Markus Redmond

Hey kids! Her Only Way Out is a Lifetime movie that premieres this Sunday, October 11th at 8/7 central, and I’d love you all to watch it… because it took 26 years to happen.

Settle in. I’d like to tell you all a story that I don’t think any of the cast or crew know about.

Some of you know that before I became a novelist and wrote The Blood Saga, I was a screenwriter.

Well, 26 years ago, I wrote a screenplay called You Belong To Me. It was about a young girl named Kelly who, after being nearly killed by her abusive boyfriend, fakes her own death to escape him, only to realize that she must “come back from the dead” to save her younger sister, Haley, who was now dating the formerly mentioned abusive boyfriend.

Hollywood studios across the board turned it down for a barrage of reasons, though one of them made a film strikingly similar two years later.

Way it goes.

Over the years however, You Belong To Me would cross someone’s radar of interest but nothing came of it. Considering the themes, I rewrote the script; aged up the characters, raised the stakes, and gave it a new setting and a swanky new title: Her Only Way.

Still nothing.

Then, about 3 years ago, I met @whoisbrown, a cinematographer turned producer who was building a slate of films to take to several outlets, including Lifetime. By then, I was committed to becoming a novelist, but the script seemed to be a perfect fit. As always, there were notes and revisions needed, but being in full book mode, I couldn’t do them, so other writers were brought in to build on what I’d created.

Now, Her Only Way Out is about to enter the world, and judging by production pics I’ve seen and the official synopsis, much of what I created is still intact, character’s names (with the exception of “Dani” who used to be “Haley”), plot points, even occupations. For this I’m grateful.

So, though I’ve never met them, I want to personally thank director @haylieduff, cast @thekatywilson, @sarah_borne, @joekurak, @deenadill, @jamesaleadrocorso, @loganshephardofficial, @lexy_lex, et. al, the production crew and staff, @lifetimetv, and especially producer @whoisbrown for believing in my story and bringing it to life.