WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Lydia Wilson as Kathy in the film inspired by THE LIE OF YOU

 

My name is Jane Clarke, but I write under the name Jane Lythell. 

This is because in my first discussion with my editor at Head of Zeus books she told me that there were already two published Jane Clarkes – a food writer and a children’s writer. A third might lead to confusion. Was there another name I would be happy to use? I’ve always liked my Mum’s maiden name of Lythell and I suggested this.

‘Oh yes, Lythell is good,’ my editor replied. ‘It’s mid-alphabet. Better not to be a V or a W, as your books will end up on the bottom shelves in bookshops.’

Names are so important to a writer, especially the titles chosen for your books. I have written four novels and on every occasion the publisher has come up with a different one to my working title. And they are always better. For example, I called my first novel THE LONG SHADOW. It tells the story of two women who work together on a magazine, and one of them (Heja) is trying to destroy her colleague (Kathy). Head of Zeus renamed it THE LIE OF YOU. This is much stronger. The three principal characters in the book all tell lies at one time or another. It is also an intriguing title. Publishers put a lot of work into choosing titles and know which specific words will act as a trigger to readers.

 

Available here.

It is every writer’s dream that her book will have a new life on the screen. You can imagine my delight when I heard THE LIE OF YOU was being made into a film starring Tuppence Middleton, Lydia Wilson, Luke Roberts and Rupert Graves, a favourite actor of mine.

The film stayed with the basic plot premise. Kathy returns to work after maternity leave and cannot understand why her professional and personal life is falling apart. She puts it down to her post-baby lack of focus. In fact, her colleague Heja is actively sabotaging her. There were also significant changes made in the film. The producers wanted to sell it in the USA, so they moved the action to California. The British cast had to use American accents. They renamed Heja as Hannah and ratcheted up the drama. They made the setting more glamorous, no longer an architectural magazine, Kathy and Hannah now worked in advertising.

Tuppence Middleton as Hannah

Lifetime Movies bought the film. They are part of Lifetime TV, an American pay channel with 94 million subscribers which features programming geared towards women. Just as publishers know what will attract their audience, so do broadcasters. Lifetime Movies re-named the film A WORKING MOM’S NIGHTMARE. It is not subtle, but it is direct and certainly tells you what to expect in the film.

A friend asked if I minded these changes. I didn’t. Once you sell the film rights, you know your book will have a new life as a different entity. In a novel you have 90,000 words to tell your story. A film has ninety minutes.

The film premiered in the US in October 2019 and it is suspenseful. See the trailer here.

This piece first appeared in PAGETURNERS, the readers' group newsletter of West Sussex Libraries.