Jason Segel set to share his ‘Nightmares!’ in three-book series

Jason Segel is taking his goofy sensibility and packaging it for middle-schoolers in the form of a three-book deal with Random House, the company announced Wednesday.

The first installment of “Nightmares!,� co-written with “The Eternal Ones� author Kirsten Miller, is due out next year, the publisher said in a news release.

Segel first turned his inspiration, an adventure about kids who have to save their town from fear, into a screenplay, according to CBS News. That got stuck in turnaround, but the “How I Met Your Mother� actor bought back the rights recently and converted the screenplay concept into a three-part book series. In the story, originally conceived when Segel was about 21 years old, fear manifests as nightmare creatures that have entered real life.

“The Muppets� star and screenwriter first mentioned the existence of the books at a Q&A; after a screening of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall� earlier this month in New York, VH1 reported. Jonathan Demme, host of the session, said the series was the focus of a “bidding war� among publishing houses.

“Ultimately, it’s a story about learning that we can accomplish anything, as long as we are brave enough to try,� Segel said in the release. “These are the types of stories that always inspired me.�

The accomplishing-anything story line sounds a little like the vampire-musical subplot in “Sarah Marshall,� if you ask us. And that’s a good thing. But we have to wonder: When the first book comes out in fall 2014 via Delacorte Press, will there be puppets?

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