WHY DID YOU?

When I was ten years old I won a writing contest, “Why I Like Switzer’s Licorice”, in fifteen words or less. That’s when I knew I had to be a writer. What I didn’t know was my path would be very long and often heart-breaking. There were the stream of constant rejection letters and self doubt to the point where I just quit. But writing was like a drug. I kept returning and quitting. I needed more education but I never had the money.

Then one day the money was there; an inheritance.

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When I was ten years old I won a writing contest, “Why I Like Switzer’s Licorice”, in fifteen words or less. That’s when I knew I had to be a writer. What I didn’t know was my path would be very long and often heart-breaking. There were the stream of constant rejection letters and self doubt to the point where I just quit. But writing was like a drug. I kept returning and quitting. I needed more education but I never had the money.

Then one day the money was there; an inheritance. I graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Arts, Cinema, and Specialized Emphasis in Screenwriting.

That summer between undergrad and grad school I was a Quarter-Finalist 1996, in The Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference for my screenplay, Firebrand For Justice, about the life of civil rights legend and anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells. A year later I graduated from UCLA Professional Program In Screenwriting.

Long before that, and computers, and high tech, I was a Story Analyst for Avco Embassy Pictures NY. I raved about Gandhi and passed on Once Upon A Time In The West. I also read for Palomar Pictures in NY, and I’m a former Dramatist Guild Associate Member, SAG-AFTRA, and AEA (approx. 1969). My screenwriting and television writing accomplishments are as follows: Fresh Voices Screenplay Competition, Quarter-Finalist 2014 TV Pilot PAGE AWARDS International Screenwriting Competition, Quarter-Finalist 2013, 2015, 2024, 2025 (all TV Pilot and Feature) CineStory Screenwriting Contest, Quarter-Finalist 2012, 2021 Feature Cynosure Screenwriting Contest, Quarter-Finalist 2017 Feature Wiki Screenplay Contest, Winner (TV) 2021 and Honorable Mention (Feature) 2021

My ton of life experience includes Data Installation & Repair NY Telephone Co., messenger working in Two World Trade in NY, admin, UPS driver’s helper, professional actress & singer, cable TV installer, craft service, project coordinator, 411 telephone operator, data entry clerk, material handler, facilities tech, data base management, marketing, fund-raising, clinical lab clerk, receptionist, et al.

I am a Certified Personal Trainer through The American Council On Exercise (ACE) since 2002. I retired in 2016 to pursue writing full-time.

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