Christine Gunderson's "Behind White Picket Fences"

Christine Gunderson is a former television anchor, reporter, and Capitol Hill press secretary, a suburban mother of three, and the author of Friends with Secrets.

She currently lives just outside Washington D.C. but grew up on a fourth-generation family farm in rural North Dakota. She loves Jane Austen, sailing, and Star Wars, and she can drive a tractor, a skill yet to be useful in her daily life.

Here Gunderson dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Behind White Picket Fences:

One of the questions I am most often asked at book club meetings is this: Who would play the characters if my book were made into a movie?

I never know how to answer this question because inside my head, the people in my book are people, not characters, and I have a really hard time imagining them as anyone else, even famous actors.

But as release day approaches, I finally sat down and gave this question some serious thought.

Behind White Picket Fences is a book about three mothers who decide to take a break from modern motherhood. In the process, they try to re-create the kind of childhood they experienced as kids. Astute readers will notice subtle references to Leave It To Beaver, a TV show representing an idealized, bygone America.

Therefore, the character of Dottie in Behind White Picket Fences would be played by Barbara Billingsley, best known for her iconic role as June Cleaver, the perfect 1950’s era housewife and mother in Leave it to Beaver.

And yes, I realize this talented actress passed away in 2010 at the age of 94, but since we’re dream casting this movie, we can pretend she is still with us, lovely and gracious and in her prime.

The three modern moms in Behind White Picket Fences are easier to cast. Piper, the no-nonsense former diplomatic security agent would be played by Rebecca Ferguson. This actress is perhaps best known as Lady Jessica in the Dune franchise, but I came to love her as Juliette Nichols in Silo, a fantastic sort of dystopian/sci fi mash up tv series available on Apple TV.

Jennifer Garner’s wholesome goodness and comedic timing make her perfect for Kiersten, a big-hearted mom from the Midwest who sees the good in everyone, even when she shouldn’t.

Finally, Kristen Wiig would play Rosamund, the third mom on Beaverbrook Lane. She completes the trio of moms who discover something sinister on their seemingly perfect cull de sac.

I chose Kristen Wiig because she made me laugh until I cried in Bridesmaids, and this book and the subsequent movie adaptation should be equal parts suspense and humor, and I know she could balance both beautifully.

So that’s the dream team should Behind White Picket Fences ever get the call from Hollywood. Until then, they will continue to live inside my head, and, I hope, inside the hearts of readers. Which is probably best, because as every reader knows, the book is always better than the movie.

Visit Christine Gunderson's website.

Q&A with Christine Gunderson.

--Marshal Zeringue