So in case you didn’t hear me yodeling from the rooftop, my first novel, Site Unseen is currently being made into a movie of the week for Hallmark Movies and Mysteries! Courtney Thorne-Smith is playing Emma Fielding, and filming started in British Columbia this week! The movie is slated to show on May 21, 2017.
But a bit of background...
Last year was crazy and wonderful--in addition to my investiture in the Baker Street Irregulars as “The Giant Rat of Sumatra,” there was a lot of travel. In addition to visiting central Europe in the spring (Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czech, Slovakia) for fun, there various conventions from New York to Kansas City to New Orleans (including Boskone, NECON, WorldCon, and Bouchercon). Part of this is because I’ve been working in so many new genres: last year, I had a Sherlockian pastiche (“Where There is Honey”) in a collection edited by Laurie King and Leslie S. Klinger, my first science fiction story (“The White Rat”) in an anthology of SF inspired by the Brothers Grimm, and an Anna Hoyt short story (“An Obliging Cousin”) in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.
Speaking of Anna Hoyt, my 18th-century tavern owner and, shall we say...problem solver? I spent most of the end of last year finishing a novel based on Anna’s exploits. This is a project near and dear to my heart, drawing from my research on 18th-century Boston and having its roots in Boston Noir (ed. By Dennis Lehane). Anna surprised me a number of times, and I added a whole shelf of books to my library on the history of crime and law enforcement in the colonies. I can’t wait for her to find a home in print!
But I got a huge surprise late in November, when my agent Josh Getzler told me that Muse Entertainment wanted to option my Emma Fielding novels! I was very excited about the idea of my archaeologist/sleuth Emma on the small screen, but know from friends’ experience that it’s a long shot, to go from “option” to “film.”
But you never know, because very recently, we found out that the project had the greenlight from Hallmark, and filming was starting. (See the press release here.) The official announcement was yesterday, and I’m so excited, I can barely contain myself. It’s all happening so fast, but if there’s a chance for me to go out and visit the set, you know I’ll be there like a shot! Another super thing is that my friend Charlaine Harris also has her Aurora Teagarden mysteries on Hallmark, so I'm in excellent company!
This is crazy and marvelous for so many reasons. Site Unseen was my first novel. When I was writing it, playing with some of my experiences in archaeology and my love of mystery, I had no idea it would be published. Of course, I hoped it would, but there were many, many times when I didn’t think it would happen. I didn’t know there’d be five more Emma books. I didn’t know that the Fangborn books would follow, and an exploration of urban fantasy. I didn’t know I’d meet Anna and follow her through the dark alleys of Boston, or that I’d try writing horror or SF or delve into the world of Sherlock Holmes.
So thank you, to everyone who’s enjoyed Emma and supported my work! I’m very happy to share this news with you. And if you’re writing...keep working at it.
You just never know.
Courtney Thorne-Smith will play Emma Fielding