By USA Daily Now 
Renowned author WILLIAM R. FORSTCHEN‘s bestselling novel, *One Second After*, which explores the catastrophic consequences of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack on the United States, is being adapted into a feature film. The screenplay will be penned by acclaimed sci-fi writer J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI, with Forstchen serving as an executive producer.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Forstchen shared the real-world inspiration behind his work and emphasized that an EMP attack is not merely science fiction but a genuine threat. “I wanted to write an accurate, a very accurate story of what would happen in a small town in North Carolina if the power went off, and it never came back on,” he said.
Forstchen began conceptualizing the novel while completing his Ph.D. at Purdue University. However, it was during his graduation ceremony that he experienced what he describes as a “God moment.” “I was sitting there, sweating in my robes, looking at the students and parents, and it just hit me – write about us, write about my town,” he recalled. This epiphany led him back to his hometown near Asheville, North Carolina, where he meticulously researched and crafted the story.
To ensure accuracy, Forstchen conducted extensive interviews with local figures, including the police chief and pharmacist. “I learned how deeply everything depends on that invisible lifeline of electricity,” he said. The pharmacist, in particular, was deeply affected, breaking down in tears while listing the medications that would become unavailable, leading to widespread fatalities within months.
Published in 2009, *One Second After* quickly became a bestseller and is now being adapted into an MPI original film in association with Startling Inc. The project is directed by SCOTT ROGERS and is set to begin filming in Bulgaria this September.
Forstchen has long warned about the dangers of an EMP attack, describing it as a “very real threat.” He explained that an EMP is generated when a nuclear weapon, roughly three times the size of the Hiroshima bomb, is detonated 200 miles above the Earth’s surface. This creates an electrostatic discharge that cascades into the power grid, overloading and destroying it. Citing Congressional reports from 2002 and 2008, Forstchen estimated that 80% to 90% of Americans could perish within a year of such an event.
The threat of EMPs was first recognized during the 1962 Starfish Prime nuclear test, which disrupted systems hundreds of miles away. The late PETER PRY, a nuclear weapons expert and former staff director at the Congressional EMP Commission, echoed Forstchen’s concerns. Before his death in 2022, Pry warned that North Korea’s high-altitude ballistic missile tests were likely probes of their EMP capabilities against the U.S. “Cars would be paralyzed. Airplanes could fall out of the sky. You’d have natural gas pipeline explosions, nuclear reactor overloads,” Pry told Fox Business in 2017. “And worst of all, if you had a protracted blackout, it would be a serious threat to the survival of the American people.”
As the film adaptation of *One Second After* moves forward, Forstchen’s work continues to serve as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities of modern society and the urgent need for preparedness.
**WATCH:** [US should prepare for nuclear EMP attack, expert warns](https://www.foxnews.com/video/6312341231001)
**Sources:** [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com), [Fox Business](https://www.foxbusiness.com)