can check it out here.  

P.S.  I had a real treat yesterday--in the mail, I received a DVD copy of the interview recorded for the DVD release of THE NOTE, scheduled for sometime this fall.  The interview will be a ten minute feature on the movie DVD, and I was so pleased that my intentions and purposes really came through in the interview.  The interviewer caught up with me at Glen Eyrie, so we had those lovely mountains and the castle as a backdrop--amazing!  :-)  Be sure to check it out when the DVD releases.  

Tomorrow:  the research

~~Angie

5 comments:

Barb said...

Oh my word, what a great idea for a book, Angela. I'll buy it in a heartbeat. And I'll buy an extra copy, for my newlywed daughter and her completely-opposite but perfect-match-for-her husband.

Oh yeah. I was completely aghast last night when the little ones came to my door. So, so sad to see seven-year-old girls trying to look like somebody's mistaken vision of grown-up women.

I've lurked here for ages. I love, love your site.

Kay Day said...

I've read it, too. But I want to read it again. I'm trying to remember...did her mom make her write a list? One book I read the mom made the daughter write a list and that stuck with me for a long time. But now I need to refresh my memory.
Didn't see any hoochie mamas here.

Anonymous said...

That is really a good idea for a book. I love it! :)

By the way, I just read The Pearl. After the first few chapters I didn't know if I could continue but I did and I'm so glad. What a heavy but thought provoking book! Wow...

Lisa said...

I can't remember if I read this one or not. About six months ago I started writing down all the books I read. A memory is a sad thing to lose.

Mocha with Linda said...

Temptation, thy name is Angie Hunt!

Oh this sounds so good! And I can't wait for The Note DVD!