I was recently sat down with my family enjoying a curry while we watched something nondescript on the television. An advert for the recently adapted ‘Noughts and Crosses’ television series appeared (it’s incredible, by the way, please go watch it) and it just so happened that I was reading a book that I thought would make an excellent television show which made me think this would make a most excellent blog post.
I’d just like to clarify that television and film are not superior to books and vice versa; I truly believe that all these forms provide different types of audience experience that help them engage with a text in a special way that is unique to them. In fact, there was one particular book I wanted to place on this list but I just think it’s too perfect as it is (of course I’m not a television and/or film producer so what do I know?!) Below are a few books that I love and think would make great television programmes or films, please feel free to add your own. As you will see once you start reading, my literature interests are somewhat varied… The Time Rep Series by Peter Ward I absolutely love this series and have followed it since the first book, ‘Time Rep,’ came out in 2013. The story focuses on Geoffrey Stamp, a 21st century dwelling male, who is recruited by a company called Time Tours from the 31st century to act as a travel guide to tourists from the future. The series consists of three books and each one is silly, suspenseful and sci-fi goodness in equal measure. His writing is very reminiscent of Douglas Adams, which I particularly enjoyed in the most recent book ‘Time Rep: Pandemonium’ as his digs at popular television shows and Brexit genuinely made me chuckle. I can definitely see this working as a television series as there’s so many elements to it than can be explored and amplified. I’d love to see how the various time periods would come to life and the scrapes the characters would find themselves in. I’m just a sucker for a time traveller story. Who’s That Girl? by Mhairi McFarlane I could have picked any of McFarlane’s books to put on this list; her characters are so relatable and they have some of the most believable dialogue I’ve ever read, even though they always seem to be in pretty unbelievable situations. I chose ‘Who’s That Girl?’ because the central character, Edie, is sarcastic, intelligent, hilarious and basically everything I love about a female lead. She also goes through some shit and handles it like a boss (and by that I mean she still expresses and acknowledges emotion without the bastards fully getting her down, so to speak. Women don’t have to be an emotionally void robot to be empowering, see previous blog posts.) The main premise of the book is that Edie attends a colleague’s wedding and ends up kissing the groom; chaos ensues and she ends up moving back to her hometown of Nottingham in a bid to hide away from the bullies. It’s such an accurate portrayal of how women are treated in society while still being really bloody funny. And it’s one of the sweetest romance stories you’ll ever read. I know the rom-com seems to be dead or a dirty word these days but I think that this book has the potential to bring the genre firmly up to date. Edie is a wonderful romantic heroine and, yes, she does conform to some tropes because it is a romance novel but I never feel like she’s a victim of the genre and is the kind of character I’d like to see more of on screen. Boy: Tales of Childhood and Going Solo by Roald Dahl Why hasn’t anyone made a biography about this incredible human’s life?! Just why? The man had one of the most adventurous and interesting lives to have ever existed from the moment he was born and I know that I would be running to buy a ticket if his story ever made it to the big screen. For anyone who has read the books the ‘Great Mouse Plot of 1924’ is a particular standout moment that would just be brilliant on the big screen as well as his time as a fighter pilot in WWII. And can you imagine all of that with some Quentin Blake illustrations thrown in, too? Magical. Just someone go make this, please.
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It’s been two weeks since ‘The Arben Bridge’ was released on Kindle and I am so very grateful for the response so far. Admittedly I am yet to sell millions of copies but those that have read the book and given feedback have been overwhelmingly supportive. I’m currently attempting to format the paperback so hopefully that will be on its way very soon!
I must be honest, trying to think of new ideas for blog posts is something I am struggling with. I want to stay current and interesting as well as promote the book without being super contrived which is really hard! For someone who works in marketing and likes to think they have a way with words, selling myself has never been my forte. However, while scrolling my various social media apps trying to think of a new topic I thought some of you may be interested in how I developed the city of Miraylia as it’s so central to the plot. Don’t worry, there won’t be any spoilers! Firstly, I’d really like to tell you how I came up with the name but I’m afraid I can’t remember! I spent a lot of time putting random bits of words together to make new words and using Google translate to look for these words in other languages, too. Like a lot of the book I tended to just make decisions that felt right to me, which is what made the whole writing experience so enjoyable in all honesty, and one day I said ‘Miraylia’ and it stuck. I also think it looks ‘pretty’ as a word and I struggle to write stories when I’m not absolutely certain that a name fits in with the piece (don’t even get me started on how long it took to name the characters…) Anyway, as the book is a fantasy fiction and somewhat of a tribute to the mythologies of Wales and its language I also wanted something that I felt could fit into this language. Whether Welsh speakers agree or not is another thing! In terms of its look this was surprisingly clear very early on. The initial idea for the book was the result of a dream I had; I saw a row of guards lined up on an ancient bridge all seemingly disappearing into thin air (if anyone would like to tell me what trauma this relates to, please feel free) and, I don’t know about you, but I often get a ‘feeling’ from dreams and this one was giving definite bohemian vibes. When I first started writing my characters and plot lines, despite not having visited these cities, I thought that the buildings of Budapest, Barcelona and other famous European cities would be a perfect fit and so I started trawling through Pinterest straight away. I wanted this city to have windy cobbled streets, multicoloured buildings, vibrant markets and all the romantic imagery of a European city from yesteryear. I also wanted the reader to imagine that the city had the potential to be a sight for the supernatural and these types of cities have always evoked a sense of fairy-tale magic to me. I was later lucky enough to visit both Barcelona and Budapest as well as Vienna and as soon as I began to explore I knew I had been on the money. I can’t say I know anything about architecture but I fell in love with almost every building I passed in these cities; even the Aldis in Vienna are a work of art. A close friend of mine who has read the book said she also pictured Edinburgh and I think the paved streets and old timey buildings would be a perfect fit in Miraylia. I found creating a fictional city not only fun but completely liberating; I allowed myself to create a place that I’d like to live in and there were no rules in how it looked or functioned unless I enforced them. I cannot speak for other writers but I do think that when you’re creating something you have to put a piece of yourself into it otherwise you won’t know how it works or feel passionate about it and if you’re not passionate how in the hell are you going to keep writing about it? For example, even though I haven’t marked out a map of the city and named every residence or shop in Miraylia if you were to ask me if X or Y existed there I would be able to give you an answer with absolute certainty. |
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