Author Blog Challenge - Day 6

Describe how the idea for your book first came to you. Where were you? Who was the first person you told? How did they respond?


A few years ago, I wanted to be a psychotic bride as a Halloween costume to be worn at my office. I looked in several thrifts shops for a cheap wedding dress that I would be smoothering in fake blood, I finally found it at the Salvation Army! I bought a wedding dress, complete with veil and small train for $2.75!

I got some props, put on scary make-up, went to work and won first place! The following year I used the wedding dress as the costume for a Zombie Walk.

The special thing about the dress is that it's hand-made, I could see it was made with a regular sewing machine, nothing pro about it. Someone out there poured her love and time into making this beautiful dress only to end up at the Salvation Army. What happened? Who was her? Something tragic must have happened!

For months I thought about the dress, imagined different stories and coupled with my personal experience of being jilted by my ex-fiancee, I came up with the story for my book. The original story was about three women and one wedding dress: the one who made it, the one who wore it as a Halloween costume and the one who wore it to her own wedding.

The first person I told was my sister, my #1 cheerleader. So far everyone I've told seemed interested in the concept, since then, the story has changed a bit but the original premise that something horrible happened to the bride-to-be is still there.