The Morgan Chronicles Saga, by Meg Hennessy bound for television?
I admit after
writing the Secrets of the Bayou trilogy, that I was a little burned out on
researching. I'm meticulous and try to hunt down every detail for authenticity.
But I got burned out on that project. So I turned my energies onto a project I
had started long ago and knew so well I needed little research. It was in my
head.
I started mapping out the Morgan Chronicles in 2002. I had
found a book in an antique shop about the border war and Jesse James. So I
bought it to read on my travels. That book opened up an entirely new area of
interest for me. My husband and I did what we dubbed our "Jesse James
Tour" through Missouri. And as my failing, I bought several more books
from souvenir shops to read on my way home. I was hooked. I had studied the
Civil War in depth to write, Shadows of a
Southern Moon, so I had a strong background for the subject matter, but this was different.
This was up close and personal. I could feel this one deep in my bones.
I started working
on a story concept. I tried several times to write it but it was so immense,
deep, all-encompassing that I literally could not wrap my head around it. I was
writing in the romance genre, which in its own right is very restricted on the
story format, point of view, etc. I think I counted over twenty different
starts to it, different directions, different story lines that it was like
bobbing for apples in very dark water. I couldn't pin it down. And the way my
mind works, if I don't get a story on paper relatively soon, it continues to
grow in my head. It's constantly changing like a kaleidoscope or a silent film.
Consequently, it grew to include two more generations! The original Hero and
Heroine had children, and now had grandchildren.
When I signed
with my agent, I pitched it to her. She loved the concept. In July
of 2015, we pitched it to four large publishers in New York. It was well
received and all four requested to see the material. But trying to put these
characters into the restrictions of the romance genre became very difficult.
When submitted, my agent received offers for portions of the family saga but not
all of it.
She suggested in October of 2015 that we table the Morgan
Chronicles. She said she'd sell portions of it if I wanted, but she
said it would not sell in its entirety. She felt so strongly about the project
and its importance as a whole, she recommended we put a hold on the Morgan
Chronicles and wait for a better opportunity. I love this project so
much, I agreed. I never felt the need to flood the market with new books or
needed continual releases. It's never what drove me to write. I'd write when
new characters showed up in my head and I'd enjoy writing their story. So we
tabled the Morgan Chronicles. It wasn't until the following spring that I got good news on the Morgan Chronicles.
June 2016: Heard from my agent while at
a writer's conference in Green Bay. The Morgan Chronicles has been picked up by
a film producer who wants to make a television series out of it! According
to my agent, they absolutely loved the concept and the characters but they
asked if I could flesh it out a little more and provide more historical
context. Another phone meeting was set for the following week between my agent
and the producers.
I know how to write a query,
synopsis, blurb, and chapters, overall a book proposal, but I have never put
together a proposal for a television series. So I worked on it, blindly, but
just did what seemed logical. I sent it to my agent. A couple of days later, she had a phone meeting with the producers. She called me later to say
"You nailed it." Very cool, very exciting!
July 2019, New York
During a writing
conference in New York, I met with my agent. She's in the process of arranging
a meeting with the producers for the Morgan Chronicles in Los Angeles.
I also attended a
workshop on writing a TV proposal. Found out you have to put together what is
called a TV Bible which includes characters, settings, synopsis of episodes and
story lines. As I wait to see this project move forward, I'm working on my TV
Bible and having a lot of fun with it. As I develop this, I'm seeing a series
of books coming and a whole new world of writing experiences. J
