What motivated you to become a writer?

As a kid, like so many, I was bullied. One way I found to get out of getting beat up was to tell a story. If I could tell a good enough story and get them laughing, they’d forget about punching me. Achieving some success with this approach, I started writing the stories down. In words on a page, I felt safe, expressive, and powerful, like I could do anything. My mom entered one of my stories into a competition and I won twenty-five dollars. I’ve been writing and sharing stories ever sense.

Starting on a blank page is not easy- where does your creativity come from?

My creativity comes from people, little snippets of conversation I overhear that makes me curious and ask the question, “What if…” The other day I was talking to an old friend when in passing she mentioned after twenty years her drug dealer was back in town and he wanted his painting. From that one thing, my mind starting working, playing the what if game and crafting the characters of a story that center around an artist, a painting, and a drug dealer. Of course, curiosity is not enough, but it gets me started and from the idea I dig into the research of who these characters are, build their lives, back stories and connections to write a story worth telling that, hopefully, the world wants to hear.

Do you write projects knowing that so many other factors need to happen to get it to screen and does that come into your project creation?

This is a tough one. The answer is yes, but… When I start, I write the story I want to tell. Once I have that story, I go back into the story and I look for fat, I go scene by scene and evaluate what needs to be there, what’s fluff and can be tightened up. I then take several passes and create several versions of the story to meet the needs of different producers and studios. I also, like to get a line editor involved to go through the scripts and give me a couple of budgets so I know where I’m coming in. This is also helpful because the line editor is objective and seeing how much something will cost to make helps me think about the scene in other ways that may be more cost effective. The trick is to create these different versions without losing the heart of the characters. Once, I go so obsessed with stripping things down, I lost the essence of the people and the story I was trying to tell. Now, I write the story, create a couple of versions, and get a few budgets. Story is always first.

What is your dream for this project and what other ancillary revenue do you think it could generate? Please include script title in reply.

My dream for SUNDOWN is that people connect with the story and see the issues from different perspectives. People aren’t one dimensional, someone is not all bad or all good and the belief systems we are raised with play into who we become as people. In SUNDOWN, you want to hate Hastings, but what I hope people come to see is, he’s not a bad guy. The things he does he believes to be right. His actions don’t come from a place of hate or anger, they come from how he was raised, his belief system and a desire to protect his community. Similarly, the character of Zu, has steeped herself in a belief system based on her limited view of the world. It is not until she is in another place that she begins to see the layers of the human condition. In terms of ancillary revenue, with SUNDOWN, I think it can come from a book, a sort of living history, in which the perspectives of people from both sides of the issue are captured and shared in story form in a comprehensive volume

How has your experience been with screenwriting contests for this project so far?

SUNDOWN isn’t an easy screenplay, it requires you to think, question and consider how you come at certain types of people and topics. Overall, the screenplay has been well reviewed, but it has also received comments like, “This is triggering,” a film like this will, “Make people angry,” and “It’s a dangerous topic.” The other side of the commentary has gone along the lines of, there are plenty of people who will cheer for Hastings and see his point of view as the right one. Regardless of which side you’re on, SUNDOWN is a film that will spark conversation and introspection, which I like. There is no easy answer, simple fix, but there is awareness and knowledge of the world beyond your front door, to steal a line from The Bare Naked Ladies.

If you could stand in a room full of investor partners looking at many projects what would you like them to know about you and this project?

Standing in a room full of investor partners looking at many projects, I’d like them to know, SUNDOWN comes from a real place. The characters of Hartley and Zu and their interaction is based on real people and real conversations. The scenes have happened and are still happening today and for all of our talk about BLACK LIVES MATTER, adding Juneteenth as a Federal Holiday, the fact remains, the history of enslaved people, the shame, embarrassment, still color our interactions and erode trust. Until we can have honest conversations and listen to different perspectives we won’t get to where we need to be. SUNDOWN is a conversation starter, an opportunity to speak your truth and see things through the lens of someone else.

Do you have any website links for your writing, credits, background, etc. that you would like to share?

This is embarrassing. Much like the cobbler’s children have no shoes, I have an amazing website that I failed to pay the renewal fee on so, the good folks at GoDaddy, shut me down. The new site is under construction. In terms of additional writing, earlier this year I sold a Web series, but I don’t think it’s out yet.

Thank you for your time!