Magic Thursday: ReelShort Script to Adaptation with Mel Teshco!

When Entangled Publishing contacted me to ask if I was interested in doing another ghost writing project, this time with my name on the story, I snapped up the opportunity. Getting my Mel Teshco name in front of a whole lot more eyeballs is always a good thing, despite my already full-on writing schedule and my ‘other job’ outside of writing. 

I knew I’d taken on more than I could chew almost immediately, but it seemed too good of an opportunity to pass up. I’d also naively imagined getting away with a few hours every morning working on the ghost story while leaving some hours in the afternoon for my other writing on the days I was home.

I really should have known better with the strict 5 week deadline to get it done.

For those of you wondering, ReelShort is an American based company owned by Crazy Maple Studio (It is backed by a Beijing-based digital publisher Col Group) and was founded after COVID forced the closure of many movie theaters. ReelShort is a mobile app where people can watch short-form movies on their phones. They are bite-sized dramas that often also feature dark villains with high stakes storylines. Each episode is around 1 to 2 minutes duration.

I was given the script “Take me Hades, I’m Dying.” It’s a contemporary story where the heroine has stomach cancer and only has a month or two to live. She is in love with the hero who has contracted her to be his lover after she approached him for a sizeable chunk of money (to save her sister from one of those dark villains I mentioned).

My ReelShort script was around 16k in length and I was asked to make my adaptation 65k. (Though I started writing the whole thing in word then pasting into Google Docs, I found it easier to simply write it all in the document as I went.) To do this I needed to layer in character backstory, flesh out conversations, go deeper into GMC and layer in a whole lot more chemistry and sexual tension. Of course I had to keep the characters names and stay true to the plot (though I did add in some extra characters which I had to be very careful doing).

All in all it was a super fun process and one I’d happily do again ☺

Reelshort movie of Take me Hades, I’m Dying: 

Adaptation

Take me Hades, I’m Dying

Falling in love was never part of the deal, but the heart doesn’t care much for contracts—even if it’s a matter of life and death.

Dakota
I had no choice.

I would be his secret plaything, indulging his darkest desires and catering to his every demanding whim. I expected the worst.

Then, he touched me, and for the first time, I felt ecstasy, a desire so intense it threatened to consume me. I wanted to give him everything. I wanted a life together.

But he belongs to another. And my time on Earth is running out.


Jaxon
 
Dakota. Her name drips off my lips like nectar. The only woman who’s ever made me feel human. The only woman who’s ever made me feel capable of being my own man.

I thought what we had was more than just an arrangement.

I know her. She’s hiding something dark, something she can’t handle on her own. I’m determined to protect her before it’s too late.

Because I also know the toll sinister secrets can take.

As the clock ticks away, with evil closing in, Jaxon and Dakota’s secret love hangs in the balance. If you enjoy gripping tales of a love in crisis, a strong FMC who overcomes unimaginable—often painful—odds, and a bad boy MMC who finally sees the light, this book is for you.

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While you're here, check out Wedlocked as it's currently free! 

Wedlocked

Book 1, Gangsters at War

Marry the Don, Ethan Agostino…or be killed.

Sabrina

That was the choice given to me after I was caught snooping at Ethan’s family home under the guise of one of his party guests. I might have been dumb enough to think I could glean information from him to take back to my family—his mobster rivals—but I’m not completely brain-dead. I’ll marry the sadistic bastard and hope I’ll live to regret my decision.

Ethan

I can’t believe I’m marrying a woman who is a direct threat to my criminal kingdom. Not only is her family my rivals, they became my bitter enemy when they murdered my older brother. But then our rivalry goes way back. Little wonder my father wants her dead. Except there is something about her that thaws my frozen heart. I’ll keep her as my wife for as long as my fascination holds me in its grip, then I’ll discard her. And I will…eventually. Because if I don’t and my feelings for her grow, someone else will use her against me and kill her anyway.

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and look out for the last book in the series, Unresolved (Book 6, Gangsters at War) coming out at the end of the month! 

Mel Teshco

I'm an award winning author who loves to write scorching hot contemporary and science fiction romance—stories I love to read. I love working from home, where my office window looks out over our 'block' of fourteen acres with gorgeous mountain views. After enjoying a stint as a foster carer for cats, I now have seven felines to entertain me, along with two dogs and two horses. But only when I'm not distracted by my three gorgeous daughters, one of whom—a teenager *shriek*—is still living at home. As for my husband…he's still waiting for retirement.