From best seller to big screen?

Published 10:00 am Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Author Susan Wiggs finds the joy of having her novel ‘optioned’ for a film.

A phone call from her agent made island writer Susan Wiggs scream, the dog slink and the champagne flow.

That’s how Wiggs learned that her 2005 novel “Table for Five” had been optioned as a feature film by Zimand Entertainment.

“I yelled so loud that I scared the dog. Then, since there was no one at home except the dog, I did a salsa dance on my beach,” Wiggs said. “A short time later came a special delivery from Winslow Wine Shop, a bottle of champagne from my literary agent.”

Her publisher, family members and friends applauded the news with more champagne and flowers.

“Writing is such a quiet, solitary pursuit that it’s important to make noise and celebrate the milestones,” said Wiggs, who works from her Point White home.

“Usually my day is so unbelievably boring. This is definitely not the real world.”

Wiggs, a prolific and best-selling author, already had reason to celebrate. Her book “Summer At Willow Lake” is in its fourth week on the New York Times Bestseller List. It was number 15 on the August 19 printed list. And it was 15th on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list for the week of August 17.

“It’s really cool my books are on the New York Times list, but…I see my book and say, ‘God, I am so over you. I’ve moved on,’” she laughed.

A writer friend advised her “to do nothing but celebrate for 24 hours.”

“I am finding this easy to do,” Wiggs said. “This is a different sort of honor, a validation. Bestsellers don’t just happen. They take a lot of planning and behind-the-scenes work on behalf of my literary agent and my publisher.”

But ultimately, she said, the fate of a book is in the hands of readers.

“I give credit to readers and the booksellers and librarians who serve them for this distinction,” she said.

Wiggs was a math teacher for 11 years before embracing writing full time.

Her “Lakeside Cottage,” published in 2005, recently won the RITA Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Romance Writers of America. It marked Wiggs’ third RITA.

“It’s always an incredible honor for me, since it’s a juried award, judged by other writers, my peers,” she said.

Since the publication of her first book in 1987, Wiggs has penned 30 novels. Her works have been translated into 13 languages and published in 20-plus countries.

Wiggs, husband Jay and their daughter moved to Bainbridge from Texas in 1994. They heard about the island from Jay’s father, Jim, who was stationed at Fort Ward in 1945.

Wiggs writes the kind of books she loves to read, with storylines that are “mainstream enough” to attract readers.

“I usually start with a woman in the middle of her life. For some reason, my head always goes to the same place,” Wiggs said. “All the loves that fill a woman’s life.”

Wiggs was surprised that “Table for Five” – a story about a golfer and a schooteacher – was optioned as a film. Her books aren’t “high concept and action adventure” and she doesn’t write with commercialism in mind.

“I was never really thinking of anything like that,” she said. “A producer named Kate McArdle happened to pick up my book at an airport.”

The production company has one year to make the book into a feature film or a TV or cable movie. As realistic as she is thrilled, Wiggs knows nothing may come from this but, she said, “It’s fun to fantasize.”

Wiggs maintains a regimented schedule that begins early in the morning. She fleshes out her ideas and does research on the Web and in the library.

“I have a page count every day,” she said. “If I finish by noon, I get to eat something and go to the gym.”

Wiggs hand writes each rough draft in a notebook and utilizes dictation software to produce a typed draft. She benefits from her close-knit writer’s group, which meets every two weeks on Bainbridge. All published novelists, the women critique one another’s work-in-progress.

Wiggs also appreciates reader feedback, which is “really, really sweet.”

“It’s so hard to figure out who you are as a writer. I love the interaction with readers,” Wiggs said. “They feel they have a connection with you.”

Readers relate to her characters because they are “people sorting out their problems with a realistic ending,” she said. “They are not glamorous. They don’t have really cool jobs.”

Wiggs doesn’t want for book ideas, which she records in her computer, then ignores because she usually knows what book she’ll tackle next.

“I’m 48. I have a lot of books in me. I have too many. They’re circling over my head like O’Hare or LaGuardia,” she said. “I try to be good and work hard. I have a boring life that’s really darn happy.”

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Write this way

Susan Wiggs will teach “Who I Am: Writing the Personal Essay for College Applicants” 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 16 and 23 at Pegasus Coffee House. See www.fieldsend.org and www.susanwiggs.com.