When I chatted over the phone with local author James Bowman at the start of lockdown in 2020, little did I know that we’d be talking again well over two years later, and that he’d have two more books under his belt.
And not only that, he’s managed to turn said books into screenplays – which he is now hoping to transform into a series of films.
James’ 2019 release, The Shard, is the lead novel in his Seraphim Collective Chronicles series – which he describes as “an anthology of the world’s past – its legends, its stories and how we’ve arrived there. It’s all about history, and how we’ve interpreted it over the last eight to 10 thousand years.”
Following the release of The Shard, James soon got to work and penned its subsequent sequels – Legacy, and Trinity.
Explaining how much of a whirlwind the past couple of years have been, he says: “It’s been crazy – it’s like running two projects simultaneously. Not only have I been getting the books finished, printed, and circulated, but my wife Sue and I have created a website where we’ve been writing short stories.
“Much like how the Marvel films have Easter eggs and side stories that all tie into each other, we’ve done similar. But instead of superheroes, it’s contemporary mythology. For example, there’s currently a novella on the website that ties into the third book,” he says.
Everything in the Seraphim Collective Chronicles series is intertwined – a literary technique that certainly helps the reader immerse themselves in a brand-new world, and escape from the drudgery of reality.
“These stories trace back to pre-war, and highlight history in an alternative view that perhaps people haven’t really thought about or considered. These then link into a future story, and creates a bigger story,” James explains.
Spending the better part of two years penning three lengthy novels, James admits it hasn’t come without its difficulties along the way.
“I’d still love for a literary agent to be in our corner and do some of legwork and marketing for us, but they’re a bit like unicorns in the sense that they’re very hard to find. It’s all been a very lengthy process, and we’ve taken so much of this on board ourselves. It’s not ideal, but it’s a way to get ourselves out there, and also retain some of the creative control.
“We don’t ever want to be a clone of everybody else, and everything we’ve done has always been in our own voice,” he adds.
With three books under his belt, how has he gone about turning a novel into a screenplay?
“It is difficult, but it helps if you’re a bit of film nerd like I am, which helped bridge some gaps,” he says.
James said he had to firstly turn the books into a script format, and teach himself to use specialist software to get everything down on paper.
“We decided we wanted to turn the books into a mini movie-type show that would last about an hour and a half each, so the viewer can really engage and become part of that world.
“Sue and I dove into that quite extensively, and we managed to create five 90-page screenplays for the first book, The Shard, as well as one episode each for the second and third books. We’ve got the content there to demonstrate that it can transfer from book to screen.”
With his sights set firmly on the big screen, James began making his way around film sets, in order to learn more about the cinematic side of things as he continues work on his own project.
“I did some extra work on a movie shot at Bentwaters, ‘One Shot’, which stars actor Scott Adkins. I really wanted to see how the directors and cinematographers work, and how that whole process comes together. From the special and visual effects, to the costumes, it’s all so fascinating to understand the dynamics behind it,” he says.
With feet firmly in both the literary and cinematic world, James has since started to put feelers out for his own film – and hopes to get local and up-and-coming talent involved.
“We don’t want to go down the A-list star route, we want to help create the A-list stars of the future,” he says.
“We’ve spoken to a few factors, including Scott Adkins, as I want him to be the main character, Thomas Walker, and he said he was keen.”
James has also already had a musical score recorded for his film. Composed by Italian composer Massimiliamo Lazzaretti, it features guest vocals from Deborah Xhako, a former contestant on the Italian version of The Voice. “Massimiliamo is very talented, he worked for the Italian Orchestra and created the bespoke track for us.”
With the pieces slowly falling into place, James’ next step is to secure funding for his ambitious project.
“We’re trying to reach out locally, as we want the whole thing shot locally. If you read The Shard or Legacy, it takes place on Ipswich Waterfront, in the town centre, in Rendlesham Forest, and Hollywells Park to name just a few settings. I wrote a lot of it in Suffolk because we’ve got a lot of great history here, and people don’t realise it. Books and films don’t always need to be set in New York, or a galaxy far, far away.
“Ipswich born and bred, I really want to shine a light on this region. It would therefore be great if we could find local businesses to help invest in our film project. There’s lots we can do, but there’s only so much we can do ourselves,” he says.
To find out more about James’ books, The Seraphim Collective Chronicles, visit theseraphimcollective.com
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