Film deal for thriller author Samantha

In the midst of the pandemic, a local author has fulfilled her dream of having her debut thriller snapped up to become a major new film.
A poster from Samantha's new film, The Stranger In Our Bed. EMN-201224-111308001A poster from Samantha's new film, The Stranger In Our Bed. EMN-201224-111308001
A poster from Samantha's new film, The Stranger In Our Bed. EMN-201224-111308001

In February, Ruskington horror writer Samantha Lee Howe published The Stranger in Our Bed. She planned for a book signing tour and launch party, but then Covid struck.

“It went from being the most exciting time, to the most depressing,” said Samantha. “All my hopes were pinned on this book and now I couldn’t get out to promote it.”

Despite this, it became a USA Today bestseller within six weeks, shooting up the Amazon charts. “Somehow people found the book, bought it and loved it,” said Samantha.

Spurred on, she completed a second thriller and her agent submitted it to publisher Harper Collins. In June Samantha signed a deal for The House of Killers series with book one due out in March followed by book two in May and book three in July. The espionage trilogy is described as ‘Killing Eve meets Jason Bourne’.

In August, Samantha was approached by actress and producer, Terri Dwyer. Her new production company was looking for a thriller as their first project.

“I fell in love with The Stranger in our Bed as soon as I read the book,” said an excited Terri, well known for her former role as Ruth in Hollyoaks.

“I thought it would make a fantastic film.”

Production began in November, directed by Giles Alderson and starring Samantha Bond (Downton Abbey), Emily Berrington (Humans), Ben Lloyd Hughes (Industry) and Terri Dwyer, with a release planned for next summer.

“Films don’t get made this quickly as a rule,” Samantha said. “I couldn’t believe my luck. I was given the opportunity to write the screenplay too. Working with Terri and Giles and getting to meet the cast and crew really has been a dream come true and a positive end to what has been the most awful year for everyone.”

Samantha is now working on another new thriller for 2021.