Popular author signs Hollywood deal

Riley, who was born in Ireland but now lives on the Norfolk coast, has won international acclaim with a raft of sumptuous books since her novel Hothouse Flower was selected by the Richard and Judy book club in 2011.

But her most ambitious project to date is her unique seven-book Seven Sisters series about a group of adopted sisters, each sister’s tale loosely based on the mythology of the star constellation known as the Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters.

The first two books, The Seven Sisters and The Storm Sister, have been top five bestsellers in four European countries, with best ever reader reviews, and the third, hotly anticipated book ,The Shadow Sister, is to be published by Pan Macmillan in November.

Intrigued by the mythology behind the stars, Riley decided to bring the sisters into the modern world. ‘The Seven Sisters story begins on the shores of Lake Geneva where six of the sisters gather in their childhood home after the death of their adoptive father and discover tantalising clues about their true heritage,’ says Riley.

‘We follow each sister on their journeys across the world to find their roots, but the overarching mystery is that of Pa Salt, the sisters’ adoptive father. Who was he? And where is the Seventh sister?’

‘Through a story that unfolds in locations around the world, both in the past and present, the book series attains a Game of Thrones level of scale and expansive cast of characters, the emphasis firmly on complex family relationships and the redemptive power of love.’

The TV series has been optioned by producer Raffaella de Laurentiis, daughter of legendary film-maker Dino de Laurentiis, who saw The Seven Sisters in a book store and immediately fell in love with the story.