They cite books like Justin Cronin’s The Passage (which I read and loved) and Glen Duncan’s The Last Werewolf (not so much on either count, but that could just be me.)
In the article Duncan admits his book was a deliberately mercenary move. “Mr. Duncan, a 45-year-old novelist who lives in South London, invented Jake out of desperation. His previous seven literary novels sold poorly, and his agent said the prospects for selling the next one were bleak”. The result is a book that has sold in 18 countries, with film rights going to Ridley Scott.
Read more here.