Mount Moriah in Primetime

When I write, I often think of chapters in terms of “scenes.” I usually see all the action play out in my mind’s eye before a single pixel appears on screen. Leander lurking in the shadows watching Lindsay, Lindsay beating her ex over the head with a get-well-soon bouquet, Geneva digging through her giant handbag–all scenes I can picture as clearly as the room I’m sitting in.

When a number of readers of the Mount Moriah books began suggesting that they’d like to see the books turned into movies or a TV show, I was delighted. If other people could “see” the books, that meant that not only was I not the only one with a disturbingly overactive imagination, but that, for those readers, I’d succeeded in creating vivid and memorable characters and situations. Beyond that satisfaction, I didn’t give the idea of adapting the series much thought. My books are published by a tiny press, and although they sell steadily, I’m not seeing Gone Girl royalties yet. For books like mine, Hollywood doesn’t usually come a’ callin’.

But fellow writer Nicole Loughan told me that Amazon has recently developed a way for writers to drop a line to Hollywood. Amazon Studios sifts through submitted scripts and videos, allowing actors, directors, writers, and producers to collaborate to tell stories. For the lucky few, they might buy the movie or TV rights. I decided to take a shot at adapting the Mount Moriah world as a small screen sitcom. I’ve re-imagined the story and characters minus murder, plus even more zany slapstick, in a series I’m calling Little South of Heaven. I hope you’ll check out the pilot episode, which you can read and rate here: https://studios.amazon.com/projects/106689. (Click on the PDF link below the image). Please leave a comment or two. The interface is flexible and designed so that it’s easy to update and change the pitch and the script and to add new material. I’d love to incorporate your ideas and suggestions into the small-screen version of Lindsay Harding’s story and here your thoughts on my first attempt at screenwriting!