POTSDAM -- Brian Hauser, an assistant professor of film at Clarkson University, has sold his first novel, “Memento Mori: The Fathomless Shadows,” to Word Horde. The novel is set to be released in the spring of 2019.

The novel’s lead character is Tina Mori, a legendary underground horror filmmaker who started making films with a stolen camera in Red Stone, New York, a fictionalized Potsdam. After finishing and premiering her masterpiece film, Mori mysteriously disappears.

The novel consists of a ’zine made by a teenage horror film fan, a memoir written by Mori’s college roommate, and a letter written by Mori.

Hauser has been writing fiction for years, but focused on screenwriting and filmmaking until recently. “What really appeals to me are stories and storytelling,” said Hauser, “I asked the question, ‘how can I get this story in front of an audience?’ and the ready answer was to write a novel.” Hauser says this novel falls under the “weird fiction” category, which is also known as a type of horror fiction. He also teaches a literature class, American Weird Fiction.

Hauser has been teaching literature and film courses at Clarkson for seven years. He is an award-winning screenwriter of weird cinema and a filmmaker.