I signed today, July 17, 2017, an option agreement for Acts of Faith with Mad Rabbit Productions, an indie production company based in Toronto and Los Angeles. The goal is to develop a 4 – to – 8 part episodic TV series adapted from my 2005 novel. Mad Rabbit is a joint venture between the Canadian director, screenwriter, and showrunner Kari Skogland, and the Red Arrow Entertainment Group, whose roster includes 16 production companies in seven countries. Skogland’s record is impressive — more than 30 movie/TV credits. She has directed episodes of, among others, House of Cards, Boardwalk Empire, Fifty Dead Men Walking, and The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood’s novel of a near-future dystopia).

Acts of Faith, an epic tale set during the Sudanese Civil War, has been optioned several times since its publication, either for a feature film or a TV series. I am keeping all fingers and toes crossed that this one will actually make it to the screen. When it debuted, the novel got a rave review from the New York Times Michiko Kakutani, a literary critic who does not hand out praise easily. In its print and e-book formats, it has sold more than 102,000 copies over its lifetime —  more than respectable in today’s book market — and is still in print. That said, a successful TV series would be a second act for the novel, broadening its audience. At least that’s my hope.

Two other novels of mine are also under film options, with different production companies: Horn of Africa and Crossers. I’ve been told that the writing of a pilot for Crossers, which is with American Entertainment Investors, should be completed in a couple of months. If that actually happens, and if a cable network or streaming service decides to produce it, the novel would be adapted for an episodic series on TV. If I had more than ten fingers and ten toes, I’d cross them, too. I ain’t getting any younger — turned 76 last month.

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