Ralph Winter and Terry Botwick’s Hollywood-based 1019 Entertainment has announced they have acquired the rights to author Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein. Koontz, whose titles have sold over 400,000,000 copies worldwide, brings the “monster” into the 21st Century by placing the doctor, now known as the socially prominent and successful businessman Victor Helios, and his super-human original creation, Deucalion, in modern-day New Orleans. Three titles in the #1 bestselling series have been published to date. The fourth novel in the series is scheduled to be published in hardcover in June, 2010.

Winter and Botwick jointly stated, “Bringing Frankenstein into present day New Orleans was a brilliant creative decision by Dean. Each book has been a page turner and we can’t wait for the fourth book to come out. This is the perfect vehicle to build a movie franchise series. Dean has rarely opened his treasure chest of stories to Hollywood, we are privileged and excited to work with him. These books have enough twists and turns to keep the public coming back to the theatres for many years to come.”

Helios (Dr. Frankenstein) is a well-respected member of New Orleans society, while Deucalion (the Doctor’s original creation) remains in the shadows—at first. Detectives Carson O’Connor and Michael Maddison, street-smart and fearless partners, are investigating a murder when they encounter Deucalion. Their search ultimately leads them to Helios, and the bizarre array of engineered humans Helios has designed to replace our flawed, all-too-human race.

Koontz stated, “The moment I met Terry and Ralph I knew they were kindred spirits and two men I could trust with my work. I’ve been careful to only option my books to those people who share my vision and core values. I’m busy working on the next installment of this six-part series based on Mary Shelley’s classic work, which is more timely now than when it was written.”