J. H. Markert's "The Nightmare Man"

J. H. Markert is a producer, screenwriter, husband, and father of two from Louisville, Kentucky, where he was also a tennis pro for 25 years, before hanging up the racquets for good in 2020. He graduated with a degree in History from the University of Louisville in 1997 and has been writing ever since.

Here Markert dreamcasts an adaptation of his new novel, The Nightmare Man:

This is a fun one for me, because, even before writing the novel, I’d first envisioned The Nightmare Man as a TV series, so I had actors in mind as I worked my way through the story.

Ben Bookman, a best-selling horror author whose latest novel starts playing itself out in real life, is one of the main characters, and for him I’d imagined Ryan Gosling.

For Ben’s wife Amanda, who is a TV news anchor in the story, I would get Emma Watson.

The main detective in the book is a rugged, older man named Winchester Mills, who, to his friends, goes by Winny, and for him I’d always pictured Kevin Bacon in that role.

Detective Mills’ daughter, Samantha, is a rookie detective on the case with him, and for her, as a fellow Louisvillian, I’d always imagined Jennifer Lawrence.

For the scenes with Dr. Robert Bookman, Ben’s grandfather who for decades ran the Blackwood Estate and neighboring Asylum, I’d have to go with Clint Eastwood!

As a screenwriter as well as a novelist, I couldn’t go into this without also thinking of who’d I’d get as a dream director, and that would be David Fincher, who directed the movie Seven, which is not only one of my favorite movies but also, because of the atmosphere and tone, one of the inspirations for The Nightmare Man. We’ve already had some movie reps reach out about The Nightmare Man, so I’m eager to see what happens next! But just for fun, I’ve already written the 45- minute pilot episode for the TV show, but I’ll be more than happy to hand it over should someone want to make it!

Visit J.H. Markert's website.

Q&A with J. H. Markert.

--Marshal Zeringue