Options

Well it seems as if my writing life has not quite slipped into final retirement. I’ve just heard that my latest novel, Sea Change  has been optioned for movie and/or TV rights. This is exciting although I know from long experience that being optioned is only a first step and there are many – often fatal – stumbles ahead.

If a film company – in this case South Pacific Pictures – reads a book and thinks it might make a good movie or TV series, they take an option on it, to stop anyone else having the same idea. They pay the publisher a small amount to seal this arrangement. Half of that money comes to me. Now SPP will work away at the possibility of turning the story and my characters into a film scrip which might have legs. And might attract funding. This takes time. I don’t know how long the present option is for – that’s between the publisher – Bateman – and SPP. When the time runs out and if progress has been made, SPP may pay a bit more to extend the option.

Denniston Rose has been optioned four times and in every case the budget for a historical costume drama has not been achieved and the projects fell over. Two other options – for Heartland and In Touch with Grace –  neither of them historical, have met the same fate.

But I live in hope. I would love to see Sea Change as a TV series. I think it would be popular and very topical. Watch this space.