Have you ever had a dream that felt so realistic it stuck with you for days, or maybe weeks? A dream so surreal that you couldn’t shake the vivid images harbored in your mind? Well, UNCW alumnus Jason Mott has experienced a dream like this; a dream that manifested into what became his first novel, “The Returned.”

“The novel is centered around this couple in their 70s, who go to the door one day, and their 8-year-old son, who actually died 50 years ago, is at the door-8 years old,” Mott said. “It’s about this global event where people’s loved ones are returning to them and how they cope with that.”

In 2001, Mott’s mother passed away. Then in 2010, he had a dream he had come home from work and found her at home sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for him. He came in and sat down next to her and the two of them just had a long discussion about everything that had been going on since she died.

Mott couldn’t shake the dream from his memory, so a friend of his told him that he should write it all out and turn it into a short story, which is exactly what he did. The story received such approval at a reading he attended that he then decided to work on a novel based on that same idea.

“Fiction was my first love,” Mott said. “It’s always what I’ve done primarily.”

Mott received his undergraduate degree in fiction and his graduate degree in poetry here at UNCW, which taught him to establish a successful work ethic. His motto, which he admitted he learned from professor Philip Gerard, is that it’s “less about inspiration and more about perspiration.”

Prior to this first novel-which is scheduled for release this upcoming September-he published two collections of his poems entitled “Hide Behind Me” and “We Call This Thing Between Us.” Even as he worked on his poetry, Mott has always been writing and working on other manuscripts.

“This is just the first one to hit all the marks it needed to hit to find the right agent,” he said.

Not long after the book was sold for publication, Mott received an email explaining that several networks were interested in turning his novel into a new TV drama series for ABC. After much deliberation he decided Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B, would produce the series.  

“It was pretty exciting,” Mott said. “Kind of surreal. I didn’t expect it at all.”

As of now, Mott has had little involvement with the decisions being made regarding the series. He’s communicated with Plan B from time to time over the phone or via email, but he’s confident that the choices they’re making are good ones. Recently, castings began; however, a few more main roles are still left to be filled. According to Mott, the actors they’ve picked so far have been dead-on matches for the characters from the novel.

“There will be certain changes they have to make and I totally understand that,” he said. “And from what I’ve communicated with them so far, in where they’re going with it and what they’d like to do, I like where they’re going with it.”

The director and writers are working to create the best translation of the novel without getting too close to the novel. Once all the cast is filled, production is expected to begin somewhere in Detroit around mid-March.

Mott also mentioned his novel publication was a two-book deal, however his second novel is going to have nothing to do with his first. His recent success has left has plate quite busy, so his future plans revolve around promoting his first novel and working on the manuscript for his second, which is due later on this year.

Asked to describe his entire recent experience in one word, Mott’s answer was “overwhelming.” But when he said overwhelming, he meant it in a good way. It’s been a best-case scenario situation for him the whole entire way, which is rare.

“Overwhelming, but it’s really cool,” Mott said.