Stacey Abrams Is Producing A TV Show Based On Her Very Own Romance Novel

From politics to TV: Former Georgia lawmaker Stacey Abrams will executive produce a TV show on CBS based on her romance thriller novel, Never Tell. The show, adapted from Abrams’ 2004 novel written under the pen name Selena Montgomery, will follow a linguistics professor and an investigative journalist who team up for a missing persons case that results in a partnership with the New Orleans Police Department, per the Hollywood Reporter.

Talicia Raggs, whose credits include NCIS: New Orleans, The Originals, and Switched at Birth, will write the series and executive produce it alongside Abrams. Abrams has penned eight romance thriller novels under her Selena Montgomery pseudonym, such as Deception, Secrets and Lies, and Hidden Sins. She is also a recipient of the Reviewer’s Choice Award and the Reader’s Favorite Award from Romance in Color, a website that celebrates Black romance authors, according to Deadline.

Abrams penned her first novel, Rules of Engagement, while in her third year at Yale University. During an interview with The Washington Post in October 2018, Abrams said of her novels, "The act of writing is integral to who I am ... Romance is one of the oldest forms of storytelling, and I’m honored to be in the company of extraordinary writers." Today, alongside a description of her work as a politician and voters' rights advocate, her official website also mentions her literary accomplishments. "Under the pen name Selena Montgomery, Stacey is the award-winning author of eight romantic suspense novels, which have sold more than 100,000 copies," the site reads.

Still, you might know Abrams most for her role as a trailblazing politician. She served as the first Black minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives between 2011 and 2017. Then, she became the first Black woman nominee for governor in Georgia’s Democratic primary in 2018. Abrams, who ultimately lost the bid to Republican nominee Brian Kemp, would’ve been the first Black woman to be elected governor in U.S. history had she won the race.

Abrams has since turned her attention to voting rights projects. She founded New Georgia Project, a nonprofit organization to help Georgians vote and combat voter suppression, which became her signature issue on the heels of Kemp’s 2018 win. While Abrams ruled out the possibility of a Senate run back in April, she recently revealed that she would be “honored” to run alongside the Democratic presidential nominee as vice president.

“I don’t want to be coy. There are those who advised me against saying that out loud,” Abrams said in an interview with WBUR in August. “But, the reality is, of course, the work that I want to see for America, the progress I want to see us make, I would be honored to be the running mate of the Democratic nominee.”