The Glass Room
THE GLASS ROOM was published on February 2nd. As usual we had a party in the Lit and Phil in Newcastle to celebrate and this year I was joined by scriptwriter Gaby Chiappe. Gaby adapted SILENT VOICES for television and you'll soon see her work when the second series of VERA is broadcast later in the spring. The adaptation is quite different from the novel, but Gaby has captured the spirit of the work brilliantly, and the motif of water that holds the story together, is there in the script too. I haven't seen the finished programme but very much look forward to it.
The idea for THE GLASS ROOM came from Paul Rutman, another of VERA's scriptwriters. He'd wanted to incorporate Vera's hippy neighbours into the a script but had been told there wasn't the budget for two more actors. So I was asked to write a bigger part for the neighbours in the next book! And I did...
The story starts with the disappearance of Joanna, who lives on a small holding next door to the house Vera inherited from Hector, her father. Vera tracks her neighbour down to The Writers' House, a place where established authors and aspiring writers spend a week to share ideas about the crime short story. Think an Arvon type community on the Northumberland coast. Vera finds not only Joanna, but the body of one of the tutors, Tony Ferdinand, stabbed, in the glass room at the top of the house. Later it seems that the fiction that has been written on the course is coming to life.
So very traditional. And a little Gothic. And, as one of my friends describes the book, rather mannered. This is an attempt to recreate the sense of a Golden Age story, but to give it a contemporary twist. A country house murder with literary clues. If you enjoy car chases and graphic violence this won't be for you. But if you're looking for something atmospheric and claustrophobic to entertain you on a cold winter's day, I hope that you'll enjoy it.
I'll be in London in from the 7th Feb to promote the book - check the events page of the website for details Please come along to find out more about The Glass Room. I look forward to meeting you.
Posted by Ann on Saturday, February 4th 2012 @ 02:30 PM GMT [link]
