Paul asked James L. Nelson:

In this age of Tv - Movie - Book adaptations, has the idea ever been broached to adapt one of your books (series) into a Tv or movie? Is this something that would interest you? (Thanks you!)

James L. Nelson Paul,

Thanks for the question. Sure, I think most authors would love to see a movie made of their books. Alas, movies have a much greater reach than books, so a movie is an almost sure bet as far as getting top exposure for your book (not to mention the truck-loads of cash they dump on your lawn). If a producer is interested in developing a book into a movie, he or she will "option" the work, meaning they pay a certain amount of money for the exclusive right to try and get production going. Usually an option lasts for about eighteen months and then its up. A lot of books get optioned, and a number of mine have been, but its never gone much beyond that (again, a common experience). My most-optioned book is The Only Life that Mattered, which doesn't surprise me because I think it would make a great movie. Best bite I got with that was when the producer who optioned it told me Scarlett Johansson was very interested in the part of Anne Bonny (she would be great!) and would take it if the producer could get a top director attached to the project. Which didn't happen. Oh, well. So we continue to hope. I've had a few inquiries about my new Viking series, though no takers yet. But the options at least are nice - free money!

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