Diane Barnes's "All We Could Still Have"

Diane Barnes is the author of More Than, Waiting for Ethan, and Mixed Signals. She is also a marketing and corporate communication writer in the health-care industry. When she’s not writing, she’s at the gym, running, or playing tennis, trying to burn off the ridiculous amounts of chocolate and ice cream she eats. She and her husband, Steven, live in New England with Oakley, their handsome golden retriever.

Here Barnes dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, All We Could Still Have:

So many early readers have told me All We Could Still Have would make a must-see Netflix/Apple series because of the characters, twists and turns of the plot, and the setting in a small, mountain town. So Reese, if you’re reading this, please make my dream come true. I’ll even help out by making casting suggestions.

Nikki Sebastian, the protagonist, is a woman having trouble trying to conceive. She believes everyone is judging/talking about her because she has no kids. I’ve seen lots of headlines suggesting your Morning Show co-star Jennifer Aniston could really relate to Nikki. So, I think Jennifer would do her justice. Based on physical appearance, Rose Byrne or Natalie Portman would also make great Nikkis.

Nikki’s husband Kyle is a handsome, hard-working New England guy, just like Massachusetts’ own Chris Evans. Chris would make an outstanding Kyle.

Dana DeMarco is Nikki’s younger sister. She’s a free spirit and maybe a little irresponsible from time to time. Kate Hudson would do a wonderful job with her.

Aunt Izzie is a hearty New Englander living by herself in the mountains of New Hampshire. She’s tough but down deep soft-hearted. Allison Janney would make a fabulous Aunt Izzie.

Uncle Hank is a former tough guy NHL hockey star now handsome restauranterer. Nikki doesn’t like him because she thinks he broke his promise to keep her parents’ restaurant running and he also put her job in jeopardy. I can definitely see Christopher Meloni killing it as Hank.

There’s a golden retriever in the story, and I always pictured my dog, Oakley (AKA Golden Boy), in those scenes.

Sharon is Nikki’s best friend. She’s a mom of two young boys who dreams of opening her own bakery. Reese, that’s your part. Let’s get it done.

Visit Diane Barnes's website.

Q&A with Diane Barnes.

The Page 69 Test: All We Could Still Have.

--Marshal Zeringue