Lots going on. Here’s what’s happening:
Short Story Sale!
My fourth short story sale of the year — “Theo Ballinchard and the Oranges of Possibility” will appear in ParSec magazine in an upcoming issue. Theo is the grandfather of the Mederos Sisters. This is his story. I love Theo and I’m glad his story will reach a wide audience.
Film School
I’m in film school! I can hardly believe it myself. I’m taking film classes at Austin Community College and I’m loving it. Classes are TV Tech, in which we are learning about cameras, lighting, sound, production, etc; Film Editing, which is fascinating and rewarding and really really tough; Intro to Media, which probably I didn’t need because I’ve been a writer, editor, researcher, reporter, etc. for 30-plus years, but hey, it was a prerequisite and I’m learning things I didn’t know; and Screenwriting, because of course.
So far, I’ve written the rough draft of a screenplay adaptation of my short story, “Hell: A Rescue Mission” and I really like how it came out. For one thing, it solved a couple of problems with the story, which may provide clues as to why it never sold.
Outlining is big in writing screenplays, which if you know my feelings on outlining (no, just no), will find somewhat ironic, but it all makes sense. Story maps, synopses, character maps — it all feeds into the creative process.
I’m busy. It’s fun. A bit crazy, but fun. I’m editing my first project right now, and it’s daunting but also really absorbing. I’m a non-traditional student, to say the least, and sometimes the imposter syndrome really pops up, but I’ve been fighting that my whole life, so I take a breath and soldier on.
There are other screenwriter-ly things in the works. In the spring, I entered the NYC Midnight Contest and made it to the second round with my screenplay “The Cowardly Lyons.” I didn’t advance with my second script, “The Ballad of Ivy Crowe,” but I’m going to revise that one for school. It was an ambitious script but very flawed.
And speaking of longshots, I entered a screenplay into Austin Film Festival’s screenwriting contest. I wrote a pilot for Gordath Wood. It’s a very very long shot. But it was a fun exercise, and at least I got to see the show in my head. I still think it will make an excellent Netflix series.
The Miss Bennet Audio Book
The audio book for The Unexpected Miss Bennet is coming in October! I am so excited about you meeting my Mary Bennet. The narrator Kitty Kelly is amazing and I can’t wait for you to hear this edition!
I’ve seen a lot of books popping up about Mary Bennet. Everyone loves her — she’s the forgotten Bennet sister even more than poor Kitty, who coughs too much. Here’s to the plain, socially awkward ones. We are all Mary Bennet.
I’ll leave you with the beginning of Theo’s story: Hope you like it.
Theo Ballinchard had a fairytale childhood, but as he was neither the eldest son who inherited everything, nor the youngest son whom the cat helped, but only the middle child who always made the wrong choice and then exited the story, it was rather less enjoyable than otherwise.
0 Comments