Guest Post:"Novels Translated To Film: A New Trend in Television?"

Romance Novels Translated To Film:

A New Trend in Television?

Guest Byline: Wendy Lau is a writer based in New York City who has a true love for romance stories whether it is through novels or movies. She is a guest blogger for My Dog Ate My Blog and writes on Online Universities for Guide to Online Schools.

In one form or another, romance is a subject with a following. Why have great romance novels just end there? Why not expand and translate it to film or made-for-TV movies? Clearly, there is little reason not to, and that is why there is a growing trend of romance novels translating to motion picture.

Think Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger and, of course, Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell. People just can't get enough of good, old fashion romance.

Sex and the City is a great example. What started out as a collection of essays published in 1997 turned into an HBO television series with a long run, from 1998-2004. Then for the television series' 10th anniversary in 2008, the movie came to life. It didn't end there: in 2010, the movie had a sequel.

Some of the bestselling American authors of romance novels are also getting a second chance with their great love stories.

Debbie Macomber's single novel Mrs. Miracle is a Hallmark Channel movie. Her novel This Matter of Marriage also made it to made-for-TV movie.

A number of Nora Roberts' books have also become made-for-TV movies on the Lifetime Movie Channel. Collections featured include Angels Fall, Montana Sky, Carolina Moon, Blue Smoke, Northern Lights, Midnight Bayou, High Noon and Tribute.

Danielle Steele's novels have also turned to romantic made-for-television drama, including No Greater Love, Vanished, Zoya, Mixed Blessings, Once in a Lifetime, Message from Nam, Heartbeat, Secrets, Changes and Daddy. Her novel Family Album aired on NBC as a two-part miniseries.

While there are times when the translation to a movie or television series doesn’t always match up in full to the romance novel, some appreciate that you can cut to the chase. Reintroducing the love story gives it new life. It also creates discussion, encouraging those who have seen the story but have not read the story to pick up the book.

Just look at Eat, Pray, Love for example. The book was on the New York Times' bestseller list for 187 weeks. This was a book Oprah also enjoyed for which she devoted two episodes of The Oprah Winfrey Show to. Just before the movie premiere, Oprah brings in Julia Roberts, who starred in the movie to discuss her role and her adventurous travels for the movie. All of this gives the romance story another chance for more romance story lovers to re-experience the story or experience the story anew.

Great romance is never-ending! It doesn't matter if the romance originates from a book or film, if there is a good love story to tell, just share it!
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Thanks for stopping by and sharing Wendy. What an interesting post. I LOVE when a great book (especially a historical) gets transformed to film. If a director can do it justice, it's even better. Check out THIS post I did a while back where I showcased some of my favorite historical romance films-most were based off of novels by Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, or influenced by hundreds of books on the subject of British aristocracy!