A press release from Co-Publisher Brett Alexander Savory of ChiZine Publications:

ChiZine Publications (CZP) and author Rio Youers are pleased to announce that Hollywood writer/producer Stephen Susco has optioned the film/TV rights to Youers’s novel [[[Westlake Soul]]].

Published in 2012 by CZP to wide critical acclaim, Westlake Soul is told from the point of view of the titular character, a former surfing champion who acquires mental superpowers as the result of a brain injury. Though assumed to be in a persistent vegetative state, Westlake can read minds, project his consciousness anywhere in the world, and mentally communicate with animals. Battling Dr. Quietus, the personification of death, Westlake strives to find a way to reconnect with his family.

“We’re incredibly excited about this deal,” says Brett Alexander Savory, co-publisher at CZP. “Westlake Soul combines beautiful prose and strong character work with terrifying images and gut-wrenching real-life decisions. A very personal story on the page, it has great on-screen potential. We’re also honoured to be working with Stephen Susco. We’ve loved the work we’ve seen from him so far, and can’t wait to see what he brings to the table for Westlake Soul.”

Susco is best known for writing The Grudge and The Grudge 2, both starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, as well as adapting Jack Ketchum’s novel Red into a 2008 film starring Brian Cox.