Jack Ryder struggles with symptoms of undiagnosed PTSD from an early age.
He has always believed his house was haunted, as both he and his single mother
are tormented by an intrusive entity—a terrifying shadow figure that visits Jack at night.
When Jack turns to his estranged, born-again father for help,
his dad claims Jack’s symptoms are a result of him selling his son's soul to the devil.
In The Midnight Son,
Plagued by a monster called PTSD, Jack navigates the challenges of coming-of-age
in a treacherous frontier town haunted by the highest rate per capita of substance abuse,
sexual assault, and violent crime with the influence of his eccentric dad as an unreliable guide.
While this story lends voice to growing up with mental illness, the rich, unusual characters in this blended family saga and their dysfunctional misadventures offer commercially driven hooks that take the reader by surprise. My goal is to create a bridge between clinical perspectives and adult audiences who are drawn to dark, gritty humor, true crime, and horror, while shedding light on how trauma shapes the developing mind.
The Midnight Son will resonate with both clinicians seeking insight into living with high ACEs and readers attracted to these genres due to their own adversities.
For a deeper dive into the inspiration behind these characters, check out my docudrama podcast, Madness of the Midnight Son. The podcast offers a behind-the-scenes look at how my unique ACEs and resulting Complex PTSD shaped this body of award-winning work.
Featuring decades of home video, family interviews, and footage from short films inspired by The Midnight Son, the podcast expands on the themes explored in the novel.
Before writing my book, I produced an anthology of short films to promote a feature film by the same name. The Midnight Son screenplay received recognition at prestigious events such as the Beverly Hills Film Festival and the American Movie Awards, and it made it to the semi-finals of the Shore Script International Competition. However, neither the screenplay nor the novel, which incorporates the award-winning story, has been commercially produced or published yet.
Some reviewers have called my story:
"A smart, cinematic and deeply human script, demonstrating a writer who knows how to build complex characters and visually stunning scenes. The premise is pure gold, a coming-of-age story layered with the nostalgia of the 1990's and an Alaskan setting that feels fresh." -review from Blacklist
“THE MIDNIGHT SON wrings every drop of drama and comedy out of the premise as possible. There are several moments that feel fresh and new to the Coming-of-Age genre, which is no small achievement!” - review from Beverly Hills Screenplay Competition
"A lot of very disturbing, nightmarish moments even outside of the supernatural element, and that really ties in well with the theme of monsters and demons… From the borderline religious zealotry to the burnout-deadbeat lifestyle and the crazy violent streak, there's never a lull." – review from WESCREENPLAY
