The 81-year-old is hoping her book about the history of Chinese gold and coal miners in Lawrence between 1866 and 1897 will be turned into a television series or a movie.
"I was looking at life on the gold fields and coal mines in the Lawrence area and, from that, I came across some interesting snippets about the Chinese at the mines.
"It was charming. Successive editors of the Tuapeka Times were friendly to the Chinese.
"I could see from the articles that they [the Chinese miners] had initiative and I was impressed by their business acumen."
The book - The Little Empire of Sam Chew Lain - written in the late 1990s, was recently translated by Chinese translator and former associate professor Tony Fan.
He said the book was popular with Chinese readers and several Auckland Chinese businessmen had since recommended the historical account be made into a television series.
"I read her book while translating it into Chinese.
"It could easily be transformed into fiction television - it could be a series about Chinese life in Lawrence, based on facts with fictional story lines which show the history."
Mrs Jackson said she was born and grew up in Lawrence and the project was dear to her heart.
She was delighted the book had struck a chord with Chinese living in New Zealand and was excited about the prospects.
However, financial backing for the production still needed to be secured, she said.
She estimated it would cost more than $2 million.
