Cally Taylor's Blog

THE MISSING - my third psychological thriller - out now!

Time for my yearly update of this blog for anyone still subscribed! Tomorrow, 7th April, my third psychological thriller THE MISSING, will be available to buy from all major supermarkets, WH Smith, Waterstones and online book and ebook retailers. I am currently working on my fourth psychological thriller which will be published in April 2017.
You love your family. They make you feel safe. You trust them. Or do you…?When fifteen-year-old Billy Wilkinson goes missing in the middle of the night his mother, Claire Wilkinson, blames herself. She’s not the only one. There isn’t a single member of Billy’s family that doesn’t feel guilty. But the Wilkinsons are so used to keeping secrets from one other that it isn’t until six months later, after an appeal for information goes horribly wrong, that the truth begins to surface.Claire is sure of two things – that Billy is alive and that her friends and family had nothing to do with his disappearance.A mother’s instinct is never wrong. Or is it?Praise for THE MISSING“An intriguing and stirring tale, overflowing with family drama…the writing effectively tears at you, and even if your suspicions start to screech and point, you’ll find yourself questioning them! ‘The Missing’ is a fabulously rolling, coiling, twisting tale, if you can’t trust your family, who can you trust?”
Lovereading.co.uk“The Missing has a delicious sense of foreboding from the first page, luring us into the heart of a family with terrible secrets and making us wait, with pounding hearts for the final, agonizing twist. Loved it.”
Fiona Barton
Author of THE WIDOW“Dark, utterly gripping and had me ripping through the pages.”
Jenny Blackhurst
Author of HOW I LOST YOU“C.L. Taylor is the Queen of Just-One-More-Chapter Lit. I devoured this compelling novel about the secrets and lies at the dark heart of family life.”
Tammy Cohen 
Author of FIRST ONE MISSING“I was grabbed by this book from the first page and read the ending with an open mouth. I wish I could unread it so that I could go back and discover it again. Brilliant!”
Angela Marsons
Author of SILENT SCREAM
Click here to order from Amazon.co.uk or go to my website for a full list of online retailers. 

The Lie - my first Sunday Times Bestseller!

I have no idea if anyone still checks this blog for Cally Taylor news but, just in case I have a few lone readers that haven't moved over to my www.cltaylorauthor.com blog I thought
I'd post that I have a new book out!

It's another psychological thriller, writing as C.L. Taylor and it's called The Lie. It's about a woman called Jane who tries to reinvent herself and move on after a holiday from hell with three of her friends five years earlier, a holiday two of the friends didn't return from. Jane is happier than she's even been but when she receives a notes that says, 'I know your name's not really Jane Hughes' it's time to fight for her life all over again.


Heat magazine called it, 'an excellent psychological thriller'. Woman magazine gave it 5/5 and called it 'Spine-chilling' and The Sun's Fabulous magazine said it will, 'get your blood pounding'.
Retail support for The Lie has been astounding - it's in Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Morrisons as well as WH Smith, WH Smith Travel and most branches of Waterstones. It's also number 1 on Kobo, number 3 on Sainsbury ebooks, number 6 on iBooks and number 36 on Amazon!
Earlier this week I learned that it had charted in the Sunday Times Bestsellers list at number 11. I am officially a Sunday Times Bestseller! Something I never would have dreamed was possible when I started this blog as an unpublished author back in 2006. This really has been the most astonishing month and I'm still on cloud nine. 
Take a look at what Readers have been saying on Amazon.
Or have a look on my new blog to find out what else has been going on this month.

Watching one of your books come to life - Home for Christmas, the film...

Tomorrow is the last screening of Home for Christmas, the film of my second romantic comedy novel and what an experience it's been!

The world premiere was in Brighton on 5th December and I attended with my parents, my sister and her partner and my brother and a friend. It was magical. The 'red carpet' was about a foot long, there were no flashing press cameras and I didn't get asked for my autograph once but none of that mattered.

What mattered was the utterly extraordinary sensation of sitting in the cinema where I'd set my book and watching my imagination come to life on screen. My sister's partner and our friend cried at the end of the film. So did I, but not for the same reason. I cried because I felt so overwhelmed by what was happening to me, I couldn't take it in, it didn't feel real.

And then I went to the toilet and when I got back everyone was frantically gesturing that I should have been on stage answering questions with the cast, so, um...that was real (and scary. And my microphone didn't work but Karl Davies very kindly gave me his).

After the screening I was given a poster, signed by the cast and crew. Some of the things that were written were so touching I'm glad I didn't read them until I was back in the hotel (and then I welled up a bit, again).

"Things like getting a film made of your book aren't supposed to happen this early in your career," my brother said. "I'd have imagined this happening in another twenty years or so."
I looked at him. "You don't think it's all down from here do you?"

The film was screened three times in Brighton, twice in London, in Swansea and in Bristol (which I attended and had to introduce - aaargh!) and tomorrow the final showing will be in Liverpool (which I'm also attending, with several writer friends, hooray!). Several of the screenings were cancelled because we didn't get enough pre-bookings which was a shame for the friends that had booked tickets but it was out of my hands sadly, and it just goes to show how hard it is for independent films to reach an audience. I'm just pleased the film was seen by as many people as it was.

The film is available to watch online on vimeo (you can rent it or buy it, ignore the fact it's in dollars it'll convert to pounds) and there's a limited number of signed DVDs available to buy on ebay (signed by April Pearson, Lucy Griffiths, Karl Davies and Jamie Peterson the director).

If you do watch it I'd love to hear how you think it compares to the book.

JumpStart, the production company who made the film are currently in discussions about getting the film shown in the States, and a possible TV airing but we'll wait and see what happens with that.

It's weird to think that, in a few days, this experience will be over. It really has been the strangest, most surreal thing. Wonderful and magical too of course. I honestly never believed it would happen in my lifetime and I feel very, very lucky.

I can see why people become screenwriters because the itch to write something else for the screen is strong - I want to do this again. I want to see my characters come to life in front of my eyes again! But I've got a novel to write, and another one to promote (THE LIE is out on 23rd April, you can pre-order it for £1.99) and it's nearly Christmas and I'm looking forward to just RELAXING for a while.

I hope you get to relax over Christmas too. Here are some photos of my Home for Christmas experience...














p.s. I recently ran a giveaway for signed copies of all my books, the DVD of Home for Christmas and a 'Go Away I'm Reading' mug. If you don't want to miss out on the new one make sure you sign up to my newsletter - you receive an exclusive, not available on the web, short story if you do -  http://www.callytaylor.co.uk/blog.html

Home for Christmas the film - it's been made!

Back in May I wrote a blog post about watching the filming of my second romantic comedy Home for Christmas.

Well, I'm delighted to say that the film has been finished and it'll be screened in select independent cinemas across the UK in December! Here's the trailer:


 And here's me, being interviewed by the crew back in May, when I went to watch the filming:


Unlike big money feature films that have guaranteed screenings Home for Christmas will be shown via 'our screen' which is a kind of on-demand cinema for independently made films. If enough people pre-book tickets then the film will be show but, if they don't, it won't (and anyone who pre-booked tickets isn't charged).

The cast and crew are going to do a Q&A at some of the screenings (see trailer for details) and I'll be going to the premiere in Brighton on 4th December, a screening in Liverpool on 17th December (fingers crossed, if enough people pre-book!) and the screening in Bristol on 7th December (ditto).

So far the film is going to be shown at the following cinemas and you can buy tickets by clicking on the links below:
Duke of Yorks WORLD PREMIERE, Brighton, December 4th at 21:00 http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/Duke_Of_Yorks/film/Home_For_Christmas/The Gate, London, December 5th at 23:00https://www.ourscreen.com/screening/37761
Gower Heritage Centre, Swansea, December 6th at 18:00https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/home-for-christmas-screening-with-q-and-a-tickets-14390766169 Watershed Cinema, Bristol, December 7th at 1.30pmhttps://uk.patronbase.com/_Watershed/Productions/FromFacebook?sale=249932&hash=9e02a430a405a59fcb8421d44ea2ce77 Clapham Picture house, London, December 9th at 21:00https://www.ourscreen.com/screening/37718
Regal Picturehouse, Henley on Thames, December 10th at 21:00https://www.ourscreen.com/screening/37754
The Little Theatre Cinema, Bath, December 11th at 18:00https://www.ourscreen.com/screening/37747
The Ritzy, London, December 12th at 23:15https://www.ourscreen.com/screening/37713
Phoenix Picturehouse, Oxford, December 14th at 20:00https://www.ourscreen.com/screening/37755
City Screen, York, December 15th at 20:00https://www.ourscreen.com/screening/37880Harbour Lights Picturehouse, Southampton, December 17th at 21:00https://www.ourscreen.com/screening/37721
Cinema City, Norwich, December 18th at 21:00https://www.ourscreen.com/screening/37763
Picturehouse at FACT, Liverpool, December 19th at 21:00https://www.ourscreen.com/screening/37757
Hackney Picturehouse, London, December 20th at10:30https://www.ourscreen.com/screening/37718

If you can't make any of the screenings don't worry because the film will be made available on vimeo as 'pay per view' and will eventually be released on DVD. I'll let you know the details of those when they become available. But do make it to a screening if you can - there's nothing quite like seeing a film on the big screen and Home for Christmas is a lovely, funny, feel-good film (even if I do say so myself).

If you'd like to find out more do check out all the behind the scenes videos on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqGxvTX4icFYiBVzCELa3VQ

And 'like' the film's pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Here's a little 'behind the scenes' action of April Pearson getting her revenge on Jamie the Director for getting her to wax her legs in one of the scenes!


It's a bit early but...Happy Christmas everyone!

Wondering where I've gone?

Apologies for the lack of blog posts on this blog. If you've been wondering where I've gone I mostly post on my other blog these days - http://cltaylorauthor.wordpress.com I try and update it at least once a month.

I also update my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/CallyTaylorAuthor several times a week with all Cally Taylor and CL Taylor news.

See you there hopefully!

Cally
x

And the winner of Beautiful Words is....

... to be revealed by the end of this blog post...


Nik Perring read all the entries and he's reached a decision on a winner. Here's Nik:

So, after considerable time thinking about all of these wonderful entries and words I've come to a decision. But before I tell you what it is I need to tell you how much I loved every entry - any of them could have a been a winner. In the end I've gone for Vamprye1979's crunch. It's a good word to say and it's not unusual. And I like how it makes her feel, like she can taste it, how it's much more than its six letters. So, congratulations to to her and a massive thank you to everyone who entered. 

Cheers Nik! And congratulations Vamprye1979. Please leave me a direct message on my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/CallyTaylorAu... with your postal address and I'll get Nik's wonderful book to you ASAP.

Thanks everyone who entered. I loved reading your word choices. 

Beautiful words: what's your favourite?

Nik Perring is a friend I’ve never met. A friend of six,
seven, eight years? I can’t be sure but, for as long as I’ve been blogging (since
2006), I’ve known Nik. I’ve spoken to him on the phone, we’ve sent each other
mixed CDs (we have a similar fondness for quirky female singer-songwriters), I
made him cry when he read my first novel HEAVEN CAN WAIT and I fell in love
with his story ‘Shark Boy’ in his wonderful book of flash fiction NOT
SO PERFECT, but we’ve never met in person. Maybe we never will but that’s
okay – ours is a friendship we dip in and out of depending on how hectic life
is, but it’s always there, in the background.


And talking of things you can dip in and out of (nice segue,
Cally!), Nik has a wonderful new book out called ‘BEAUTIFUL WORDS’.
It’s hard to describe to describe the book and do it justice. It’s not a short
story book, it’s not a book of flash fiction and it’s definitely not a
dictionary – what it is is a collection of words that Nik finds beautiful and,
running through the book, is a narrative about a man called Alexander and his
search for love. 




BEAUTIFUL WORDS would make a wonderful gift for anyone who
loves words – who loves discovering new ones, who loves reading them aloud to
hear how they sound, who loves saying them over and over again until they make
sense, or stop making sense at all. It’s quirky and different and resonant and
thought-provoking. It’s like no little book you’ve ever read before and the
illustrations are beautiful too. I’ve got a copy to give away but first, some
questions for the Word Master himself…

So, Nik. Tell me how
BEAUTIFUL WORDS came about? What gave you the idea?

Thanks for having me here. It's a lovely place! How did it
start? A couple of years ago I started collecting words that I liked, that
interested me. I bought a little orange notebook and when I found one I thought
interesting or one I liked saying, or one that I liked what it stood for or
represented I'd scribble it down in there. The initial plan was write a book
that would be a celebration of words. Something I thought word lovers might
like. The sort of thing that I thought I'd like to be given as a gift. But I
thought, quite quickly, that a list of words that some chap you've probably
never heard of wouldn't excite people. So I made it into a part story, part
fact thing. With beautiful illustrations. I think it works.

There are two more
books in the series – BEAUTIFUL SHAPES and BEAUTIFUL TREES – that continue
Alexander’s story but also explore the shapes and trees you find beautiful. Did
you always plan on a series of books or did the idea for two more come to you
after you’d finished BEAUTIFUL WORDS?

That came about while I was writing it. It was a chance
comment I'd made to my publisher. I said something like, 'It could be cool to
do this as a series.' My publisher agreed it could be and that phone call was
where we came up with the ideas for the next two.

Our relationship with
words is such a personal thing. In your book I fell in love with the word
WHIFFLE because of the way it sounds when I say it but also because of the
meaning but I wasn’t so keen on the word EFFLEURAGE because it made me think of
sewage (sorry!) although it actually has a lovely meaning. When you wrote the
book did you give any thought to how other people might respond to your choice
of words or were you solely driven by your own favourites?

Ha! Sorry about the sewage. I think when we write anything
that's going to be (hopefully) read by anyone we have to think of that audience
to some degree. My angle was, and still is: these are some words that I like, and that mean something to the
characters in the book but it's not, by any means, definitive. I think I say in
the introduction that I hope people find some they like, but half the fun's
people disagreeing. If I get people thinking about the words that they like then I'm happy.

Which words nearly
made the grade but were dropped in favour of your final choices?

There were loads! Flicking through my notebook... Doe,
gnome, astral, book, chignon, crackle, doodlebug, elk, ermine, fiddle,
fenberry, galloon, hexad, imp, junco, knobble, lasque, mist, nimble,
obsequious, pirouette, quiver, scrim, tinsel. I'll stop there.

And here are a couple of early entries that didn't make the
final draft:

Obsequious: If you are obsequious you are super-obedient, to
the point of being servile. As nice as it is to be helpful, do remember that
no-one likes a doormat. And if they do, you’re probably best steering clear of
them.

and

Lover: Lover has been with us since the 12th century. More
recently, I had a lover. I loved this lover. She was beautiful, and her lips
were two halves of perfect. But this lover was allergic to me. I think I made
her sick. I don’t see that lover any more.

Have you always been
a fan of words? Do you know what your first word was? Any words you particular
loved (and over-used) as a child?

Yeah, I think I have. Can't think of many specific examples,
although I do remember loving 'diorama' when I was in high school.

Do you think our
taste in favourite words change over time? Have yours?

That's a really interesting question, and one I'd not really
thought about. I think the answer's most definitely a yes. Vocabulary does
change. Just look at how many words get added to the OED (and taken out) every
year. Twerk, anyone? And I think that we're probably getting more new words and
at a faster rate because of the internet and technology. It's a good thing, I
think.

A bit of a morbid
question here (sorry, it’s the crime writer in me!) but, imagine you’re on your
deathbed…what would you want the final word you breathe to be?

Ha! Oh I don't know. I'd like it to be something like
'goodbye', or 'thanks', but knowing me it's more likely to be 'Oops.'

Are there any words
you actively dislike? Not because of their meanings (racism, homophobia etc)
but because you don’t like the sound they make?

Dumbbell. Mulch.

You really enjoy
writing short stories and flash fiction but you haven’t written a novel yet. Is
that because words hold more power in the short form, or some other reason?

Nah, I think words hold the same amount of power regardless
of the story length. There's an argument that they stick out more in shorter
stuff but every story/novel/whatever needs to use the right ones.

I’ve recently been
thinking about my writerly bucket list. It includes: ‘See a poster of one of my books in a train station' ‘Win an award’, ‘Make the
Richard and Judy Book Club selection’ and ‘Become a Sunday Times Bestseller’. What’s
on your writerly bucket list?

And I'm sure you'll get all of them! I guess mine are pretty
similar to yours. What would be really cool, I think, would be if someone
animated one of my stories. That I'd like to see. But, really, as long as
people keep on enjoying what I put out there then that's me happy.
Beautiful Words: Some Meanings and Some Fictions Too


Thanks Nik! I can’t
wait to read the next two books in the series and wish you every success with
BEAUTIFUL WORDS.



So for anyone who’s desperate to find out what WHIFFLE and
EFFLEURAGE mean do get yourself along to Nik’s publisher’s website and get
yourself a copy: http://www.roastbooks.org/beautiful-words.html



Or you could enter my competition to win yourself a copy.
All you need to do is leave a comment letting us know which is your favourite
word and why and Nik will pick his favourite. The competition closes on Friday 6th June 2014 at midnight and I’ll announce the winner within a week of the
closing date. 





Bio

Nik Perring
is a short story writer and author from the UK. His stories have been published
in many fine places both in the UK and abroad, in print and online. They’ve
been used on High School distance learning courses in the US, printed on
fliers, and recorded for radio. Nik is the author of the children’s book, I Met
a Roman Last Night, What Did You Do? (EPS, 2006); the short story collection,
Not So Perfect (Roastbooks 2010); and he’s the co-author of Freaks! (The Friday
Project/HarperCollins, 2012). His online home is www.nikperring.com and he’s on Twitter as @nikperring Beautiful
Words is out now and available from all good book retailers.

Home for Christmas the film: aka watching a figment of your imagination become real

So it finally happened - on Sunday 4th May 2014 I watched the filming of Home for Christmas and fulfilled a lifetime ambition to see one of my novels brought to life.

Me with the clapper board.I was nervous and excited in equal measures as the taxi drew up outside the Duke of York's cinema in Brighton at 9pm and my brother Dave, my sister Bec and I all clambered out. I was weighed down with bags - a handbag containing my fancy Nikon camera, a supermarket carrier containing two bottles of champagne for the directors and copies of The Accident for the cast and a second carrier rammed full of sweets and chocolate for the crew.

As I squeezed through the door to the cinema, I ran straight into Nathalie - one of the co-owners of JumpStart and the woman who first approached me via email back in 2012 to ask if her company could turn my book into a film. Nathalie is also eight months pregnant (and did a bloody good job of staying awake until 3am. Something the rest of us really struggled with!).

Me, Dave and Bec in the Duke of York's cafe before filming startedWe hugged hello and then she took us up to the cafe where they were setting up to film the first scene (where Beth comes into work to hand in her notice to Mrs Blackstock and runs into Creepy Carl).

As a Christmas tree was assembled in the corner of the room, tables were cleared and the camera and sound crew set up I was introduced to Jamie the director, Richey the soundman (who will also be creating the score for the film), Matt Beveridge who plays Aiden, April Pearson who plays Beth, Melissa the make-up artist, Georgia the production assistant, Cliff the camera man, Graeme Dalling who plays Creepy Carl, Shirley who plays Mrs Blackstock and so many other people I've forgotten their names (sorry guys!).

Excited to take some pics of everyone in action I reached into my handbag for my Nikon, only to discover I'd left the SD card in my laptop at home. Doh! Never mind, camera phones at the ready instead...

As everyone frantically rushed around getting ready we squirreled ourselves away at the tables in the corner of the room (where we'd later 'act' as customers in a scene) and were joined by some friends - the lovely Georgie D (if anyone needs a personal trainer in Brighton she's your woman!) and author and 5:2 guru Kate Harrison and her partner Rich.

From left to right: Rich, Kate, Bec, George, Me, Dave

I wasn't expecting what happened next - I was asked if I'd mind being interviewed as part of the Behind the Scenes section of the DVD! One of the production assistants was swiftly tasked with scribbling down some questions for me, a camera was set up in front of me, Richey dangled his thing over my head (microphone, you perves!) and BOOM! we were off.

I wasn't told the questions in advance so stumbled over the first one

'What's Home for Christmas about?'

I've spent so much time over the last few months telling people what The Accident is about that I'd totally forgotten the elevator pitch for my second rom com. I had a second go and managed to get through the rest of the questions without stumbling although I was horribly aware that the room was totally silent and everyone was watching. Rather them than me in front of the camera!

Me being interviewed for the Behind the Scenes documentary
Then it was time for the first scene - the confrontation between Beth and Carl as she prepares to leave the Picturebox forever and fly to Australia to be with her mum. April and Graeme were fantastic - I loved the way April portrayed Beth's new found confidence and Graeme, with his soft lilting Scottish accent gave Carl a real malevolence.

It was so surreal hearing actors speak the lines I'd written and see a scene I'd played out in my head come to life in front of me - it was still my book but it wasn't, it had taken on a life of it's own and become something new, shaped by other people's interpretations and visions.

I sneaked a peek at a page of Graeme's script (complete with his notes)Writing a book has often been compared to having a baby - you nurture it for months and when it's published it's 'born'. If that's the case then watching your book become a film is like watching that baby grow up and leave home. When they come back for a visit they're still your baby but they've changed too, they've had adventures and experiences you haven't been part of. I have no idea if that analogy makes sense but it's the best I can come up with!

Watching filming of the first scene. That's April (Beth) by the door and you can just make out Graeme (Carl) with his arms crossed perching on the table behind the camera.
After filming that scene from several angles (including with us in the background as customers) it was time for one of the really touching scenes in the film - where Beth and Mrs Blackstock (the owner of the Picturebox) say goodbye. Shirley was perfectly cast as Mrs Blackstock. She's got a lovely open, warm face and demeanor with an edge of steel underneath.

Beth and Mrs Blackstock hugging goodbye. By the time filming upstairs was finished it was 12am and time to head downstairs to the ticket office for some more scenes - including the first time Beth and Aiden meet, the moment Mrs Blackstock tells Beth she's selling the Picturebox and the scene where Carl tells Beth about Aiden's 'engagement party'.

April (Beth) and Matt (Aiden) practice their lines whilst make up artist Melissa checks her phone.We weren't needed as extras immediately so we amused ourselves as best we could for a couple of hours...

We drank tea (a lot)
We ate Malted Milk biscuits (and Haribos and jelly babies) Dave did tricep dips on the bar!
We watched filming and Tweeted
And Dave refreshed his make up!
Bec and George also went for a wander upstairs in search of the fabled Duke of York's ghost and both swore they could sense something weird in the balcony (George said she saw some cushions move!).
April went off to get changed between scenes and, when she returned, Georgia suggested we have our photo taken together...

Me and Beth (April Pearson) a figment of my imagination come to life! Lots of people wanted to get photos of us together and it was like being papped! (thanks to Kate Harrison for capturing the moment!)

Being 'papped' with April!At this point it was about 1.30am and Kate and Rich were exhausted and well and truly jetlagged after returning from Australia just days earlier and decided to call it a night.

Kate and Rich - smiling through the tiredness!
Then it was time for April to be 'turned orange' by Melissa for the aftermath of the fake tan disaster scene. She didn't thank me for writing that!

Fake tan disaster in progressAnd then, at 2.30am (and with the four of us yawning for England and wondering how on earth the actors were able to speak never mind remember their lines) it was time for the final scene and our moment of glory as extras - a stroll across the foyer and up the stairs of the cinema. Jamie told us to take our time but Dave told me later I shot across the foyer like a bullet from a gun. I wouldn't be at all surprised if our entrance ends up on the cutting room floor!

The final scene of the night: Creepy Carl tells a very orange Beth that he's been invited to Aiden's 'engagement party'.
At 2.47am Jamie shouted 'That's a wrap!' or maybe 'We're done' or 'You can sleep now' - I can't quite remember, either way that was filming finished for another day. I hugged as many people as I could and said thank you, thank you, thank you, then strolled out into the cold Brighton air and headed for bed.

It was one of the most extraordinary, exciting and enchanting days of my life and one that I won't forget for a very, very long time. Roll on December when the film will be premiered at the Duke of York's and I get to see the whole thing. And thank you again JumpStart Productions, for helping make one of my dreams come true.

You can see more photos and follow the progress of the film here: http://www.facebook.com/homeforchristmasfilm

When a romcom novel becomes a movie aka Home for Christmas THE FILM!

There's no other way of saying it apart from...
Home for Christmas, my second romantic comedy as Cally Taylor, is being made into a film. Like, RIGHT NOW! *jumps around the room*
It's being filmed in Brighton as we speak and Karl Davies (anyone watch Emmerdale? He was Robert Sugden!) who is playing Matt actually mentioned the words 'on a shoot in Brighton...Home for Christmas, romantic comedy' on Lorraine on ITV the other day!
(Sorry, there will be a massive overuse of exclamation marks in this email, I am ridiculously overexcited. You hear about books being optioned for films and never being made and I honestly believed this was a pie in the sky dream that would never happen when I signed the contract for this last year).
Here's a photo of the scene where Beth and Matt meet for the first time in the PictureBox (this is filmed in The Duke of Yorks' PictureHouse which was the actual inspiration for the fictional cinema in the book).

​
​and here's one of Beth talking to Ryan Gosling (George Clooney in the book) which is the opening scene:


​I cannot begin to tell you how mind-blowing and wonderful and surreal it is to see characters that lived IN MY HEAD become real. And I NEED to see them move and speak and interact and that's why I'm off to Brighton next weekend to watch some filming (and maybe sneak into a scene in a Hitchcockian way!).
My sister, who still lives in Brighton, has already managed to blag herself and some mates into a crowd scene (the one at Matt's grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary where Beth jumps on stage and makes a drunken speech). 
I honestly can't begin to express how excited I am. JumpStart, the production company making this film is tiny, they all have day jobs (some of them work for the Duke of York's cinema which is why they're able to film there), and they didn't pay me a penny for the rights but I don't care. I honestly don't care. Seeing something I wrote come to life is something I've only ever dreamed of and I can't quite believe this is happening (did I say that already?).


The premiere is in Brighton in December and I think I might just faint with excitement. I don't know yet whether the production company have acquired any distribution deals (which mean the film will be shown in cinemas outside Brighton!) but I'll put together another blogpost as soon as I have any news. Hopefully it'll be out on DVD at some point too (aarrgggh, too exciting!).
JumpStart have set up a Facebook page where they're posting behind the scenes gossip and photos (I'm STALKING that page). It's here:
http://www.facebook.com/homeforchristmasfilm
And you can stalk (follow) them on Twitter here:http://www.twitter.com/JStartBrighton
And April Pearson (who's playing Beth) has a Twitter account here:http://www.twitter.com/_AprilPearson
I did find Karl Davies' Twitter account too but he hasn't updated it since November 2011 :(

Right, I need to shut up now and get back to work writing my second psychological suspense novel 'Last Girl Standing' (or just stalk Home for Christmas the film some more...)
A HUGE thank you to everyone who's bought The Accident. It's currently at number 46 in the Kindle chart and has 50 five star reviews. It's still available for 69p but only for a limited time and if you've read it and loved it I'd be so grateful for an Amazon review.
lots of love (a really very hyperexcited)Cally
xxx

The Accident made the Kindle Top 100!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who tweeted and posted Facebook updates about The Accident yesterday. As a result I woke up to the news this morning that it was number 96 in Amazon's Kindle chart. It made the Top 100 Bestseller's list!
SUCH an amazing feeling. There are hundreds of thousands of books on Amazon and my little book was up there in the top 100!




I get to tick 'Make the Amazon Top 100' off my writerly bucket list! How amazing is that?
Since this morning The Accident has inched its way up as high as number 92 and has slipped as low as number 100 but it's still hanging in there (for now!). By tomorrow (or the time you read this) it may have slipped out of the chart completely but I won't lose sleep if it does. I'm still buzzing that The Accident made the chart at all.




Thank you all again. So very much X