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Writing

Additional samples and credits available upon request....

DAY ONE:

Recipient of The Estruscan Award
(Memoir/Non-Fiction)
           I watched how she just stood there; stuck and overwhelmed. Tiny amidst the noise and clatter. Sailors rushed past in every direction. The worn cloth of their dark blue coveralls, their working clothes, folded up at the sleeve, curling around the elbow into thick, loose cuffs, brushing the clean white pressed material of her uniform as they went by. Her hands gripped her folder, her orders, her medical record, the papers telling her to come here. She was told to wait right there. But on a warship weeks away from combat and deployment, there’s no such thing as right there. There’s only yesterday and this should have been done already and what are we going to do when we get out there and need this? So right there becomes excuse me, Ma’am¸ and on your left, and don’t stand there, and watch yourself and she must wonder, when will someone be up to fetch me?

FREELANCE and GHOSTWRITING:

Fiction - Nonfiction - Memoir - Essay - Journalism - Screen - Stage 
The New York Times
The Navy Times
Locale Magazine
ExploringCarribean.com
Quiltfolk

SHORT FILM

The Ride
When Blake picks up a young Marine hitching his way down the highway, he has no idea giving the veteran a simple ride will have such a life-changing effect on both of them. 
AWARDS and RECOGNITIONS:
-Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards (Winner - Best Short Script)
-New York Screenwriting Awards (Winner - Drama Short Film)
-Hollywood Just4Shorts (Winner - Best Screenplay)
-Paper Screenplay (Winner - Best Character Arc)
-Star Int'l Film Festival (Winner - Best Short Screenplay)
-Independent Short Awards (Winner - Best Short Screenplay)
-Roma Short Film Festival (Winner - Best Screenplay)
-Munich New Wave Short Film Festival (Winner - Best Script)
-Toronto Indie Filmmakers Festival (Winner - Best Short Script)
-Los Angeles Screenwriting Competition (Nominee - Best Character Writing)
-French Int'l Modern Film and Script Festival (Winner - Best Short Script)
-New York Tri-State International Film Festival (Honorable Mention)
-Liber Films International (Honorable Mention)
-Creative World Awards (Top Finalist)
-Page Turner Screenplay Awards (Longlist)
-Chicago Screenplay Awards (Finalist)
-100 Screenplays (Finalist)
-WeScreenplay Short Script Lab (Semi-Finalist)
-Manhattan Short Film Festival (Semi-Finalist)
-Flickers Rhode Island Int'l Film Festival (Semi-Finalist)
-Los Angeles Int'l Screenplay Awards (Semi-Finalist)
-Indie Short Fest (Semi-Finalist)
-Fade In Awards (Semi-Finalist)
-Los Angeles Film Awards (Semi-Finalist)
-New York Int'l Screenplay Awards (Semi-Finalist)
-Grande Stories Screenplay Competition (Semi-Finalist)
-Dallas Int'l Film Festival Screenwriting Competition (Semi-Finalist)
-ScreenCraft Film Fund (Second Rounder)
-SYS's Six-Figure Screenplay Contest (Second Round)
-Atlanta Screenplay Awards (Quarter Finalist)
-Scriptation Showcase (Quarter Finalist)
-Scriptapalooza (Quarter Finalist)
-Filmmatic Short Screenplay Awards (Quarter Finalist)
-PAGE Int'l Screenplay Awards (Quarter Finalist)
-Winter Leopard Int'l Film Festival (Quarter Finalist)
-Honey Writes Short Screenplay Contest (Quarter Finalist)
-Sofia International Film Festival (Official Selection)
-New Wave Int'l Script and Film Festival (Official Selection)
-SoCal Film Awards (Official Selection)
-Film Invasion Los Angeles (Official Selection)
-Atlantis Awards (Official Selection)
-Top Script Awards (Official Selection)
-Chicago Script Awards (Official Selection)
-Santa Barbara Int'l Diverse Screenplay Awards (Official Selection)
-RED Movie Awards (Official Selection)
-Los Angeles Short Film Festival (Official Selection)
-Fox International Film Awards (Official Selection)
-GLIFF - Golden Lemur (Official Selection)
-Zagreb Int'l Film Festival (Official Selection)
-Golden Giraffe Int'l Film Festival (Official Selection)
-Your Way Int'l Film Festival (Official Selection)
-TopShot Int'l Film Festival (Official Selection)
-Lotus Int'l Film Festival (Official Selection)
-Int'l World Film Awards (Official Selection)
-Black Owl Festival (Official Selection)
Leave
The unexpected meeting between Sam and Elinor on a cattle ranch in Southwestern Arizona the last few days before Sam's deployment to the Middle East yields a friendship that forces Elinor to make decisions about her life as they face issues of racism and bigotry.
AWARDS and RECOGNITIONS:
-American Gem Literary Festival (Grand Prize)
-California Women's Film Festival (Best Short Script)
-World Series of Screenwriting (Gold Medal)
-Hollywood Screenplay Contest (Winner)
-Brightside Tavern Shorts Fest (Winner)
-Harlem International Film Festival (Finalist)
-LA Indie Festival (Finalist)
-The Wild Bunch Film Festival (Finalist)
-God Country Family Christian Film Festival (Finalist)
-Atlanta Film Festival (Semi-Finalist)
-Diverse Voices Competition (Semi-Finalist)
-Austin Revolution Film Festival (Semi-Finalist)
-Hollywood Just4Shorts (Semi-Finalist)
-Inroads Screenwriting Fellowship (Quarter-Finalist)
-Creative World Awards (Preliminary Selection)
-Richmond Int'l Film Festival (Official Selection)
-Las Vegas Film Festival (Official Selection)
-Beverly Hills Screenplay Contest (Official Finalist)
-Los Angeles Int'l Screenplay Awards (Official Selection)
-New Hope Film Festival (Official Selection)
-Grove Film Festival (Official Selection)
-Lake Charles Film Festival (Official Selection)
Nocturne
A classical composer's muse returns for a brief visit in the final days before World War II, adding torture to pain when they clash over differing memories of the time spent together during their youth. Playing his unfinished composition together is the last moment they share before a broken heart leads to bitter regret.
AWARDS and RECOGNITIONS:
-Munich New Wave Short Film Festival (Winner - Best Short Film)
-Toronto Indie Filmmakers Festival (Winner - Best Drama)
-Seoul Short Film Festival (Winner - Best Short Film)
-SF Int'l Festival of Short Films (Finalist)
-Black Owl Festival (Official Selection)
-Creative World Awards (Script - Finalist)
-SF Indie Shorts Film Festival (Official Selection)
Stone Garden
After running away from home, a young boy happens upon a mysterious stone garden. Trapped by its enigmatic caretaker, he learns a painful lesson about regret, sacrifice and ultimately what it means to love and be loved.
AWARDS and RECOGNITIONS:
-Los Angeles Int'l Screenplay Awards (Finalist)
-Los Angeles Film Awards (Special Jury Award)
-Creative World Awards (Top Finalist)
-Portland Screenplay Awards (Semi-Finalist)
-Screencraft Short Script Contest (Quarter Finalist)
-New York Screenwriting Awards (Official Selection)
-Flickers Rhode Island Int'l Film Festival (Semi-Finalist)
Unpunished
Racism takes many forms. Things aren't always as they seem. Even in broad daylight.
AWARDS and RECOGNITIONS:
-Get it Made Short-Form Screenplay Contest (Finalist)
Not Forever
A casual dinner between two women becomes a life-changing event as they discuss opera, love, and the cost of living.
AWARDS and RECOGNITIONS:
-Best Shorts Competition
TRAINING:
BA in Theatre Arts - Directing  -  University of San Diego, San Diego, CA
MA in Creative Writing - Nonfiction  -  Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA
MA in Japanese Studies  -  Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
American Conservatory Theatre  - San Francisco, CA
Writers Bootcamp  - Santa Monica, CA
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