At Wilton’s

Back to work, which is more fun than it sounds this week. I’m making a little video to accompany THE ILLUSIONISTS, which means I can pretend to be a film hotshot for a day or so….

The book has a theatre setting, so we’re in Wilton’s Music Hall in the east end of London. It’s a fabulous building, and it was the backdrop I had in mind when I envisaged my own Palmyra theatre –  it’s a big excitement to use Wilton’s itself for the location. This is the pre-production meeting: actual filming will be done later this month. My usual job involves long hours of solitude, so I’m loving the collaborative aspects of working with a creative director, a film maker, and a real actor and actress. It’s also quite challenging trying to distil the atmosphere and elements of a long, juicy novel into a 90-second video. I hope it works.

The other task of the week is to read the final page proofs. This is the last of the long, intermediate stages between delivering the first manuscript and publication day. The next time I see the text it will be as a printed book.

Once the proofs are done, I’ll settle down again to the new novel. I thought I wasn’t thinking about it while I was away, but in fact I must have been because all kinds of new elements have bubbled up. All to the good. Central Asia was a HUGE adventure (pictures in the Gallery soon) but I’m so happy to be home with family and friends. One of the bonuses of travel!