Lansing’s Lori Nelson Spielman hits it big with Netflix adaptation

Having Netflix base a film on her first novel may not have been on Lansing author Lori Nelson Spielman’s life list, but here she is.

The novel, 2013’s “The Life List,” was a stunning success for the author, who previously worked as a speech therapist, school guidance counselor and teacher in Lansing. It follows a young woman who is directed through her late mother’s last will and testament to complete the items on a list of goals she wrote as a child before receiving her inheritance. The idea is for the daughter to learn to seek happiness and success by following her dreams.

Spielman said she based the plotline on her own life list, which she wrote as a teenager and discovered years later. In the book, after completing a life list item, the daughter receives a posthumous letter from her mother to inspire her.

Spielman said the book and movie both have a universal theme of fulfilling your dreams, but she also pointed out that dreams can change over time.

“My life list didn’t include writing a book,” she said.

Since “The Life List” was published, Spielman has written additional novels, including “Sweet Forgiveness” and “The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany,” and is in the process of writing another.

The Netflix film was shot in Brooklyn, New York, and Spielman was able to visit the set and meet the director, Adam Brooks, and the stars, Sofia Carson and Connie Britton. Carson, who plays the daughter, is not only a successful actress, having starred in numerous movies and television series, but she’s also a professional pop singer. Britton, who’s also had a successful career, is well known for starring in the television series “Friday Night Lights” and “Nashville.”

Brooks is best known for writing and directing the romantic comedy “Definitely, Maybe” and screenwriting for the movies “French Kiss,” “Wimbledon” and “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.”

“The Life List” premieres Tuesday (March 25) at the Paris Theater in New York City. Spielman will be in the front row.

“I’m thrilled and honored that my story has been adapted to film, and I can’t wait to see Adam Brooks’ interpretation,” Spielman said. “He is incredibly talented and has loads of experience, so I have no doubt the film will be even better than the book.”

Locally, Spielman will discuss the book and movie on April 6 at Hooked, a bookstore on East Michigan Avenue in Lansing.

Spielman’s books are generally categorized as romance, but she takes a sophisticated approach to the successful genre. “Life List” has easily surpassed a million copies sold and has been translated into 27 languages. Spielman said the book is especially popular in Germany and France, the latter of which has already published a new version of “Life List” with a promo for the Netflix film on the cover.

Courtesy photo “The Life List” has been translated into 27 languages. A French version has already been published with a promo for the Netflix film on the cover.

Spielman said “Life List” was optioned soon after its publication, but it took more than a decade to find a producer and a home.

Spielman points to classes she took at Lansing Community College under now-retired English Professor Linda Peckham and poet Dennis Hinrichsen as helping craft her writing.

“Linda’s class was pivotal in my writing career, and Dennis’ class helped me find my writing voice,” she said.

A few years ago, Spielman found herself in the enviable position of being the keynote speaker at the annual A Rally of Writers conference, which will be held this year on April 12 at Lansing Community College’s West Campus. This year’s keynote speaker is another successful Lansing writer, Erin Bartels, who has authored six novels, three of which won Michigan Notable Book awards. The hands-on writers’ conference is typically a sell out, and early registration is required at arallyofwriters.com.