Black City is a young-adult fantasy series written by Elizabeth Richards. Get this. It isn’t even available for purchase yet, but it is soon to be a major motion picture, thanks to the kind folks over at the Screen Gems studio.
The first book in the series will be released to book sellers on November 13th. It’s coming from a publisher called Putnam Juvenile, which is an imprint of the Penguin Young Readers Group.
Screen Gems raced to buy the film rights to the series because already the franchise has a huge following online. Apparently, those who love young adult fiction are sniffing the air and predicting Black City will be a major hit. All Screen Gems needs now is a screenwriter adept at adapting books to film.
Black City, the first book in the what’s just being called The Black City series, is set in a metropolis where humans and the race of Darklings are separated by a really high wall. There’s a cold war of sorts going on in the aftermath of a terrible war. Tension is at an all time high, and sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and fall in love.
This sounds like your average star-crossed lovers tale, but here’s a cute twist. For some mysterious reason, Natalie literally causes Ash’s heart to beat. I’m guessing Darklings are a little bit like zombies, because Ash’s heart hasn’t beat in a very long time. Of course the young lovers face death if they are found out.
No, scratch that. I think Darklings are vampiric. My online research suggests they drink blood, have wings, and purple eyes. Watch your back Liz Taylor. You, too, Vampire Hunter D. I kid but, reviewers are already calling the book bloody and sexy, so this film will have a dark slant, I’m sure.
Oh yes, and while they’re at it, the paranormal pair uncovers a conspiracy at work within the city. Dun dun dun. Do you think you’ll be hooked?
Black City will be Elizabeth Richards’ debut novel. She’s an award-winning journalist who largely reviewed video games before becoming a travel writer and editor. She also has has experience as a website editor. Now it looks like she could be the next Stephenie Meyer. We’ll have to wait and see.
More and more we are seeing studios scooping up film rights to a hot book, even before it has been officially published. That speaks volumes about the popularity of fiction these days, especially young adult fiction. Twilight and The Hunger Games have been money-makers thus far. Still, there’s a gamble involved when you haven’t first seen the book make it to the best seller’s list.
The phenomenon isn’t secluded to the YA audience, however. The Care And Feeding Of Exotic Pets by Diana Wagman, as we reported not long ago, debuts November 13th, but a film is already in the works. That one is an adult thriller.
If you’re a fan of YA, especially YA of the paranormal variety, you are surely aware that The Host and City of Bones are two novels with film adaptations already under way.