Just Add Writer: A Complete Guide to Writing Tie-Ins and IP
April 28, 2025

Just Add Writer: A Complete Guide to Writing Tie-Ins and IP

Adaptations, reboots and relaunches, Intellectual property (IP), working in a “shared universe”-all terms you hear about in the writing world but what does it all mean? And more importantly, how does somebody break into these “hot” markets?

Follow the career of an author already accomplished in many genres of fiction as he details step by step, year by year, the exact path he took to work with franchises such as Alien, Conan, Doctor Who, Dragonlance, Grimm, Halloween, Kingsman, A Nightmare on Elm Street, the Pearl Trilogy, Resident Evil, Stargate SG-1, Supernatural, Terrifier, Transformers, xXx, and more.

This one-of-a-kind resource provides everything needed on your journey to become a professional author of media tie-ins, including:

  • sample pitches, outlines and chapters
  • advice on honing your “shared world” writing skills
  • real world examples of IP assignments
  • strategies for finding IP work
  • tips for completing jobs quickly

Additional resources are included to ensure that no matter what stage of writing career an author has achieved, they can move into IP work with an advantage. Furthermore, for readers interested in different fandoms-or the pop culture influence on fiction in general-this guide peels back the curtain and provides unique insight into the process that brings your favorite media characters to life on the page.

From the creator of the popular, award-winning Writing in the Dark series on the art and business of writing comes Just Add Writer for anyone wishing to upgrade their imagination and career.

Conan: Spawn of the Serpent God

Conan: Spawn of the Serpent God

Coming Oct. 28, 2025.

In Zamora, the city of thieves, Conan meets Valja, a thrill-seeking thief. She entices him to join her on a heist, where they steal a golden statuette of Ishtar, said to contain the goddess herself. After killing a dozen guards and failing to escape, the pair are saved by priestesses of Mitra. But Conan knows that nothing is free.

The priestesses have need of their skills. They have waged war against Set, god of chaos and serpents, who demands constant sacrifice from his subjects and massacred thousands of his followers. Yet they are no match for Uzzeran, a powerful sorcerer, who has been performing unspeakable experiments on humans in the name of Set. To defeat Uzzeran, they will need a legendary warrior on their side. They need Conan the Barbarian.

The X-Trilogy is Complete

The X-Trilogy is Complete

All three of my X-Trilogy novelizations — X, Pearl, and MaXXXine — are now out!

The Desolation War
December 4, 2024

The Desolation War


Custodians of the Cosmos: Book 3

The thrilling conclusion to The Custodians of the Cosmos trilogy!

Rachel Blackburn is back, and she’s more powerful – and terrifying – than ever.

She’s now one of the Lightbringers, an ancient race of cosmic beings dedicated to “saving” the Omniverse from the ravenous Gyre by absorbing it into themselves piece by piece.

But Rachel doesn’t give a damn about the Lightbringers’ mission.

She intends to use her new powers to get revenge on the two Maintenance agents who stopped her from activating the Atrocity Engine – Neal Hudson and Gina Sandoval. And when she’s finished with them, she’s going to destroy Brother Nothing and the entire Multitude.

To complicate matters further, Neil and Gina find themselves trapped on a devastated parallel Earth overrun with Aberrants – and where a Kaiju-sized version of Teguzilla lives.

If they don’t find a way to win this war, they won’t have a home to return to.

Time to roll up their sleeves and get to work . . . one last time.

X: The Official Novelization
September 6, 2024

X: The Official Novelization

When screams of X-tasy turn into cries for help!

In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas. But when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast find themselves fighting for their lives…

Written by four-time Bram Stoker Award-winning writer Tim Waggoner, this thrilling novelization is printed in throwback pocket-sized paperback format, bringing beloved scream queens Pearl and Maxine to a new medium. Relive the tragedy that befell Lorraine, Bobby-Lynne, Jackson, Wayne, RJ, and Howard with grisly new details drawn from West’s original screenplay.

As Sheriff Dentler would say: it’s one goddamn fucked up horror story.