Goodnight Sunshine – the Wife’s Perspective, Part 1

Countdown to launch. This seven part writing series will reflect on what it’s like to be the wife of an author. Writing a book is a big project and it can take a toll on the writer and his or her family. Writing a book for the first time has extra challenges because the learning curve is so huge. Determination and humility get writers through the hardest parts, and there is nearly always recognition of family support in the acknowledgements. I hope I’ve been a solid support for my husband, Mark Cameron, who will release Goodnight Sunshine on November 26, 2015.

Goodnight Sunshine is Mark’s first novel, told from the perspective of a middle-aged male protagonist named Oliver Bruce. While wondering if the story will engage the 40-60 year old female demographic that seem to make up the bulk of readers who attend our local Festival of the Written Arts, I joked with Mark that maybe he could write his next novel from the perspective of Oliver Bruce’s wife. I don’t think he will do it but, as the wife of the author, I’d like to share my unique perspective on the birth of Goodnight Sunshine. It’s come a long way to be the awesome product that it is, but it’s interesting to look back on the not-always-so-awesome history of the journey. Here it comes, told in seven parts, just to keep you hanging:

Well, first it was supposed to be a movie. Caught up in the excitement of that idea, Mark suggested that he could write a book and then we could adapt it to a screenplay and movie. Here we recalled the threat I had issued years prior that Mark was absolutely not allowed to write a book before I did. He looked at me sheepishly. Logically, since years had passed and I hadn’t produced a single book, I wasn’t likely to quickly write the book that would become our movie. “Okay Mark, you write the book. I’ll edit it. I like editing better than writing anyway.” It was May of 2012.

To be continued …