✨🍿 Hey! Hi! Hello!
Ever wondered how your favorite books make the leap from paperback to popcorn? In this episode of Chickling Chronicles, we’re pulling back the curtain on the messy, magical, and sometimes maddening world of book-to-screen adaptations.

We’ll dig into:
🎬 What actually counts as an adaptation (spoiler: not everything you think does!)
📖 The behind-the-scenes business of optioning—and why so many books get stuck in “development hell”
👀 The genres Hollywood loves (fantasy, thrillers, and romance/romantasy) and the ones that struggle to survive the pitch room
⚡ The Percy Jackson saga—from Rick Riordan’s heartbreak over the movies to his redemption arc as executive producer of the Disney+ series
📱 How social media is shaping which books studios choose (yes, BookTok is basically a talent scout now)

So whether you’re a writer secretly manifesting your Netflix call-up, or a reader who can’t stop saying “the book was better,” this one’s for you.

🖤 At the end of the day, adaptations aren’t just about business—they’re about stories powerful enough to be retold again and again.

💌 Links & Extras
Curious about The Missing Reflection—my own eerie, twisty thriller? Head to ⁠⁠linktr.ee/chicklingchronicles⁠⁠ for the book, my socials, and all the behind-the-scenes extras.

💬 Let’s make this interactive: drop a 🎬 emoji in your review or the comments if you’ve got a book-to-movie win… or flop… that you’ll never stop talking about.

📚 Sources I Used & Further Reading/Watching

Books & Authors Mentioned
• Thomas Harris – The Silence of the Lambs (1988)
• Liane Moriarty – Big Little Lies (2014)
• Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman – Good Omens (1990)
• Gillian Flynn – Gone Girl (2012); Sharp Objects (2006)
• Delia Owens – Where the Crawdads Sing (2018)
• Erin Morgenstern – The Night Circus (2011)
• Margaret Atwood – The Handmaid’s Tale (1985)
• Diana Gabaldon – Outlander series (1991– )
• Walter Tevis – The Queen’s Gambit (1983)
• Renée Ahdieh – The Wrath & the Dawn (2015)
• Caroline Kepnes – You (2014)
• Julia Quinn – The Bridgerton series (2000– )
• Sarah J. Maas – A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015) [announced at Hulu]
• Holly Jackson – A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (2019)
• Leigh Bardugo – Shadow and Bone (2012) & Six of Crows (2015)
• Celeste Ng – Little Fires Everywhere (2017)
• George R.R. Martin – A Song of Ice and Fire (1996– )
• Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2005–2009)
• Michael Crichton – Jurassic Park (1990)

Film/TV Examples
• Game of Thrones (2011–2019, HBO)
• The Handmaid’s Tale (2017– , Hulu)
• Big Little Lies (2017–2019, HBO)
• Outlander (2014– , Starz)
• You (2018– , Netflix)
• Bridgerton (2020– , Netflix)
• Sharp Objects (2018, HBO)
• The Queen’s Gambit (2020, Netflix)
• Shadow and Bone (2021–2023, Netflix)
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2023– , Disney+)
• Daisy Jones & The Six (2023, Amazon Prime)
• Jurassic Park (1993, Universal Pictures)

Author Quotes & Commentary Sources
• Rick Riordan on Percy Jackson movies: “life’s work through a meat grinder” – Read Riordan Blog / Tumblr Posts, 2020• Rick Riordan on not watching the films: Variety interview, May 2020• Rick Riordan on Disney+ reboot: “We’re going to do it right. Or not at all.” – Entertainment Weekly, Dec 2020• Neil Gaiman on adaptations: “You don’t have to do it the way I did. You just have to do it well.” – The Guardian, 2017• Margaret Atwood on The Handmaid’s Tale: “You don’t get to be the boss of your book once it’s out there.” – The New York Times, 2017• Gillian Flynn on adapting Gone Girl: Vanity Fair interview, 2014

✨📚 Hey! Hi! Hello!
It’s officially launch day, and in this very special episode, I'm going to pull back the curtain on what it really takes to go indie—from the chaos of last-minute uploads to the deep, career-shaping why behind choosing self-publishing in the first place.

Also, I'll share some of my top tips I've found for launch day survival, real-world advice from other indie authors crushing it on their own terms, and a whole lot of encouragement if you’re dreaming of doing this yourself one day.

So take a deep breath, crack your knuckles, and join me in the behind-the-scenes mess and magic of publishing a book your way.

🖤 You don’t need permission to create something powerful. You just need to hit publish.

💌 Links & Extras
Ready to read the book that launched this whole thing? Head to ⁠⁠⁠linktr.ee/chicklingchronicles⁠⁠⁠ for The Missing Reflection, social links, and more behind-the-scenes goodness.
💬 Got launch day vibes of your own? DM me on Instagram, tag me in your book stack photos, or drop a 🎉 emoji in your review so I know you were here for the big moment.

📚 Sources I Mentioned & Indie Authors to Follow
Jenna Moreci – AuthorTube & Self-Publishing Coach
Abbie Emmons – Author, Storyteller, & YouTube Educator
Sarra Cannon – Heart Breathings, HB90, & the Publish & Thrive Course
@AuthorIsabelleWoodward – Gothic Horror Writer
@WriteNiaWrite – Speculative Fiction Author
@TheRealKariJames – Contemporary Author & Launch Strategist
@MGBlackwood – Fantasy Author & Emotional Support Witch
@IndieBookHive – Indie Publishing Resource Page
@CleoWritesThrillers – Thriller Author & Kindle Top 100 Indie
@AuthorDaniHart – Romance/Fantasy Author & Launch Buddy Creator

🎧 Tools & Platforms Mentioned/Researched:

• Amazon KDP

• IngramSpark

• Linktree / Beacons / Notion

• Canva

• StoryOrigin / BookFunnel

• Goodreads

• Reedsy Marketplace

• Fiverr (for promo design & other assistance)

✨🩸 She didn’t just bite — she built a genre.
Hey! Hi! Hello!

In Part Two of our Anita Blake deep dive, we’re stepping out of the graveyard and into the bigger picture: the birth of urban fantasy as we know it. From vampires paying taxes to necromancers testifying in court, Laurell K. Hamilton rewrote the rules of what fantasy could be — and readers have been debating her choices ever since.

We’ll unravel the crime-procedural-to-erotica pivot that divided the fandom, trace how Anita’s legacy shaped authors from Jim Butcher to Patricia Briggs, and pull together a whole list of books, shows, and movies for when you need your next dark, witty, monster-filled fix. (Yes, including my own The Missing Reflection, because Anita made me the writer I am today.)

So lace up those combat boots, sharpen your sarcasm, and let’s talk about the guilty pleasures and necessary obsessions that built an entire genre.

💌 Links & Extras
Looking for more haunted delights? Head to ⁠⁠linktr.ee/chicklingchronicles⁠⁠ for The Missing Reflection, social links, and more.

💬 Got hot takes? DM me on Instagram, drop a 🩸 emoji in your review, or tag me in your favorite vampire boyfriend debates. I live for it!

📚 Sources I Used & Further Reading/Watching

• • Laurell K. Hamilton – Guilty Pleasures (1993)

  • Charles de Lint – Moonheart (1984)

  • Emma Bull – War for the Oaks (1987)

  • Charlaine Harris – The Sookie Stackhouse Series

  • Patricia Briggs – Mercy Thompson Series

  • Jim Butcher – The Dresden Files

  • Ilona Andrews – Kate Daniels Series

  • Kim Harrison – The Hollows

  • Hailey Edwards – The Beginner’s Guide to Necromancy

  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003, TV)

  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992, Film)

  • The Craft (1996)

  • The Craft: Legacy (2020)

  • True Blood (2008–2014)

  • Penny Dreadful (2014–2016)

  • Being Human (2008–2014)

  • Grimm (2011–2017)

  • The Witch (2015)

  • Constantine (2005)

  • Underworld (2003)

  • Underworld: Blood Wars (2016)

  • Doctor Strange (2016)

  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)