New thriller novel by founder Jason B. Ryan marks the first release in the company’s publishing slate, creating another path for establishing original IP and building toward larger film and television opportunities
Odd Ninja Media has released Back of House, a new thriller novel written by founder Jason B. Ryan and the first release in the company’s publishing slate. The book represents the latest step in Odd Ninja Media’s strategy to develop and grow creator-owned intellectual property across multiple forms of media.
Originally written by Ryan as a feature screenplay for Odd Ninja Media, Back of House was initially developed as a film project. As shifts across the film and television industry changed the pace and landscape for independent projects, Ryan began looking at ways to keep the property moving rather than allowing it to remain dependent on the traditional development process. Adapting the screenplay into a novel offered a way to maintain momentum, introduce the story directly to an audience, and continue building the value of the IP while retaining creative control.
The decision also brought Ryan back to a medium he had explored earlier in his career. Before Jericho Cutter became Odd Ninja Media’s fan favorite science fiction comic series, Ryan initially began writing the story as a novel. He completed only two chapters before his growing career in television and film took his work in another direction, but his interest in the form remained.
With Back of House, those interests have come together. Ryan’s experience developing and producing film and television now intersects with a longstanding interest in fiction, opening a new content strategy for Odd Ninja Media. Back of House is the first release in a publishing slate that will introduce original stories, establish audiences around new IP, and create another path for properties that may ultimately expand into film, television, and other formats.
“For most of my career, I’ve thought about stories through the lens of film and television, but I’ve always been attracted to novels,” said Ryan. “When the industry began changing, I didn’t want Back of House to simply sit and wait for the right opportunity. Turning it into a novel gave me a way to keep building the property and put the story directly in front of an audience. In the process, it opened up an entirely new way for us to think about developing IP at Odd Ninja Media.”
The publishing slate is part of a broader strategy already underway at Odd Ninja Media. Jericho Cutter is currently being developed as an animated series with talent attached. Odd Ninja Media has also completed production on the upcoming horror film Conductor, the first installment in a science fiction and horror anthology series. Together with additional projects in audio, animation and film, these properties support the company’s larger goal of building a scalable library of original IP that can expand across platforms while remaining creator-owned.
Ryan’s inspiration for Back of House developed during the pandemic while revisiting episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. A longtime admirer of Alfred Hitchcock and the thriller genre, Ryan has also produced several thriller films during his professional career. The novel gave him an opportunity to return to the kind of suspense that first captured his imagination at a young age while exploring that storytelling through a different medium.
The expansion into publishing is not a departure from the science fiction, horror, and animation that have helped define Odd Ninja Media. It is an extension of the same creative mission. Whether a property begins as a comic, screenplay, novel, or film, the focus remains on developing distinctive stories and characters in-house, establishing their value with audiences, and creating opportunities for those properties to grow across multiple forms of entertainment.
About Back of House
After her father’s death, Rose Beaumont spent ten years trapped with Gloria, her abusive stepmother. When she finally leaves, she has a duffel bag, a little money, and a housekeeping job at the Grand Heights. The city’s finest hotel seems like the perfect place to start over. But the longer Rose works there, the more she notices things that do not make sense. The staff knows more than they are willing to say. Questions are discouraged. Everyone seems determined to look the other way.
Then Rose is sent to clean the penthouse. What she finds there reveals a side of the hotel she was never meant to see, protected by people with money, influence, and years of practice keeping their secrets hidden.
For ten years, Rose survived by knowing when to stay silent. Now she has to decide what she is willing to risk when silence is no longer an option.
Back of House is available now on Amazon in Kindle and paperback editions.
Purchase Back of House on Amazon
About Odd Ninja Media
Odd Ninja Media is an independent entertainment studio focused on developing and building creator-owned intellectual property across multiple platforms. The company is known for the science fiction comic series Jericho Cutter, now being developed as an animated series, and the upcoming horror film Conductor, the first installment in a science fiction and horror anthology series.
Through comics, publishing, animation, film, television, audio and digital content, Odd Ninja Media develops original characters and story worlds with the potential to grow across mediums. Back of House marks the first release in the company’s publishing slate, with additional novels to follow. Odd Ninja Media also has upcoming animated and film projects in development as it continues building and adding value to original IP developed in-house.
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