BLURB

When you tell people that you’ve had a book published, there’s often a follow-up along the lines of: would you like it to be made into a movie? I have to bite my lip to stop myself saying: well, duh, yes of course. But there’s the small matter of a million other authors out there also trying to get their books turned into movies, not to mention the multitudinous screenwriters who try the more direct approach at getting their stories onto the silver screen.

The more subtle question and one I always struggle to answer is who would you cast in the lead roles? Although my writing, and especially my action scenes, have been described as cinematic, I never envisage a particular person playing the role of Sim, Freda or any of the other characters in the story. I see them as themselves. If I were to overlay an actor’s face, language or mannerisms onto a character I would worry about changing that person into something they’re not, just to suit the actor I have in mind. And honestly, I struggle to keep up with all the amazing acting talent out there, so if I were ever presented with this ‘problem’ I’d be happy to let a professional make the right decision. 

OK, so confession time. If we were casting the role of Freda and Gillian Anderson happened to be available, I might just insist on some authorial control… Ahh, Gillian.

 So, back to the article. Sorry, what was I talking about? Ah yes. Films. The funny thing is that one of the most enjoyable parts of writing the Gaia series has been Freda’s obsession with films and her habit of sprinkling moments of tensions with cinematic quotes. Blue Gold had a list of all the film references in its appendix. There’s no such list in White Gold but Gillian, I mean Freda, hasn’t lost the habit. See how many you can spot when you read the latest adventures of Freda and the rest of the Overseas Division.

 Oh, and here’s one for free. White Gold might be the end of the Gaia series. But don’t worry.

I’ll be back.