Which movie would you like to step into?

Nora Johnson – SOMETIMES, a movie creates a world we wish we could simply step into – far from the imploding global financial crisis engulfing us.

The graphic violence of Michael Winner’s Death Wish sequels; the horrors of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie franchise, anyone? No, we could think of loads of movies in which we’d rather not find ourselves! Of course, in many cases the whole concept is a non-starter – the various props, costumes, sets and camera locations that make up the movie’s visual reality are so cobbled together it’s difficult to take them seriously anyway. But sometimes the magic does take hold and a movie creates a world you feel you could simply step into, one in which you might be happy to stay.

For me, it’s the dark opulence George Lucas conjured up in Star Wars, and the fun George Roy Hill created in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. How I’d have loved to have stood there on that cliff-edge alongside Robert Redford and, especially, Paul Newman – whom I had the great pleasure of meeting in a Malibu restaurant when I lived in LA. And spent the rest of the evening trying my best to avoid staring into those mesmerising blue eyes of his, ending up squinting like a salamander on a nudist beach.

On TV, too, wouldn’t you just love to drop in on your favourite soap/series and join in the banter? Like Sex and the City, Star Trek or Friends. (Wouldn’t it be great to have friends like those?) For something a bit more demanding, there’s always The Killing. Set against an unremittingly dark, Danish backdrop that would certainly keep the pulse racing, I’m not sure though the “heroine” Sarah Lund – known for a certain Scandic dourness that makes Wallander look like the Andrex puppy – would necessarily make the ideal companion.

As for the world of books, surely many would love to step inside a Harry Potter novel and “live” his adventures. Or a John Grisham legal thriller or John Le Carré spy yarn. For me, there are characters in both my novels (at just 86p per ebook for UK readers – a steal! Excuse the shameless plug) – Alex in The De Clerambault Code and Dan in Soul Stealer – I would love to meet. Dependable types to rely on in a crisis – back in the real world …

Nora Johnson’s novels, Soul Stealer & The De Clerambault Code (www.nora-johnson.com) available at Amazon in paperback and as eBook. Profits to Cudeca