“How would you feel on this miserable day to know that Sigourney Weaver loves your book?” this agent asked. She was talking about my first novel, Then She Found Me, and even though I surely knew that books could be turned into movies, I had no idea that mine had been circulated to producers. My husband and I threw an impromptu party to which I wore, aiming for Hollywood-tinged irony, a strapless dress, a rhinestone bracelet, and sunglasses. It was 1989, and Sigourney was starring in Ghostbusters II, which I’d just seen with my six-year-old son. When I picked him up at school the day the deal was struck, I asked—expecting great excitement—“How would you feel if Sigourney Weaver wanted to make a movie out of Mummy’s book?” He said two things, very cautiously. “You’re not doing it for the money, are you?” and “Will it be PG so I can see it?” Years passed. My six-year-old finished grammar school, high school, and college. I learned thirdhand that Helen Hunt, having just won an Academy Award for best actress, had taken over the project.
