DONALD J. BINGLE

Pitch Sheet (click here for PDF version)

 

The Love-Haight Case Files

A Lighthearted Supernatural Legal Thriller Series With a Twist of Romance

 

Introduction: USA Today bestselling author Jean Rabe (37 books and more than 100 shorter works), and retired attorney and former world’s top-ranked roleplaying gamer, Donald J. Bingle (7 books and more than 50 shorter works), combine to make a television series based on their award-winning novel, The Love-Haight Case Files. Law student Evelyn Love clerks for solo-practitioner Thomas Brock as he crusades for the legal rights of OTs (other than humans) in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where magic has returned to the world. The city’s OT element is occasionally malevolent, sometimes misunderstood, and often discriminated against, but Brock and Love represent them, whatever the case, whatever the species.

 

“Part fantasy noir, part supernatural legal thriller, Love-Haight sparkles with wit and originality. Fans of urban fantasy are sure to love Thomas Brock and Evelyn Love!”

Troy Denning, New York Times bestselling author

 

Specifications:  The Good Wife meets Supernatural in the pilot for a television series of episodic cases involving a variety of supernatural creatures (ghouls, vampires, sprites, werewolves, ghosts, gargoyles, and more) with a wide range of legal problems, all within the context of systematic oppression of OTs by the powers-that-be (including Brock’s own father). An over-arching season plot that focuses on both the persecution of OTs and an attempt to develop the land surrounding the Haight-Ashbury office space occupied by The Thomas Brock Law Firm provides a suitable mythos and recurring storyline to attract a loyal, continuing audience. The series not only delivers interesting, dramatic, and amusing cases and clients, but allows ample opportunity for social commentary on discrimination against both the LGBTQ community and undocumented immigrants. Future cases involve a vampire framed for a blood bank robbery; seeking landmark designation to protect a sentient gargoyle; sunken treasure beneath Chinatown; and werewolves breaking a dog-fighting ring to reverse breed-specific legislation banning pit bulls.

 

This hour-long, PG-rated series is suitable for broadcast networks or can be made grittier and feature more mature themes for basic or subscription cable. With the pilot only utilizing the first of four cases in the book, and both primary writers being known for their ability to write fast under deadline, this is a series that can get off to a quick, quality start, as it builds a writing team.

 

 

 

Logline: Evelyn Love loves Haight-Ashbury, loves the law, loves representing the legal rights of the supernatural OTs (other-than-humans) who accompanied the return of magic to San Francisco, and just might love her boss, Thomas Brock, who crusades for OT rights, even though he’s a ghost.

 

“Making the freakiest burg in the nation ten times freakier is a considerable achievement.”

Glen Cook, bestselling author of The Black Company series

 

Supporting Cast: The cast of characters also includes a geriatric legal receptionist/secretary; a gargoyle who mans the office when he’s not lost in computer gaming; a private detective with a wild and hairy secret; a resident ghost who pines for the Summer of Love when he is not attempting to steal the buzz off anyone who’s drunk or drugged; and a gypsy who can’t believe people ignore her psychic predictions even when magical creatures stalk the streets.

 

“Love-Haight is a comedy, locked within a mystery, hidden in a horror story… Wonderfully clever, stylish, and ghoulish. Delightfully twisted fun!”

William C. Dietz, New York Times bestselling creator of The Legion of the Damned®

 

Opening Excerpt:

WYNDAM-SMITH

Your client is dead.

 

THOMAS

That does not preclude my client from seeking joint custody of his two children.

 

“The Walking Dead meets Law & Order in what promises to be a gripping mystery series...[A]  story that begins as an off-the-wall courtroom drama quickly takes an unexpected turn, and then another, and another, drawing us ever deeper into an intriguing mystery driven by insidious motivations. Jump on for the ride. It’s going to be a good one.”

Bradley P. Beaulieu, award-winning author of Winds of Khalakovo

 

Summary of Pilot Episode:  Evelyn and Thomas represent a ghoul in child custody proceedings, hoping the case will help cover the rent and produce a bit of publicity for the struggling law firm. In addition, paying the rent will allow the landlord to continue to resist efforts to acquire his building, which will otherwise be demolished for a condo development. Demolishing the building would also kill Pete, the sentient gargoyle who protects the building and helps around the office when he isn’t bird-watching, drinking beer, or playing violent video games on the office computer. In addition, Thomas has to persuade Valentino, a hippie ghost from the Summer of Love, to stop copping the buzz from his geriatric receptionist’s pain-killers. Shadowy forces put a hit on Thomas, leading to his murder and reappearance as a ghost. Valentino has seen some of what happened, but he refuses to talk to the “pigs” investigating the case. Evelyn asks Dagger McKenzie, a tough, freelance private investigator the firm has used before, to investigate, despite the fact that it is the night of the full moon—a night he usually avoids being in public. Dagger tracks down some leads in a seedy club, has a fight in the alley, and gets crucial information that a condo developer tied to the law firm headed by Thomas Brock’s father is behind the hit. Evelyn vows to keep the firm alive with the help of her ghostly mentor, Thomas, and fight for the OTs, no matter what the cost. Psychic Nina Rondik sees continuing trouble ahead for Thomas and the firm.

 

“You have to enjoy a book where they kill the lawyer and he still defends his undead clients.”

Jody Lynn Nye, New York Times bestselling author

 

Contact Info: Jean Rabe, www.jeanrabe.com, jeanrabe@hotmail.com. Donald J. Bingle, www.donaldjbingle.com, orphyte@aol.com.

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