Adjunct professor Sara McDermott, an accomplished screenwriter, is now a best-selling author. Her debut novel, Wolves at Night, just hit the Amazon best-seller lists in the United States and Canada. The book is a thrilling tale of survival, mistrust, and self-growth

"It's a thriller set in the Alaskan wilderness. The book deals quite a bit with abusive relationships, and one of the goals is to really empower people who've had this experience," McDermott explains

The concept for this novel had been swirling around in McDermott's mind for a few years before she started to write. She had lived in Alaska while writing for a travel company and fell in love with the state. The natural beauty that she encountered planted the seed for a storyline. In January 2020, McDermott started writing Wolves at Night and finished her first draft in June

Wolves at Night focuses on Eleni, who travels to the Alaskan wilderness with her two-year-old son to reunite with Ben, the child's father. Readers discover the complexities of this couple's relationship and the dangers surrounding them – both human and animal

An English major who graduated from Immaculata University in 2004, McDermott has taught English and scriptwriting courses at NU since 2006. For the past 15 years, she has been developing her screenwriting skills

"Ever since I was little, I loved writing. I just never grew out of it," she said. "I got very into scriptwriting in college. I founded the Independent Theater Club and started my scriptwriting there," McDermott said

In 2019, McDermott had two feature film screenplays optioned (purchased) by film companies. The first, Still Waters, was optioned by producer Bruce Miles but the contract expired, and the project is currently on hold. The second, Corruptible, was optioned to Mission Ranch Films. Mission Ranch Films had also hired McDermott to direct the movie. While McDermott has directed short films and documentaries in the past, this will mark her feature film directorial debut. Due to the pandemic, the production of this film had been put on hold but will start again this summer

McDermott was ecstatic to learn that on March 3, Wolves at Night hit the Amazon best-seller list for horror in Canada at number 22, beating out renowned author Dean Koontz's Elsewhere, which was number 25

McDermott has included a book group discussion guide at the novel's end. There is also a link called the Wolves Workbook that is about reclaiming personal power and helps empower readers in their own lives and relationships

The novel was written according to a screenplay structure, and McDermott believes it would be a spellbinding movie

"I hope this book becomes a screenplay. I think it would make an intense movie," she said

Watch the Wolves at Night YouTube trailer and find the book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble