Some books NEED to be made into movies.

I can't believe summer is almost over! I had all these plans - day trips, swimming, writing. What I got was buying a new car, working, school. I think I made it to my neighbor's pool twice. My son, however, spent most of the time up the street at his friend's pool. I DID get one week-long trip to my sister's in VA, which was fun, but I still worked through it. Sigh.

I think I'll be able to slip away a little this week and get some sun. And we'll go to the Aquarium too; one last hurrah before school starts. One thing I did get to do this summer was go to the movies. Just me and a friend, which NEVER happens. We didn't see a chick flick either - it was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I think it's well-known how much I love HP, both the books and movies. Some books just beg to be made into films, don't they? But what makes a good "adaptable" book?

I think Tamora Pierce used to have as part of her website FAQ: "Why haven't your books been made into movies?" And I think the answer had something to do with fantasy and the cost of making such epic films with costumes and such. Personally I love her books, but I don't know that I'd enjoy a movie of them. She leaves enough narrative gaps that I have already built her characters and worlds up in my mind - I don't think a film could do them justice. HP books, on the other hand, are so descriptive that most of the films have lived up to my expectations. Some things are not what I would have expected, but many are. They've been pretty true to the novels.

Of my own books, I'd LOVE to see some made into movies. The Zandria books would be nice, but I really think the Library of Athena series would be terrific movies, and for much the same way HP is. They're sweeping, grand adventures in places that spark the imagination. I mean, they're great visual books - Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, (and China if the third book gets published). Running from mythological monsters, come on! And I'd love to see the manor and the library itself on screen. That would be SO cool.

When I wrote them, I was picturing them in my head. Megan and Rachel riding the wind on the back of Pegasus, and running from the basilisk would make stunning film, at least in my head. Don't ask me who would play the parts - I've never been able to decide. Just not Miley Cyrus please. I want new talent.

I don't feel this way about all my books. The WIP, the sort of Steampunk but really historical fantasy fairy-tale retelling, to me is a quieter book. It's much more emotional than epic; not that the LoA books don't have great characters and emotion, there's just something different about this new story. It will also be visually stunning, I guess. 19th century Philadelphia is pretty nice, and the costumes would be fabulous! But there will be far more narrative gaps for the reader to fill in for herself. On the scale of plot-driven vs. character-driven, I'd say LoA is a little more plot and the untitled WIP is a little more character. I think I'd like it to stay on the page.

Let's face it - plot makes good movies. But alas, Hollywood has not yet come knocking, and I fear I will have to get by with watching The Lightning Thief next February instead (many have compared the LoA books to the Percy Jackson series. Which is a great compliment.) and continue to dream. I can dream, right?

What books would you love to see made into movies? Which ones would you NOT? I think that's almost as interesting.