Less than a decade ago, bestselling novelist Adele Parks switched from writing romantic fiction to creating twisty domestic noir tales – and now she’s turning her hand to movies.
She’s been commissioned to write the screenplay of her 24th novel, First Wife’s Shadow, a psychological thriller which looks at the issue of living in the shadow of a previous wife, as a whirlwind relationship between Emma, a career-driven, independent woman in her 40s, and Matthew, a widower 12 years her junior, goes awry. Emma becomes obsessed with his late first wife… and then strange things start to happen.
“If I write the screenplay, we would be looking to try and get a green light on it over the next year and then film it,” says Parks, 55, whose books, including psychological thrillers Lies Lies Lies and Just Between Us, have sold in their millions and been translated into 31 languages.
Her husband, Jim, a former international marketing director and website designer who retrained at the National Film and Television School to help make their ambition of turning her previous book, The Image Of You, into a film, has also been involved in her movie journey.
The couple were executive producers of The Image Of You – a dark tale about a identical twin sisters and how one takes extreme measures to discover the truth about the man the other is dating – starring Pretty Little Liars actress Sasha Pieterse, which was released in May (on Amazon Prime).
Another adaptation of her novel, The Stranger In My Home, starring Sophia Bush and Chris Carmack, has already been filmed and is due for release next year.
“We have other meetings with other stories. I’ve got the bug now. I do really want to see a few more of my books adapted for screen.”
What gave you the idea for First Wife’s Shadow?
“I wanted to write about a woman who is completely sorted, financially successful, who has built her own home and is CEO of an energy company.
“We don’t expect women to fall in love with younger men. We all question it when they do. But she can’t get over the fact that his first wife is dead and if she wasn’t dead he would still be with her.”
So, not based on your relationship?
“No! Jim and I have been married 20 years and together for 22 years. There is complete trust. When we met I was already a mum of a 13-month-old (she had separated from her first husband when their son Conrad was 10 months old) and I was really straightforward about saying, ‘Right, I can’t mess around, it’s not just me, we’re a package deal – buy one get one free’.”
Did Jim give up his career for you?
“Yes. He was the international marketing director at Universal, marketing their DVDs and films. My career was huge and involved a lot of travel and we decided we didn’t want our son to be brought up with nannies. So we did the childcare between us. But he couldn’t keep his job because of the hours. It was just too much. For many years he was at home supporting my career.”
What was it like working on your first film?
“Working on the film of The Image Of You was significantly harder than I expected and significantly more joyful. It was very much a collaborative project. We changed so many things, I changed the ending, I didn’t write the screenplay, but I did work with the screenplay writer.
“I was blown away by how many hundreds of people found employment through this little idea of mine, that this fiction had made a solid economical difference to people. That was amazing and humbling and an incredible thing to feel 23 years into my career.”
Have you read any books you thought were better than the film?
“Often a book feels better than the film if you’ve read the book first and vice versa. The only exception to that is The Hunger Games – I loved both the book and the film.”
Where do you work?
“At home in Guildford, Surrey. We both have offices at home. We built our own house – that was another one of Jim’s projects. It’s very Hollywood, very white with lots of glass and six bedrooms. We are very lucky because we have a library, a pool and a cinema room. It’s beautiful. I swim every day.”
Are you disciplined?
“I don’t need to be because the best time for me is when I can carve out time to write. If I can, I will write five days a week, 1,000-2,000 words a day. I edit as I go along. The books take eight or nine months.”
What are you reading at the moment?
“I’m reading the proof of Bella Mackie’s What A Way To Go (out in September). She’s famous for her debut How To Kill Your Family which sold, like, a trillion copies. I find her writing the right side of spiky and the right kind of fun, with huge personality.”
What’s on your reading list?
“Crime writers, thriller writers, psychological thriller writers. The new Karin Slaughter, This Is Why We Lied, is on my list.”
Crime or romance?
“I like crime best when there’s romance involved, when human relationships are involved. I don’t mind if it’s sibling relationships or your child, or your parents. But I think the most exquisite thing about being human is how complex we are and how much love we’ve got to give and how often we get that wrong and how hate spews out.
“I’m not interested in psychos that want to chop up bodies. I want to know what makes people tick.”
First Wife’s Shadow by Adele Parks is published by HQ on July 4, priced £16.99.
