The “idea” for this book was a question from my husband. “Do you still have that F*** off and Die” button?
“Yes, I do.” He laughed when I handed it to him.
It has been tucked away in my closet for years (without the asterisks). It’s a reminder of the “old” me. The one who might have pushed some boundaries. The one with an attitude.
I found this button in Berkeley in the late 70’s or early 80’s. It made me laugh so I bought it. No, I didn’t wear it on my purse like Lynn in The Button, but the message might have been my mind set for a while. Lynn was a more forward with her button, but then she had a lot more to deal with than I ever did.
Now, I have a big collection of buttons in my laundry room. They tell of the history of my life and the life around me. I still add to them when I find just the right button with a saying that makes me laugh, a “hey that’s right” or simply a memory or like. I may have lost a few buttons over the years before I realized I was collecting them.
The day when I was asked if I still had this button the next thing I found myself joking: “I should write a book based on it”.
We might have laughed, but the idea stuck. That rebellious side of me woke up and created Lynn. She was far more rebellious than the book shows–she wanted me to tone it down a bit.
Then other ideas started to form. I wanted a character who grew up in an abusive household which Lynn took on. I had some knowledge to bring to the story, too. Then the angel Zelina insisted on being with Lynn back in 1976 when she was in that coma. With Zelina came another evildwel and an angel in training, Thomas. Making The Button a kind of a prequel to This Second Chance but with a different tone.
The Button is not as much a love story as a survival story set in the 1980s, although there is love, too. Lynn is much younger than Rachael from This Second Chance and Lynn still experimenting with “things”. After my input Lynn completely took over the story. I’m not sure I would have made some of the decisions she did.
I must point out this was all fictional besides that button. Even the things that did happen, didn’t happen the way they did in The Button.
So, I wrote this book based on a question about a button. And after much reflection yes, the word is in my book–without the asterisks in it.
Pre-order it here: Amazon
My appreciation and thanks goes out to: Eden, Jan, and Mae for offering your blogs to help celebrate The Button’s release:)
Embrace your inner child with a book! D.L. Finn
