WRITING & NARRATIVE
NOVEL & SCRIPT SAMPLES, BLOG POSTS
Sample from a Literary/YA Contemporary Fantasy Novel
SAMPLE
50 PAGES
THE LIGHT KEEPER, a mesmerizing literary fantasy novel, follows the emotional journey of two troubled orphans: adventurous, emotionally-scarred 12-year-old Maddie, unable to remember her life before Gladstone’s Home for Children where she has spent most of her life between failed foster attempts; and equally un-adoptable bully and thief, Felix Mustard, who just one year from aging out of the foster care system is as determined to escape as she is to stay.
When a mysterious, local homeless man is abducted in front of her, leaving with her an antique lamp whose magical light allows it's holder to walk through walls, Maddie enlists Mustard's aid in a magical adventure to rescue the old man.
Finding herself embroiled in a century-old battle for the very secret the Lamp was meant to protect---an even more powerful magical Lighthouse--Maddie's spirit and loyalty is tested by those seeking the key that she alone possesses.
Sample from a Literary Contemporary Neo-Noir Novel
SAMPLE
50 PAGES
THE INHERITANCE, is a greased-up, fast-moving mystery about Dale "Geronimo" McGovern, professional wrestling's most notorious 'Heel' whose parole after serving almost ten years for murdering one of America's most beloved wrestlers on national TV leads him back to the blue-collar, middle-of-nowhere-America-armpit he spent his life trying to escape.
Hated by a public that once cherished him, abandoned by a media that once fed on him, unwanted by those who knew him, Dale the Heel, the Killer, the Giant, is a man lost, trapped in an identity he never wanted, seeking some way to start over and make amends with those he most harmed.
As Dale becomes embroiled with local criminals eager to capitalize on his infamy, an heir to a media empire that owned and televised the very match that put Dale behind bars, commits suicide, bequeathing their inheritance to Dale, the two shadowed worlds of his past and present collide with higher stakes than ever.
Forced to re-evaluate the mistakes and regrets of his past, Dale must decide who he wants to be once and for all: Hero, Villain, or something uniquely and unapologetically himself.
Sample from a Satirical Science Fiction Script
SAMPLE
1st ACT
GOLDEN HARVEST,a satirical social-industrial dystopian science fiction cautionary tale in the tradition of The Stuff, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Little Shop of Horrors.
A struggling, disabled farmer is on the verge of losing everything he owns to Big Ag, when an aggressive alien weed emanates from a small crater consuming his land. Unable to stop it, his fortune and faculties alike are transformed by the sprouting of a strange and miraculous fruit.
As his miracle food takes the world by storm, spawning a global industry powerhouse of super foods bringing health, prosperity and peace around the world, a small holdout of anti-establishment misfits band together to uncover the secret of the miracle food before all of humanity is transformed into a same-thinking, same-minded, blonde-haired homogenized herd.
But for all their cynicism, the non-conformists can find nothing but good from the planet-spanning super food---not at least not until its creators come to in time for the Golden Harvest.
ANIMUS
Sample from a Short Story
SAMPLE
10 PAGES
ANIMUS--for life, routine, others, and self. But most of all--for it.
He saw it after his father left him as a child to live alone, caretaking his sick mom.
He saw it again when his mom died just before his college graduation.
Five years later, it came back. No rhyme. No reason. Only now it lives with him. His wretched roommate, his vile affliction. It doesn't seem interested in leaving until it has ruined the rest of his bitter, lonely life.
At least he is no longer alone.
And he has one thing to hate above all the rest.
Sample of a Short Animated Film Treatment
SAMPLE
TREATMENT
POLAR BARE is a treatment for an animated short.
A lone Eskimo shivering in tattered furs in the makeshift shelter of freezing igloo, is taunted by the sightings of warm and happy furred animals: from cute arctic bunnies, to a happy arctic fox.
When his shelter at last proves inadequate and the temptation of warmer furs can no longer be ignored, the desperate eskimo charges after the hapless animals.
When their pursuit proves futile, he comes across the greatest bounty of warmth yet: a giant defenseless hibernating Polar Bear. Mustering the last of his desperation to claim its immense fur for himself, he faces comedic disaster after disaster.
Frozen, exhausted, barely clothed, the defeated eskimo crawls back to the what little shelter he has back at the igloo, only to find it now completly occupied by the sleeping polar bear.
Blog Posts related to film, story, creative process and industry
CINEMATIC DESIGN: THE ART + CRAFT OF VISUAL-EMOTIONAL STORYTELLING is my 15+ year workshop on the theory and application of Story Intent to Visual Design choices for empowering visual storytelling.
Having lectured at Universities, Film and Animation Festivals and Conferences and Companies around the world, to Professionals, Students and Fans of visual storytelling in any of its forms: Film, Animation, Comics, Picture Books, even Fiction Writing, it provides a unique, holistic approach to informing visual design choices across media and format, whether on the screen, on the page, or in the audiences' imagination.
These Posts reflect introductions to Cinematic Design concepts, Cinematic Design analysis of specific films, and general topics relating to my career through film, gaming and tech industries, addressing commonly asked questions.
New posts will be forthcoming. For more information on the Posts and Lecture series at large, this link leads to a separate Cinematic Design website.