A friend and fellow author once offered me two pieces of received wisdom about having your book optioned for film or TV.
The first thing – obviously – is that it’s a huge buzz. Time to pat yourself on the back, indulge in a little fantasy casting of lead roles while quaffing that prosecco. Getting optioned is a cause for celebration in itself: someone out there likes your book enough to want to bring it to life in a whole new medium. Enjoy it!
The second thing? The road from page to screen is a long and tricky one.
Which is to say, even when a lot of smart people put a lot of hard work into a project, even with the expansion of TV choices out there, the competition is still fierce. The odds are tough. To a certain extent, all the stars need to align to get your project to the finish line.
This particular piece of received wisdom was confirmed by my first two books, Lies and 29 Seconds, both of which were optioned for the screen after they came out in paperback. So when my third novel, The Holiday, was also optioned for TV I was delighted – even if I had learned to temper my expectations a little. But I loved the drive and vision of Projector, the production company that had taken the option, and I felt they would give it the best chance of getting it onto the screen.
And maybe that third novel was third time lucky… because The Holiday has now been made into a television drama starring Jill Halfpenny, for the primetime slot on Channel 5 (March 1st-4th 2022).
For me, it all started in the summer of 2017. I had just taken voluntary redundancy from my day job at the University of Nottingham and was mulling over options for a third book: I had this vague idea for a story about four women who go away on holiday together and even though they’ve been friends for years, something happens which fractures that relationship – forever. The story would be set in the south of France, in Autignac, a charming little village we’d visited for our family holiday a few years previously.
My (not very inspired) working title was Four Friends.
I submitted the first draft in summer 2018 and worked on edits through the autumn. After some discussion with my publisher, Bonnier, the suggestion was made that The Holiday might be a better title. It did exactly what it said on the tin, as they say. Fair enough.
The novel, when it was published in July 2019, had the extra boost of being picked as a Richard & Judy Book Club selection. Without a doubt, that helped to lift it into the Sunday Times paperback bestsellers list and keep it there for ten straight weeks. And perhaps it also helped draw the attention of production companies interested in talking about a TV adaptation.
With Projector onboard early in 2020, the project began to take shape. In February, I had an initial conversation with the brilliant screenwriter, Michael Crompton, about his thoughts and ideas on translating the story for the screen. This was all brand new for me, talking about scripts and characters and maybe even the prospect of filming later that year – it was all incredibly exciting.
And then lockdown happened.
With everything up in the air due to the pandemic, I assumed development would be put on hold for the foreseeable future. And so it was with a sense of disbelief, at the end of 2020, that I received the news that the project had been greenlit for production. Somehow, despite the difficulties of that first lockdown year, the stars had aligned – and I realised this was actually going to happen.
By March 2021 it had been cast, with Jill Halfpenny and Owen McDonnell leading a great line-up of actors. I had the memorable – if slightly surreal – experience of sitting in on a full cast read-through of the first two episodes, on Zoom. The following month they were off to Malta for a seven-week shoot at the most amazing villa and other fantastic locations on the island. Covid quarantine rules meant I wasn’t able to make it out there during the shoot, but I had online access to the daily rushes and could watch along as each episode took shape.
I love how it’s turned out. To be honest, I’m still pinching myself that my little book has spawned a four-part TV drama and a write-up in the Radio Times that my mum’s going to frame. I still can’t watch the Channel 5 trailer without a huge grin on my face.
And needless to say, I’ll be keeping everything crossed for my brand new thriller, The Curfew…
TM Logan’s new thriller, The Curfew, is published by Bonnier Zaffre on 17th March 2022
Do you know where your kids are? I should have known something was wrong. I should have sensed it. Felt it in the air, like the build-up of pressure before a thunderstorm, that heavy, loaded calm. The curfew. Andy and Laura are good parents. They tell their son Connor that he can go out with friends to celebrate completing his exams, but he must be home by midnight. The lie. When Connor misses his curfew, it sets off a series of events that will change the lives of five families forever. The truth? Because five teenagers went into the woods that night, but only four came out. And telling the truth might mean losing everything... what would you do?
More information about T M Logan and his books can be found on his website. You can also follow him on Twitter @TMLoganAuthor. You can also find him on Facebook.
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