Former Neverwinter Nights programmer gets her first books optioned by Peter Jackson

Naomi Novik, who had a hand in the design and development of Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide, left the world of cold pizza and overnight game programming to write a series of books dubbed the "Temeraire Series". Taking place somewhere around 1930s-1950s (I thought I read 1950s somewhere but I can't find it now), the story in the first book is about a British naval captain who finds an unhatched dragon egg in a ship that was a gift from China for France. He quits his job, raises the dragon and forms His majesty's Aerial Corps. The books have been getting rave reviews (even from Stephen King, reviews here) as being a well crafted blend of fantasy and historical elements. Being fantasy, this was right up Peter Jackson's alley. So much so that he decided to option the Temeraire books with his own money. In his words:

"As I was reading these books, I could see them coming to life in my mind's eye," the New Zealand native said. "These are beautifully written novels, not only fresh, original and fast-paced, but full of wonderful characters with real heart."

"Temeraire is a terrific meld of two genres that I particularly love--fantasy and historical epic," Jackson tells the Reporter. "I can't wait to see Napoleonic battles fought with a squadron of dragons. That's what I go to the movies for."

I think it's a bit ironic how this could come full circle. Naomi begins as a game programmer/designer who quits to write a novel, which turns into a movie, which then churns out a few licensed (hopefully playable) video games. In the entertainment biz, we call that the "Entertainment Circle of Life".

disclaimer: I am not and will probably never be in the entertainment industry, so anything I say about said industry with a coarse grain of salt. Cheers.

[yahoo news]