Posted in: Movies | Tagged: Castle Talk Podcast, Jason Henderson

Jason Henderson's 18 Miles From Town Optioned for TV & Film

We've enjoyed running Jason Henderson's Castle Talk and Castle of Horror podcasts here on Bleeding Cool for a number of years, and many of you might know Jason best for his podcast interviews and discussions covering a variety of pop culture subjects.  Some of you may also know that Jason is the author of book series including Young Captain Nemo and Alex Van Helsing.  Now comes word that Nadine Schiff's Hope Springs Entertainment has acquired film, TV, and ancillary rights for his novel 18 Miles from Town: A Midlife Crisis Thriller.  The novel, which was released in December, is his second book to be optioned in 2021.

Debuting in December in e-book and trade paperback, the book is described as "Die Hard with a Dadbod." After a workplace shooting, a fifty-year-old once-promising writer decides to take three weeks on a desolate family farm to write a comeback book. But his retreat is interrupted by rekindled romance and a gang of vicious killers targeting him for reasons he doesn't know. Can he figure out what it is they're looking for in time to save his own skin? The book is published by Castle Bridge Media, publishers of the best-selling horror Castle of Horror Anthology series and Bruce Wright's gothic horror history Nightwalkers, which the New York Times called "essential for horror fans."

Hope Springs Entertainment snaps up "Die Hard with a Dadbod" thriller 18 MILES FROM TOWN: A Midlife Crisis Thriller by Jason Henderson

– Written by best-selling author Jason Henderson (author of the middle grade series YOUNG CAPTAIN NEMO and ALEX VAN HELSING) the December release is Henderson's debut adult novel and his second book to be optioned in 2021.

– Nadine Schiff of Hope Springs Entertainment has acquired film, TV, and ancillary rights for the novel.

Los Angeles, California, USA, December 17, 2021: Hope Springs Entertainment announces the acquisition of the book adaptation rights for best-selling author Jason Henderson's adult novel debut, 18 MILES FROM TOWN: A Midlife Crisis Thriller, about a writer on an isolated farm whose retreat is interrupted by a gang of killers out to uncover his secrets. Hope Springs plans to develop the book as a film.

Debuting in December in e-book and trade paperback, the book is described as "Die Hard with a Dadbod." After a workplace shooting, a fifty-year-old once-promising writer decides to take three weeks on a desolate family farm to write a comeback book. But his retreat is interrupted by rekindled romance and a gang of vicious killers targeting him for reasons he doesn't know. Can he figure out what it is they're looking for in time to save his own skin? The book is published by Castle Bridge Media, publishers of the best-selling horror Castle of Horror Anthology series and Bruce Wright's gothic horror history Nightwalkers, which the New York Times called "essential for horror fans."

Early reviews of 18 MILES FROM TOWN are effusive, with David Geister, host of the Monster Movie Happy Hour Podcast, calling it "a delightful rollercoaster ride; filled with plenty of twists and turns, with a truly likable everyman lead that I identified with and was rooting for from start to finish." Tom Waltz, Senior Editor at IDW Comics, said "Whenever I read anything by Jason Henderson, I always have to prepare myself mentally and physically beforehand. Why? Because I know that no matter what genre he's tackling, no matter what topic he's illuminating, I'm going to come out of the reading experience better for it… and absolutely breathless!"

The key word (besides "dadbod") is rollercoaster, as the near-real-time story unfolds in and under houses, through barns and over icy dams, where the writer must stay alive long enough to discover if his captors really are who they say they are, and why he is being targeted.

Producer Nadine Schiff, former Vice President at Stonebridge Entertainment and Sundance Institute Trustee, spotted the book's publication announcement by Castle Bridge Media and requested a look at once. "This book hits it out of the park with suspense and a fresh lead that I know will translate to the screen in a pulse-pounding way. The story has you asking what you would do under similar circumstances and you can't look away."

Publisher In Churl Yo at Castle Bridge Media agreed, saying "18 MILES FROM TOWN is as much a new direction for Castle Bridge as it is for Jason Henderson. We intend a full line of Midlife Crisis Thrillers from different authors about regular folks 'of a certain age' thrust into amazing situations. There's a whole market here of unlikely heroes—played straight, not for laughs. We want families to see themselves in these stories."

Henderson said, "This story is 100% true except for the thrill-killers and the rekindled romance. But it all starts with something we would all be terrified by: you're supposed to be alone, and when you wake up, strangers are coming in."

Henderson, whose work for kids and young adults includes the comic Ben 10 based on the hit Cartoon Network series and the creation of Doctor Strange's daughter Sofia Strange for Marvel, also in 2021 had his hit nautical adventure series YOUNG CAPTAIN NEMO optioned to Kinsane Entertainment, where FINAL DESTINATION creator Jeffrey Reddick is screenwriting. 18 MILES FROM TOWN is Henderson's first novel for adults.

About Jason Henderson

Jason Henderson (http://jasonhenderson.com) is a Locus Best-selling author (for the first Highlander novel), WGA Screenwriting Award nominee, and a Texas Lone Star List recipient for his spies-versus-monsters series Alex Van Helsing. He is the host of the Castle of Horror/Castle Talk Podcast, which regularly features major genre stars like Joe Bob Briggs, Elvira and Rob Zombie. His nonfiction book with Adam Foshko California Tiki from the History Press was a #1 Pop Culture book on Amazon and will be followed in 2022 by Hollywood Tiki.

Jason's Young Captain Nemo series has appeared as #1 on the New Children's Boats & Ships, New Children's Steampunk, and New Children's Action & Adventure/Sci-Fi lists. Young Captain Nemo has been optioned for film by Rainshine Entertainment, with a script by Final Destination creator Jeffrey Reddick.

Jason's 1950s beach-party horror thriller novel under the pseudonym Peyton Douglas, Night of the Book Man, the first in the Surf Mystic series, debuted in 2020.

About Nadine Schiff, Hope Springs Entertainment

Nadine Schiff is a film and television producer, screenwriter, and author from Los Angeles, California. She previously served as Vice President of Michael Douglas' Stonebridge Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. She began her career as a television journalist, eventually working as a national correspondent for CBS Evening News.

Schiff co-wrote the story and executive produced Made in America with Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson. She was also the associate producer of Red Corner directed by Jon Avnet and produced and co-wrote the story for CBS's Wedding Dress. Executive Producer of Breakfast with Scot, she also served as a producer on HBO's Live From Baghdad. Working for many years as a journalist and writing for major magazines, Schiff has also co-authored three books for major publishers: Career Makeovers for the Working Woman, The Secret Language of Girlfriends and The Ultimate Organizer.

Owner of Hope Springs Entertainment, Schiff has several projects in various stages of development including Dee Takes Seoul, a co-production with Miky Lee's CJ Entertainment. She is also working with Richard Plepler's Eden Entertainment on a potential project for Apple TV with Lisa Taddeo attached as the writer.

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