George R. R. Martin, the American novelist, screenwriter and television producer that is the mastermind behind the Game of Thrones series, has announced a new upcoming television show based on his 1989 novella Skin Trade. The famous short story centers around private investigator Randi Wade, who investigates a string of mysteriously gruesome murders occurring around town that are unknowingly the work of her friend and covert werewolf Willie Flambeaux. Skin Trade was originally published as part of Dark Visions, a compilation novel written by Martin along with celebrated horror fiction writers Stephen King and Dan Simmons, and won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novella in ’89.

HBO-owned American cable network Cinemax recently purchased the producing rights to Skin Trade, and hired American television producer Kalinda Vasquez (Prison Break, Once Upon a Time) to screen-write while Martin finishes writing the last of the GoT series; [Vasquez] “seems to get [characters] Willie and Randi, and her pitch to Cinemax was one of the most polished and professional I’ve ever heard,” Martin said. Stay tuned as we await more information surrounding the new TV series.

Got the drop on HB . . .