A suspense-filled thriller novel written by a Frome author and set in Frome has been snapped up by a French TV company and is attracting interest from Netflix.
Dandy Smith’s third book, The Wrong Daughter, tells the story of two sisters, Olivia and Caitlin. Olivia is kidnapped and has never returned – until now. Speculation rises around whether Olivia is who she says she is and whether everything Caitlin said she saw that night is the whole truth.
The rights to the book – which is an Amazon Bestseller having sold over 250,000 copies – were purchased by Quad Drama at a hotly contested auction.
“It is completely wild and the fact that we even had more than one producer looking at it is amazing,” said Dandy. “I am really excited and they said it is a fresh take on the genre and really suited to that gothic French atmosphere. Hopefully it will be on screen in the next few years!
“It is hoped that French Netflix will take it on, where it would air for six months and then it will come over to UK Netflix, where it would air with subtitles,” explained Dandy.
“They have even asked me if I want to appear as a cameo in the series and which scene I would like to be in, so I might be going over to France to do that!
“I think when I watch the first series, it is going to feel completely unbelievable.”
After studying creative writing at Bath Spa University, Dandy has written three bestselling thrillers, selling over half a million copies.
“I wrote two books before I even got my first book deal and I didn’t think I would ever get a book deal, let alone have three bestsellers. I have had so much rejection but now I have sold half a million copies across three books; it is everything I have dreamed of since I was little.”
Each book is interlinked with some of the same characters appearing across the stories.
Having lived in Frome for the last 10 years, the town is the setting for Dandy’s books. She said, “All of my books are set in and around Frome. I am always going to set books in around the town. I wanted the books to have as much a community feel as Frome does.
“It is such a beautiful town, and we have such an incredible community here. I feel like the South West is one of the most beautiful parts of the country, it is where I have made a home.”
Dandy’s other titles are The Perfect Match and One Small Mistake. Her fourth book, The Wedding Vow, is due to be published in February.
