EXCLUSIVE: Paradigm’s The Sports Group has set a new book-to-film initiative pairing athletes with bestselling authors. Kicking off the slate is a collaboration between actress, writer, producer, and former WWE superstar CJ Perry (a.k.a Lana) and bestselling author and screenwriter Blake Northcott on the fiction novel Bulletproof Angel.
Bulletproof Angel is a high-octane international spy thriller that centers on a brilliant young CIA agent and her estranged mother, a retired operative with a haunted past. They are forced to work together behind enemy lines to stop an AI-powered weapon system capable of triggering global catastrophe.
Their collaboration is part of a broader slate led by Paradigm’s The Sports Group and Publishing divisions, focused on developing and packaging books as launchpads for film, TV, and franchise content under each client’s creative umbrella.
“I’ve always been drawn to stories of espionage, betrayal, and resilience, and building a world around two powerful female operatives was a dream,” Perry shared. “Blake is an incredible partner, and Bulletproof Angel is just the beginning.”
“CJ has a sharp creative instinct and a cinematic sense of story. She’s a true storyteller,” said Northcott. “This book is a fast-paced, emotional ride with explosive action and a core that’s all heart.”
Northcott is the international bestselling author of Arena Mode and The North Valley Grimoire. With over 50 novels, comics, and short stories to her credit, she has also written for Heavy Metal Magazine, Weird Tales, DC Comics (Catwoman), and Dynamite Comics (Barbarella).
Paradigm’s Ian Kleinert brokered the deal for Perry and Northcott, with media rights overseen by Richie Kern and Sports Group head Nick LoPiccolo. Additional fiction titles are in development, co-authored with Paradigm clients including Damian Priest and Sheamus.
“WWE talent are natural storytellers with massive global platforms, which makes them incredibly appealing to top-tier authors and publishers,” said Ian Kleinert, publishing agent at Paradigm. “This collaboration is about building IP with real cross-platform potential, and Bulletproof Angel is a perfect example of what happens when you combine worlds. The long-term vision is to use all of Paradigm’s expertise to further develop these properties for film and television and build a content library under each client’s creative umbrella.”
Perry, who recently re-signed with WWE under a Legends deal, stars in the action comedy Guns Up, which premiered July 18. Perry appears in the film alongside her husband, WWE’s Rusev (Miro Barnyashev), and Kevin James.
Bulletproof Angel follows other titles from The Sports Group’s growing publishing slate, including Summer Skate, the debut novel from former NHL enforcer Sean Avery, co-written with Leslie Cohen and publishing September 9, via Simon & Schuster. While published independently of the BenBella collaboration, it reflects the same strategy of launching client-driven stories in the romance, thrillers, and memoir genres. Avery is currently filming Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and will next be seen in Happy Gilmore 2, premiering July 25 on Netflix.
Also releasing this fall is The Last Hart Beating by WWE superstar Natalya Neidhart, to be published in October via BenBella in the United States and Simon & Schuster in Canada. The memoir chronicles her two-decade journey as the only woman in the iconic Hart wrestling family and the longest tenured female wrestler in WWE history. Neidhart recently joined SiriusXM’s Busted Open as its newest host and will next compete at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XIV on August 2 during SummerSlam weekend, where she faces Masha Slamovich in a singles match.