Jenn McKinlay: At long last, the release of the adaptation of my book Paris is Always a Good Idea is here. I wish I could find the words to tell you what this means to me, but I've tried for months and I can't. It's just beyond my comprehension that this actually happened. Last summer there were some rumblings of an option, but those happen all the time so I didn't pay any attention.
Then in the fall, the rumblings became actual conversations. Promising but only 1% of all books published get optioned and only 1% of all options make it to the screen so, again, I ignored it. Then the option contract came and I signed it. I figured that would be the end of it, but a week later, I was informed that the project had been greenlit. My book was going to be a streaming series for the Hallmark+ channel, starring the Queen of Hallmark, Lacey Chabert.
Yeah, I still didn't believe it. Then a big check landed and I thought: This might actually happen.
After that, things moved very quickly with Zoom meetings with the screenwriters and producer, a set visit in Spain (OMG!), and lots of press--so much press. I've done more interviews for this show than I have for all of my books combined. I don't mind a bit, but I also won't be sad for that portion of things to pass. It was fun, but I'm ready to go hide in my office now.
Right now, before I watch the actual show, the highlight of this entire experience for me was the set visit to see the magic happen. Spoiler: it is not magic. It is a lot of hard work by very talented, very dedicated people, giving me a new appreciation for every show or film I watch.
This wasn’t new information for me as I did a one time stint as an extra on a TV pilot (Moloney back in 1996). We were on set from 6 AM to 11 PM, and it was so incredibly boring (remember this is before cell phones so there was nothing, and I mean nothing, to do). If ever you watch it, I am in the police station scene, sitting at a desk when Peter Strauss walks by, eating pasta out of a plastic container. We did that scene so many times that the words “back to one” still make me a little stabby.
I had forgotten all of this when I went to visit the set. As I watched the super talented Rebecca Hanssen (of Baldur’s Gate and Witcher fame) do her scene over and over with the same dedication and presence, I wasn’t bored at all but rather incredibly impressed with her and every member of the cast and crew working to make what would be 30 seconds of the show the best it could be, especially given the stretch of cold rainy weather they were dealing with. It was so inspiring and, yes, it looked more fun than the revisions and edits I do all alone with a bag of Hersey kisses and a bottomless pot of coffee riding shotgun.
Amazingly, the set for Paris is Always a Good Idea during this filming stretch was in a castle outside of Bilbao, Spain. A castle, y’all! Full disclosure, I wavered about taking this trip because my cat was critically ill, it’s thirteen hours of flying (one way) to Madrid, and I’d have to rent a car and drive or fly again to get to Bilbao in northern Spain. But I kept thinking…if not now, when?
There’s no guarantee that another book of mine will ever be picked up for film. The social media messages I’d exchanged with the cast and the meetings I’d had with the screenwriter and the producer were all so positive that I was able to let go of my Imposter Syndrome (mostly). I hired my Hooligans — one as translator (he’s bilingual) and the other as navigator and photographer (he’s a film school grad) and off we went.
After touring castle Torre Loizaga with the charming owner Patricio and chatting with various crew, I met the delightful director Ed Bazalgette. As a creative who exists in her own bubble, it was quite a moment for me to have Ed express what he loved about the story, the characters, and the book’s messages about grief, love, and choosing happiness. Actresses Lacey Chabert and Barbara Niven also took the time to tell me how much they enjoyed playing their characters and loved the depth of the story. Lacey and I did several interviews and I can testify that, yes, she is the nicest actress in Hollywood. There’s just no way to express how these fellow creatives made me feel seen and understood in ways I never have before. Wow, just wow.
You see, at the time I wrote it, Paris is Always a Good Idea was the book of my heart, coming from a place of grief and loss. Because it was released five months into the pandemic, I never felt like it got the shot it deserved to reach its widest audience. The cast and crew don’t know it, but their kindness and enthusiasm for the story—from the point of view of creative professionals—healed a lot of wounds for me as I realized that this adaptation, the same but also different from the book, would allow my story to reach the audience I’d always hoped it would find. Those moments made the entire trip one hundred percent worth it.
I suppose the takeaway here is to live by the age old advice…order the dessert, buy the shoes, take the trip because…if not now, when?
And today I'm looking forward to watching the adaptation and seeing my story be told through the eyes of other story tellers. From the scripts I've read and the clips I've seen, they've done an amazing job and I am delighted and so very grateful. Here's to dreams coming true!
What about you, Reds and Readers, how do you feel about book to film/tv adaptations? Do any stand out as particularly good or bad?
