Ara's Mythos

         My last blog promised a further account of the journey of the story of Ara, so here it is:

         Immediately upon publication of Mirkwood in 2011, the Estate of J.R. R. Tolkien sought to have the book destroyed. Well, I’m a stubborn lawyer, I like Ara, I liked her story and its origin, and the important question it raised:        

                          "Where are the heroines in Middle-Earth?"

         So I sued The Tolkien Estate in federal district court in Texas. At this point, the entire matter went viral, got written up in digital and print editions of the Hollywood Reporter, The (London) Guardian, the Christian Science Monitor, along with daily newspapers in Calcutta, New Zealand and host of other countries.

         The viral spread peaked at several hundred websites and blogs, and thousands of comments. The dispute became a cause célèbre for First Amendment Rights and anti- bullying.

         The case settled, the book continued (with some innocuous format changes to the cover and a disclaimer, all of which were quite agreeable to me) and became an Amazon Best Seller. It won a national IPPY award. It was translated and published worldwide in Spanish.

         I went to Hollywood and pitched the book at a pitch fest. This is essentially a cattle call: speed dating for ten thousand breathless aspirants to two hundred agents and producers, in four minute sessions at card tables in the convention hall at the Marriott Burbank Hotel.

         I got several offers and did a deal with EMO films. This resulted in more favorable press from the Hollywood Reporter. The key partner at EMO, Joel Eisenberg, and I moved forward with a screenplay (written by Joel out of sheer enthusiasm). From there, we sailed the ocean of being “In Development” which really means “Development Hell.” Financing, pitches, meetings, proposals, Cannes, critiques, on and on.

         After a period, we regrouped. We were convinced that the project held legitimacy in the marketplace, due in part to fairly extensive press and fan reaction. We decided to hold back on the film endeavor and first write a series of sequel books. The result is "The Chronicles of Ara", a new 8-volume fantasy epic published by Luthando Coeur, an imprint of The Zharmae Publishing Press. The first book in the series, "Creation", will be released in 2014.

         The announcement of the new series has sparked an unprecedented social network response for an upcoming debut novel, attaining a direct relationship with over 100,000 fans. Back in Hollywood, Mirkwood Partners, LLC, the rights-holders of all "Mirkwood"-spawned projects, signed with producer Gilbert Adler ("Superman Returns", "Valkyrie", "Constantine") and John Santilli's Aloris Entertainment, producer of "The English Teacher" with Julianne Moore, for a television series based on the new books. Mirkwood Partners is now represented by Creative Artists Agency, often described as the most powerful agency in the business.

         "The Chronicles of Ara" series deals with the theme of corrupted art. There is but a single muse who inspires all of creativity and invention, who is corrupted upon suffering a tragic loss. What then, of the artists? When J.R.R. Tolkien is called upon to help authenticate a recently-discovered "lost" book of Beowulf, the story takes on from there, gradually unveiling a horrific endgame to our collective entertainment.

         Featured authors include Mary Shelley, Lewis Carroll, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and others.

            Another book series, closer in tune and scale to the original Mirkwood book, is scheduled to begin in publication in 2015. More on that, and the associated writing contest in the next blog.