I’m very excited to announce that my new Black Lands story, “Possession is Nine-Tenths of the Law,” will be released this fall as a mini-eBook, called an eShort, by ChiZine Publications.

“Possession” features Jerry Baldwin, the huckster of haunted real estate from my Felix Renn novella “The Brick,” as he attempts to help a couple whose daughter has been taken over by a creature from the Black Lands. Jerry employs his friend, Toronto PI Felix Renn, to assist him. Hilarity, and horror, ensues.

Not only is this my first story to focus on Jerry Baldwin, but it’s also the first story to show Felix from a perspective other than first person. It made for a very unique writing experience, and I enjoyed seeing Felix from the point of view of other people.

I’ve read an excerpt from “Possession” at both the Toronto and Ottawa ChiSeries, as well as a reading in Peterborough where I live, and the reception has been very strong. I really think people are going to dig this one when it comes out this fall.

UNIVERSAL CABLE PRODUCTIONS AND ROY LEE EYE “THE HOUSE ON ASHLEY AVENUE” FOR TV TREATMENT

Universal Cable Productions and producer Roy Lee (THE RING, THE GRUDGE, THE DEPARTED, BATES MOTEL, THE WOMAN IN BLACK, et al) have optioned TV rights to Ian Rogers’ novelette, “The House on Ashley Avenue,” from his debut collection EVERY HOUSE IS HAUNTED.

The story, published in late 2012 by Toronto’s ChiZine Publications, follows the exploits of the Mereville Group, an insurance company that secretly investigates the supernatural. The Group has in its possession a collection of haunted buildings that are so dangerous that their existence must be kept from the public. These properties are known as The Eight.

“The House on Ashley Avenue” was nominated for the prestigious Shirley Jackson Award, and was reprinted in Ellen Datlow’s THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR, VOLUME 5. The collection won Canada’s ReLit Award in the short fiction category.

Lee will supervise development and executive produce, while Rogers has signed on as a consultant for the show.

EVERY HOUSE IS HAUNTED received a strong blurb from Andrew Pyper, whose novel THE DEMONOLOGIST was optioned by Robert Zemeckis and Universal for feature film treatment: “Ian Rogers’ stories are old-fashioned in the very best sense: classic chillers in the spirit of Shirley Jackson and Richard Matheson. EVERY HOUSE IS HAUNTED is full of well-crafted, satisfying twists, a fine companion for any reader of literate horror.”

Rogers’ and ChiZine Publications’ TV/film rights are repped by Jeff Alpern at The Alpern Group (jalpern@alperngroup.com), and Rogers’ literary rights are repped by Ron Eckel of Cooke International (REckel@cookeinternational.com).