Eeva Interviews S.J. Hermann, Author and Scriptwriter of the Supernatural Thriller, The Morium Trilogy

3 years ago, I met S.J. Hermann and along with a handful of authors, we formed the now defunct Alliance of Self Published Authors. Back then, we knew so little about self publishing.

Steve has just published Morium then, and like all new author's works, only a handful knew about it. Now, Morium is preparing for its film adaptation, with Steve writing the script. Good job, Morium!

If you want to read my first interview with S.J. Hermann when he was still a wee unknown author, you may visit this link.

Terminus, the end of The Morium Trilogy, is now available on Amazon.

I know the ending of the series has a special meaning for Steve, and so, on Authors to Watch, we're going to gossip with the man himself.

How do you feel now that the Morium Trilogy has come to an end?

Happy and sad. Happy in a way that I can move forward with new ideas. To put closure on my first endeavor into writing. On the other hand, it’s sad that these characters, who have become part of my life for the past three years, will be moving on. Though, it may not be the end of story.

I understand that the script is in the works and you're writing it... Should we expect it in the big screen soon?

Nothing is soon when it comes to getting something on the big screen. As far as writing the script. Yes, I am completing my first screenplay and expect to hand it over to my producer by the time Terminus is released.

How did you get discovered by the film producer?

An author friend of mine, Laney Smith, has a monthly podcast titled, Laney’s World. She had Birgitta Thorson, a producer, on the show stating that she’d be taking books to read to see if they’d be a good fit for film. Out of a dozen or more books submitted, mine, along with three others, were accepted. To say I was excited is an understatement. Every author’s dream is to have their books turned into a show, or film, and to have it possibly happen to Morium, is unbelievable.

Tell us about the Morium Trilogy...What are the highlights of the story?

There are several highlights. The trilogy covers many different topics that teens may face during their high school years, the most important being that of bullying. It also demonstrates the physical and mental toll bullying can take on its victims. Though, the heart of the story is about friendship. The three main characters have been through a lot, and they lean on each other through the best of times, and the worse.

However, it's not only for the YA generation. Morium, which means character and moral in Latin, deals with a variety of moral dilemmas. What is right? How can you judge if a person's behavior is right or wrong if you're not going through the same situation? There's a lot to think about here.

How different is writing the script from the book?

The toughest part for me when I started writing the script, was that I wanted to take the dialogue word for word from the book. Eighty percent of the time you can't do that. I found out that when I did, at times it would come off as clunky. Not that it was clunky in the book, just that it would come down to thought related things. Case in point. In the beginning of the book, we find that Lexi has a crush on a boy in one of her classes. Most of that section in the chapter is written in Lexi's thoughts. It was difficult writing that scene in the script because we can't hear what she is thinking and when Stacy gets involved, the dialogue and actions were pointless, mainly because we don't know Lexi's thoughts. So, I omitted that scene from the script.

I've also found it challenging not to go overboard in descriptions. The writer in me wants to tell every little detail. Not necessary in a script. What takes about one or two paragraphs in a book, gets narrowed down to a sentence or two. Morium sits at 207 pages on the Kindle, the script will probably end up at around 120 or so. Will you see everything you've read in the book make it on the screen? Only time will tell.

What's next for S.J. Hermann? What's your next big project?

My producer has informed me that I should start writing the script for Dark Horizons once Morium's is complete. That book is going to be fun to adapt for screen. As far as novels go, I have started work on a stand alone novel titled, Perfect, that I’m hoping to complete by the end of this year.

Share with us 5 things you've learned about being an independent author.. the most important ones.

1. Patience

2. Determination

3. Courage

4. Coffee

5. More coffee

Eeva, here are a few pages from the original handwritten notes from the then titled, Moralis: A Graphic Novel. From the notes, you can tell that I planned for it to be a darker version of its novel counterpart, with a touch of superhero action tossed in.