Bestselling novel The Girl on the Train is now a Hollywood film and it's topping the Kiwi box office right now.
Legions of fans have been flocking to the cinema this week to see their favourite book make the leap from the page to the big screen.
The book sold millions of copies globally and changed the life of the British author Paula Hawkins forever.
And nobody was more stunned about that than Hawkins herself.
"It went to number one in the UK and in the US. That for me was extraordinary; I hadn't expected it to do that well in America, as it felt to me such an English book - this rather sad, slightly depressing story of an alcoholic going in and out of London. It's not terrible glamorous, so I was surprised the Americans took it to heart the way they did."
To have that book suddenly optioned by a big Hollywood studio was just as surprising, and then production kicked off almost immediately.
"It's obviously a huge bonus for an author to get a film made. It's been quite an extraordinary turn around. When it was first optioned, I expected maybe three or four years, or maybe never. Things get optioned and it sometimes never happens."
The film has opened to mixed reviews with criticism from fans and critics alike that the story's location was changed from London to upstate New York.
But Hawkins isn't as concerned about the setting.
"For me the location isn't the most important thing. Obviously it felt very London when I was writing it, the inspiration came from London," she says.
"I think one of the reasons the book has done so well is because that voyeuristic impulse is universal and you don't have to do the exact same sort of commute. You can be driving into work and be stuck in a traffic jam and wonder what the couple next door are arguing about. That kind of voyeuristic impulse, that's the thing that needed to be kept.
Moreover, Hawkins actually thinks the film's setting adds to the story in a positive way.
"I think the fact they set it in this beautiful picturesque part of upstate New York adds its own thing to the film. You have this incredible sharp contrast between these perfect houses and these perfect looking people and all the nastiness of what is actually going on underneath the surface."
For people out there slaving away in their basements trying to write their own first bestseller, Hawkins has some advice.
"You can't think about wanting to write a bestseller, you've got to write the best book you can. That is the only thing you can ever do. The boring thing about it is that it's really hard work, and you've got to slog away at it. There will be times you're convinced it's the worst thing in the world and you're never going to finish it."
Hawkins is already well into her next novel and she promises there will be similar themes to her hit bestseller.
"There are things that will feel familiar. I hope it won't feel too similar, but familiar enough that the readers kind of feel like they're in the same hands. I think that's what you want - to feel you're in the same hands as the book you liked before."
The Girl on the Train is in New Zealand cinemas now.
Newshub.
