Hello from gorgeous cow country in upstate NY!
No, the headline of this email wasn't clickbait (not really). An odd and exciting thing happened to me last week. You know that screenplay I've been writing about the life of Princess Olga of Kiev? Well, something's happened with that. Something potentially big.
Ryan, my co-writer, wrote to tell me that, despite what he told me before (and what you read in the last email) we were likely on our own for this project, meaning he couldn't convince his agent to move forward with an expensive historical series written by two complete unknowns. I hadn't really expected much to come of this project to be honest, other than a fascinating learning experience. So I accepted it and moved on.
Literally the next day, I get a phone call from Ryan telling me that his agent, an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, and a marketing agency person wanted to have a conference call to talk about Viking Queen.
I was like... WHAT?
Long story short, the agent recommitted to the idea, seeing potential right now for a big sale, considering the fact that both Game of Thrones and Vikings are ending, and the fan bases for both shows are extensive. So why not pitch a fantasy-history hybrid with Vikings and mythical creatures both?!
Well, the upshot is that I'm going to Hollywood in a few weeks for a three-day intensive writing session with a script doctor, after which the script will be actively shopped to networks including Netflix, Amazon Prime, History Channel, and others.
Oh, and there's potential that my own books might get some sort of screen treatment as well. Did I just say that aloud?
Writers Retreat?
So... anyone up for a writing retreat?
I'm actually serious. Would you be interested in coming to a writer's retreat, hosted by me, in gorgeous cow country itself? I'm thinking of September of this year, if there's interest. I got inspired after reading this post.
If you think this is something you'd like to do, email me. I think this might actually happen.
Bi-Weekly Links of Internet Interestingness
Some of my friends asked me to do a video on some of my favorite children's fantasy series. So I did. It was during Passion Week, when I'm just a single toddler tantrum away from falling into coma, so I'm a bit comatose in my appearance and speech. So if you want a chuckle, as well as some reading suggestions, check out my 5 favorite children's fantasy series.
And some more fun stuff:
Instagram teaser
Check out bits of my author's life and images that inspire me over at my Instagram page. Here's a teaser:
What I'm Reading
I'm deep in a wonderful new fantasy by Ann Leckie, who is a multiple award-winning sci fi and fantasy author. I have lots to say about her books ,and I'll be sharing my thoughts in the coming weeks on my blog and my youtube channel.
Here are the books that are keeping me reading far too late into the night. So far, I can recommend all of them, though I haven't yet finished all of them :) All of these are links to Amazon pages:
Ancillary Justice
The Raven Tower
The Door to Camelot - This last one is really fun, a combination of Narnia and Howard Pyle's Arthur stories. I'm only a quarter through ,but I'm loving it. And it's only 99c. Just saying...
Oh, and if you're not watching Amazon's Harry Bosch series, you're doing yourself a disservice. Excellent writing, wonderful characters. (yes, it's a police procedural, so there is a certain amount of R-rated material, just FYI)
Thanks for joining me on my writerly adventures!
~Nicky |
