Hi, my name is Angela Carling and I am the author of a tender YA romance called Unbreakable Love and an intense little book about love and power named Shackled. More about these books on my website, angelacarling.com. –Amazon or B&N http://www.amazon.com/Angela-Carling/e/B006P15NOG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/angela-carling

A few weeks ago, I was approached by a set of Brothers who write screenplays.  They’d come across Shackled and wanted to adapt the book into a screenplay and then have it made into a made for TV movie.  As you can imagine, I was amazed and excited. Then I found myself asking why me, why my work?  This question sent me on an information quest about books and movies. Here’s what I learned.

First, I asked the screenwriter why he was interested in my book.  He answered simply; it is already written in a cinematic way and has a subject matter that people can really connect with.  He then went on to explain that some books, no matter how riveting the storyline, do not make good movies.  This piqued my curiosity and sent my little whirly mind sorting through books and movies I have read or seen.  Did you know the infamous Godfather movies were based off a far less compelling book and the chosen actors gave new dimension to the Devil wears Prada, which I didn’t know was also originally a book. This year alone, fifteen blockbuster  books are destined to hit the big screen including Mockingjay, one of my all time favorite stories in the Hunger Games trilogy.

So how does it happen? How does a book get made into a screenplay, then eventually into a movie for either the big screen or TV? Well, I can tell you about the first part (a screenplay) but not about the second, at least not yet. :)

1. An author writer must be approached or accepted by a screenplay writer or company capable of adapting their story into a movie.

2. The author is then presented with an option, a contract which basically gives permission for the screenwriter to adapt the book into a screenplay and pitch the storyline/script to studios, actors, distributors and I’m sure I’ve forgotten someone else.  The option usually has a specific timeline, for example one year. This gives the screenplay writer one year to create and market his adaptation before he or she has to renew or walk away. The author is always paid a fee for the option and that fee can be anything both parties agree on. For example, the option I signed was for two years, with the possibility to renew for six months.

3. If the screenplay is bought and actually makes it to the point that filming begins there is another, much more complicated contract that must be haggled over and signed by all the parties involved. That is where a specialty lawyer trained in entertainment contracts comes into play. Can we say Chaching $$$, for the lawyer not for me!  Each contract can be customized. Some author’s have a lot of influence over the screenplay and what happens on film, but most don’t. It is all up to the bigwigs involved and the signed contract.  For me, if all goes well, next year at this time we should be up in Washington State filming Shackled.  Up until that point, anything can happen and in my experience, life is never dull or goes according to plans!!

What will the next two years hold for me? Who knows, but I have a feeling I’m going to continue to learn about the prizes and perils of turning a book into a movie.  Now the question I have for you is what is your favorite book to movie adaptation? Leave me a comment, I’d love to know!

What is Transmedia?

“’Transmedia storytelling’” engages consumers through different means, shifting from the traditional linear story, to a more complex, multi-dimensional ‘story world.’ These characters and ‘story worlds’ can exist and develop outside of their initial film timeline, and this integration will allow consumers to enjoy the entertainment on a number of levels. Rather than simply [read a book, readers] can interact with characters on websites, experience the world in games, follow leads on Twitter, as well as participate in a vast array of other opportunities on various platforms. Additionally, transmedia will aggregate formerly fragmented audiences by uniting them in one “’story world.’” —Lisette Vitter from NM Incite

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The missing son of a U.N. diplomat… the reemergence of a strange organization… a pair of society twins caught in the middle… this is just the beginning of “Go BZRK,” a new transmedia experience from author Michael Grant.

If you’re ready to take the plunge in an interactive story like you’ve never experienced before, visit societytwins.com and register with nexushumanus.com to take your first steps in a strange and compelling universe.  Basically, these sites center around the two main elements of the book, BZRK, and players are invited to participate in it to uncover the mystery of the missing brother and the Nexus Humanus organization.  These are fictional sites to draw readers into the storyworld and interact with the plot and characters.   It’s intended for game play only. Essentially, the two sites center upon the main elements in the new book BZRK, and allow participants to interact with the storyline and characters to uncover the twins’ missing brother and the Nexus Humanus’ involvement.  It is a mystery/alternate reality game.

Filled with video, puzzles, community collaboration, and more, “Go BZRK” puts YOU, the player, right in the middle of the action as you join Nexus Humanus and unravel a mystery that may hold the key to the fate of all mankind.

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A Q&A with author Michael Grant.

What is “Go BZRK”? Is this a book or some kind of interactive story?

Both. The book comes out this winter, but the interactive part starts now. One leads up to the other, but they’re part of a complete package.

There are different approaches to transmedia. Most people take a single story and reproduce it on various platforms. My philosophy has been to make each element – ARG, app, web, book – a thing unto itself, each revealing some aspect of the world of BZRK. I’ve been fascinated with this is as a new way to tell stories. The book remains central, but now I can reach beyond the book and create a much more complete world. I can tell stories that enhance the book, and stories that parallel the book, and stories that are offshoots of backstory. I guess the answer to “why” is “because it’s fun.”

I began a few years ago reaching out to publishers and saying we collectively needed to understand that the old models were dead or dying. I want publishing to survive, and of course I’d like my own career to thrive. So Egmont Publishing and my partners and I certainly hope this is a part of the future of publishing.

We’ll be running this in several chunks between now and the book release this winter. Because these things have a hard start/stop point, August is a ramp-up phase. There’ll be a lot of content coming out, but the experience really gets underway at the end of the month… just in time to distract the kids from their schoolwork.

You don’t have to do anything. You can do one thing and not another. But the deeper you plunge the wetter you get. I think every part of this is fun, I think people will enjoy the ARG, the app, the site and the books.

Just wait and see.

It’s a battle for the soul and freedom of the human race carried out simultaneously in the world we know, and in a world that you’re not going to expect. It’s a world where if you make a false move, you’re going to lose your mind.

The line between writer and crazy person is very thin. Both go around holding long, involved conversations with people who aren’t there.

Do you really want spoilers? I’ll tell you this. We’ll be going “down in the meat.” It’s going to be vast, bloody, and beautiful.

Adults like to flatter themselves that kids won’t get, won’t understand, won’t be able to handle, more intense, more complex stories. That’s nonsense. It’s the adults who are easy to creep out or scare. Say the word “biopsy” in a room full of adults. Or “audit.” See? Easy to scare. Kids are a tougher audience because kids think they’re immortal.

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Ready to take the plunge?