A SALISBURY-based author whose debut book is being adapted for the big screen is overseeing the initial stages of production in Hollywood.

Peter Liney whose books are described as ‘Hunger Games for adults' wrote The Detainee in 2013.

The book is being adapted for cinema by Grant Myers whose previous work includes the Maze Runner which grossed £228 million worldwide.

He talks to Estelle Clarke about his time in Los Angeles.

What was the first thing that struck you about California?

Well, you really couldn't answer anything to that question other than sunshine - especially coming from a particularly grey and sodden English winter. Almost every day you wake up to a bright blue sky, and from where I am, a view of the Hollywood hills. Yes, I know it's a terrible cliche, but it's a very seductive one, and it is such a positive start to the day.

You know the UK writing business well, what is your initial impression of the Californian film business?

I am but a babe in the woods. It makes me think of that sit-com 'Episodes'. Before I came out I used to think that was a little far-fetched - not a bit of it. Everyone here is mad about film and wants to be involved. There's no such thing as a barman or an Uber driver - they're resting actors/writers. And familiarity has not bred contempt, not one bit of it. Hollywood hierarchy makes the British class system look positively pliant: success is worshipped, stars adored, producers venerated. Not that I haven't been swept along with it a little - why else am I here? 

Does the 'Californian dream' exist?

Yes, in its traditional sense, I think it does, and I've met quite a few people who've been living that dream. On the other hand, so does the nightmare. I've seen so many homeless people here. Far worse than anywhere I've been before - I guess because of the climate. But they seem so disenfranchised, at times barely human, nor attached to this society at all. It is deeply disturbing, even heart-breaking, and a patent reminder that this is still very much a 'survival-of-the-fittest' society and no-one seems to care too much about those who don't make it.

How does it feel to be an English writer having an American film made of a book you have written?

Absolutely thrilling, of course - I couldn't think anything else - but also, I guess, I regard the venture with a certain amount of suspicion. We've all heard of what the Hollywood machine can do to the naive author and his/her work.  Having said that, I'm very lucky to be with Thunder Road, a well-managed and streamlined company known for an incredible diversity of movies - everything from Gods of Egypt to Sicario. And actually, having seen what they have in the pipeline, that diversity is getting even greater.

Please describe your thoughts at the beginning of a Californian day, in that time of peace before business intrudes.

Well, I take my breakfast and I go and sit outside. The sun is shining, of course, the sky crystal clear, and inevitably there will be the flashing reds and greens of humming birds collecting around their feeders. Ninety-nine days out of a hundred I think I might be in a version of Heaven, on the hundredth, I want to go back to the UK. Ah, this human race.