AN AUTHOR’S debut novel has been adapted into a feature-length psychological film and is released on Netflix tomorrow.

Susanna Jones said her story, The Earthquake Bird, was “a love letter” to Tokyo where she lived for several years.

The writer, now based in Hove, said the film was a love letter too and seeing her work transferred to the TV screen was “an enjoyable and positive experience”.

She said: “It was strange to have it reappear, this time in three dimensions. Netflix flew me out to Tokyo during the filming so I was able to watch some scenes as they were made.

“It was thrilling to be able to walk on the sets in rooms and locations that were versions of what I’d imagined years before. I had goosebumps more than once.”

The Netflix debut follows its premiere at film festivals in London and Tokyo.

The Earthquake Bird is set in late 1980s Tokyo. A young ex-pat is suspected of murder, which uncovers a mysterious love triangle.

It was originally published in 2001 by Picador and won the Crime Writers Association’s John Creasy Dagger and the John Llewellyn Prize for young novelists, one of the oldest literary awards in the UK.

Susanna, 52, described it as “quite a dark novel about misfits and outsiders, foreigners finding their way in a new city”.

She said: “I lived in Japan for around five years in the late 80s and 90s. I was teaching English and working in radio.

“Tokyo held a particular fascination for me. I could never quite put my finger on what it was, so I suppose that’s what I tried to explore and engage with when I wrote the novel. It’s very much a love letter to Tokyo. I think the film is too.

“I saw each draft of the screenplay and was there to answer questions the director and cast had when I was in Japan.

“They let me know what was going on at every stage of the production, any changes being made, and were very respectful. It was a very positive experience.”

Susanna completed an MA in novel writing and taught at the University of Exeter from 2003 to 2005, before moving to the South Coast.

She said: “I grew up in Yorkshire but my mother is from Brighton and we spent many happy family holidays staying with our relatives in Kemp Town. When I moved back from Japan it seemed natural to move here.

“I’ve been in Hove since 2001. I love the liveliness and character of the city. I love the people.”

She said revisiting her work 18 years after publication was “surreal”.

She said: “I hadn’t read the book all the way through since it came out. Although much of the book had stayed with me quite vividly and I could remember some of the dialogue word for word, some finer details of the plot had definitely gone a bit hazy over the years.”

The rights to the novel were first bought by Ridley Scott’s production company Scott Free in 2014. Amazon Studios expressed an interest, but Netflix came on board two years ago.

It is directed by Wash Westmoreland.

Susanna said: “I respect Wash’s work hugely. By coincidence, Wash had lived in Japan around the time The Earthquake Bird is set and when I was first living there though we never met. When I heard this, I knew he was the right person to do it.”