NEW YORK, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Fantasy novelist Naomi Novik says New Zealand producer/director Peter Jackson's interest in her "Temeraire" series is a dream come true.
The 33-year-old former computer programmer told The New York Times she would joke with family and friends about working with the Academy Award winning filmmaker.
"I fantasized about Peter Jackson," she said. "Before we ever sent the books to Hollywood, really, I was talking, we were joking with friends. Even my parents were saying, 'Wouldn't it be wonderful if the man who did 'Lord of the Rings' bought your books?'"
Novik's first three novels -- "His Majesty's Dragon," "Throne of Jade" and "Black Powder War" -- create a world where a Napoleon-era ship captain teams with a heroic dragon to save Britain from French invaders.
Novik said she is writing the fourth book in the series, which has a projected publication date in January 2007.
