Norman Reedus Options Grim Novel From Eric LaRocco

EXCLUSIVE: Norman Reedus is going to have a busy year.

The second season of his TWD spinoff series The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol looks set to debut this summer. Then, early next year, Reedus’ bigbaldhead productions and Blackstone Publishing’s imprint will be putting out the first publication under the shingle.

At Dark, I Become Loathsome, by Bram Stoker Award-nominated Eric LaRocca, will be released on January 28, 2025. The horror and dark fiction writer’s tale of loss, grief, ritual and revelations has also been optioned by bigbaldhead, I’ve learned.

In the meantime, here’s a first look at the cover:

“It has been an immense honor to partner with Norman Reedus and Blackstone Publishing to craft the inaugural title for Norman’s new imprint,” LaRocca said Wednesday. “The grim world of At Dark, I Become Loathsome has been gestating in my mind for several years now and I’m so eager to share this story with readers. This book is centered around themes such as trauma, sorrow, and obsession, so I’m especially excited that such a strange, bleak novel found such a loving home at Norman’s imprint.”

LaRocca is represented by Priya Doraswamy at Lotus Lane Literary.

“One of the things I like best about Eric’s work is the dark poetry and Hitchcockian vibe,” the CAA-repped Reedus told Deadline today. “I don’t think there is a writer doing quite what Eric is doing, and from the moment I read it, I knew I wanted him as the debut work in the imprint. Ultimately, I can see that translating incredibly well to the screen, but really can’t wait for folks to read it.”

Reedus and Blackstone first joined forces in 2020, around the same time the Boondock Saints actor inked his first-look development deal with AMC Studios. “Amplifying innovative voices in storytelling is a great privilege and I really connect with the world bending narratives of elevated pulp, which is artful but not artsy, and transcends the genres of sci-fi, horror, speculative fiction and suspense,” Reedus, also the author of bestseller The Ravaged, says. “Stories with big voices and rich characters.”

“That’s the good stuff.”