NewYear 2012

Here’s an update, and about time too. The reason for my silence is that I’ve been hunkered down writing a novel. It’s called “Heartbreak Hotel” and nobody’s seen it yet but it’s sort of finished – by this I mean I’ve written The End but keep sneaking back to fiddle with it, like somebody re-arranging the ornaments before opening their house to the public. As all of you who write know so well, this is a strange period, and in this case coincides with the limbo-days between Christmas and the New Year, when the phone never rings and time is suspended.

The novel is a sort-of follow-on to “The Ex-Wives”; Buffy, the boozy old actor, is now seventy and takes on a rackety old B&B in the Welsh Marches where he sets up courses for people who’ve just broken up. I would add with hilarious and unforeseen consequences if it didn’t sound so naff. It does have a few good jokes – well, I laughed at them, but then I would, wouldn’t I? I hope to link it to small films on the internet.

And it does have certain things in common with “These Foolish Things”, my novel about outsourcing the elderly to India. This has been made into a film, as I’ve already mentioned (see earlier blogs), called “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”. You can see the trailer online, and the movie itself opens at the end of February. It has the most fabulous cast – Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Celia Imrie, Ronald Pickup, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton and Dev Patel, and is directed by the terrific John Madden. I’ve seen it and loved it – it’s made by the studio that made “Slumdog Millionaire” and it has the same assault on the senses, plus a big heart. And it’s very funny. Needless to say, I’m biased, but I’d love to know what you think.

Next thing I’m doing is adapting Louise Doughty’s excellent novel “Whatever You Love” for TV. In the meantime, have a great New Year and do email me if you fancy at info@deborahmoggach.com