May 20, 2015

Idea Factories and Real Estate



People often ask me where I get my ideas for my books and I get some odd looks when I tell them that often I get my ideas from houses.

I'm not sure why, but I love browsing real estate listings--especially large older homes--imagining the lives of the people who live there and making lives, loves and memories up for them along the way. I'll often print out house plans and photos and pop them into an ideas folder and browse through them at a later date.

Maybe it's because I'm hopelessly sentimental but, to me, houses have a soul--a "feel", if you like--that's usually immediately apparent when you set foot in one. Lately we've been helping one of our kids as she and her partner have begun hunting for their first home. It's been an interesting exercise and, oh boy, have we seen some "interesting" properties but, if anything, it's heightened my belief that echoes of previous owners are so often left behind in a home. Of course, very many of the homes we've been looking at have been bought by investors, keen to make a profit on a swiftly (and not always well-) renovated property, and for most of these a lot of that "echo" has been obliterated, leaving new owners with a clean slate to move into and a new soul to set. But others, like a house we saw on the weekend, had been in the same family for over 50 years and you can "feel" the family vibe that new carpet and window dressings can't quite erase. So far we've only been to one house that gave all of us a cold sick feeling as we entered--coupled with a sense of relief when we left it--and we've seen one that would have been better demolished than lived in, but overall we've really enjoyed the experience.

When I started thinking about the story behind THE WIFE HE COULDN'T FORGET (out June 2015) it was only natural that I hit the real estate websites to find the right home for my characters. It didn't take long to find. An 1880s two storey dwelling in Devonport, one of the older parts of Auckland, New Zealand, was absolutely perfect. As soon as I found the house I could visualise scenes for Xander and Olivia Jackson with no effort whatsoever.

The story idea itself had rattled around in my head for many years--initially with my heroine suffering from amnesia. But then I got to wondering (as you do when you're a writer and daydreamer by profession), what if I turned the story around? What if my hero was the one with amnesia, and what if my heroine was prepared to do just about anything to win her husband back after tragedy tore them apart? Can they have a second chance at love or will Olivia's deception force them apart forever?

So, how about you? Do you like house-browsing? Old ones, new ones? Apartments? What's your favourite dwelling place? And do you have any fun stories to share?


10 comments:

  1. Yvonne, I so connected with this post! Yes, definitely, houses are marked in some way by previous owners and I don't just mean the colour of the curtains. Like you I'm fascinated by other people's houses and how they use them and love nothing more than an excuse to prowl around or even explore floor plans and imagine how I'd use them. It's one of my favourite things.

    Love the sound of 'The Wife He Couldn't Forget' and having been to Devonport I'm imagining a very lovely home indeed. I bet you enjoyed imagining it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did, Annie, thanks. And Devonport is such a lovely suburb, surrounded as it is by the sea.

      Delete
  2. Love houses, Yvonne. Especially older ones as there always seems to be a lot of history in the walls. Devonport is a fabulous place and a wonderful setting for your book. Lots of gorgeous properties there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I could easily spend my days looking at all the old houses there, Sue, trouble is that I'd never get any work done! :-)

      Delete
  3. Ooh, going to open houses is one of my favourite things to do, Yvonne. I love imagining the families who might live in the various houses...or the kind of person I would be if I lived in them. Such fun. And I agree that houses can definitely have a feeling or aura to them. :-)

    And now you have me eager to come to New Zealand to discover Devonport for myself!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh you must visit Devonport, Michelle. I'll even take you there! :-)

      Delete
  4. You're right, some houses have a good feel, others are just creepy. And before the real estate company gets to them and sanitizes you can see how the family lived. Very interesting. And I love the premise for the book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, the staging that is done these days does tend to wipe the slate clean a lot of times, doesn't it, but the atmosphere still lingers, in my opinion. I hope you'll look out for the book, Grandma Cootie! :-)

      Delete
  5. Hi Yvonne

    Oh yes I too love looking at houses for sale and two of my daughters only a few months ago were buying new house so there was lots of internet scrolling and I agree you can so feel the soul of a house. Love the sound of the new book :)

    Have Fun
    Helen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Helen. I'm often amazed at how nice a house can look online and how grotty they actually are in real life! LOL! I hope you'll look out for the book when it's out. :-)

      Delete