FEAR: The Motion Picture?

Now, y'all don't go running out and buying your movie tickets just yet. Books are optioned for film all the time and 99% of them never make it to the celluloid stage. But with the arrival of a counter-signed contract and a handsome check in my mailbox today, the reality of a big-screen version of my epic novel Fear is a heckuva lot more probable than it was a few weeks ago.

To tell the truth, I've been working on this deal for nearly a month now. I was contacted about optioning the movie and television rights to Fear around mid-February, when Cemetery Dance announced the release of my short story collection, Midnight Grinding & Other Twilight Terrors, and my comeback finally seemed to be in motion. In the weeks that followed, negotiations were ironed out and the agreed-upon details set in stone by a respected entertainment attorney in Los Angeles. No, I didn't get rich off this option, which is only a prelude to the possibility of something much bigger and better, if (and that's the key word) a major studio should decide to pick up the snake-skinned ball and run with it. The one who optioned Fear (and I'm not going to reveal exactly who it is, for fear of jinxing the whole thing) is now preparing a solid film treatment of the book and has already booked an appointment with a major studio to pitch the idea. And I've been assured that the script will adhere to the storyline and spirit of the original novel, keeping true to the characters of Jeb, Sam, Roscoe, Buckshot, the Granny Woman, and her evil sister, The Snake Queen.

,

Am I holding my breath? No. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Who knows? Sometime in the next couple of years you may be seeing Jeb and his gang's treacherous trek into the deep dark heart of Fear County on the silver screen or on primetime TV. I'm certain that it won't be the sprawling six-hour mini-series I've always dreamt of, but, hey, it could be turned into a decent two and half hour movie. Maybe directed by Stephen Spielberg or, better yet, Frank Darabont. Heck... I can hope, can't I?

For now, I'm going to get back to the business of writing this creepy stuff and not dwell on things that might or might not happen. But it would be pretty dadblamed cool if it did, wouldn't it?