FRIDAY'S SCRIPT TIP:

PRO ESTABLISHMENT!

Did you notice about ten years ago that every single trailer before the movies stars Kevin Costner? Two years ago we had him in MAN OF STEEL as Superman's dad, and then in the new Jack Ryan movie, starring in DRAFT DAY, starring in THREE DAYS TO KILL, and then in a film called BLACK & WHITE. Next up is CRIMINAL, saw the trailer for it before LONDON HAS FALLEN. I'm sure we are all in Costner OD mode now!

Much like Josh Hartnet's character gave up sex for Lent in 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS, at one time I had given up movies starring Kevin Costner for the rest of my life. But when 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS was sold out one night ta couple of years ago I found myself buying a ticket for DRAGONFLY... to my eternal regret. Now that the decade is almost over, I still think three of the worst movies of this decade were DRAGONFLY, INVASION and ROLLERBALL. It's hard to imagine a movie worse than either of those two being released in the remaining month of the decade. DRAGONFLY was written by Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson who are the current record holders for most money paid for a screenplay - they got $8 million for STEINBECK'S POINT OF VIEW a few years ago. The script for DRAGONFLY was rewritten by David Seltzer, who wrote THE OMEN... and one wonders how bad the original script was if this is the "improved" version. I could spend a whole tip on how bad the dialogue is but let's start at the very beginning... DRAGONFLY makes its biggest mistake a couple of SECONDS into the film!

DRAGONFLY tells the story of a husband and wife team of doctors who are so in love with each other that when one dies in an accident, her ghost hangs around the house and hospital haunting her husband (Costner). Though the completely inept script blows it, the intention seemed to be to make us wonder if Costner is really seeing a ghost or just having problems letting go after his wife died. For us to believe that Costner and his wife were so in love that he would imagine her ghost after she's dead requires that the relationship between the two be established... and it's not.

The movie opens with Costner in an airport arguing with the woman at the counter - he needs to get to South America because his wife is there. She won't sell him a ticket. Next scene has Costner on a payphone, calling his wife in South America. There's static, and they can hardly hear each other. We cut back and forth between the two as they attempt to communicate. Then the phone lines go dead. Next scene is the wife dying in a bus crash. Costner finally gets a flight to South America, where he visits the crash site - his wife's body hasn't been recovered. Which means we NEVER see Costner and his wife together. We NEVER establish that they are in love. The key thing required for this story to work is never shown. Throughout the rest of the movie, Costner SAYS that he was deeply in love with his wife, but there isn't a single frame of film that shows us that - it was never established.

If the story hinges on Costner and his wife being the perfect couple, you have to SHOW THEM as the perfect couple. NO matter how many times people tell us they were the perfect couple after she's dead, it's too late - it's plugging a major story hole at that point. All we needed was one quick scene that showed them together and in love - maybe he sees her off at the airport, they kiss when the flight is called and he walks her to the gate, holding her close. They cling to each other, even as they separate. Their bodies part, but their arms are still entwined. As she enters the gate/tunnel, their arms slowly come away from each other until they are holding hands, then touching fingers, then separate... only their eyes connecting. Then she disappears into the tunnel. Costner waits a beat, looking in the direction where she disappeared...

That might only be a 30 second scene, but it would establish the relationship between the two before she's dead and it's to late to establish it without OTN expositional dialogue. Anything critical to your story has to be established!

And established through actions rather than dialogue. The pictures on the screen are what matter.

A much better scary story STIR OF ECHOES (based on the Richard Matheson novel) has the same problem - though the rest of the film is great. The film concerns a husband and wife who go through some relationship difficulties which are intensified by the husband (Kevin Bacon) seeing dead people (the film was made before SIXTH SENSE, the novel was written about 25 years ago). I'm sure in David Koepp's mind the couple was established as deeply in love. There are scenes where they TALK TO OTHERS about how great their relationship is, even scenes where they tell each other "I love you"... but we never SEE it. There isn't a scene ESTABLISHING the great relationship visually. The film establishes jobs, family, neighbors, etc... but takes the relationship for granted! It opens with them on the go - caught up in the problems of everyday life. They have too many bills and their son has problems and the house needs some work and...

Because the emotional part of the film is the relationship difficulties, establishing the GREAT relationship would have made the film much more powerful. All that was needed was one little scene SHOWING how great the relationship is before that plot kicks in and creates friction in the relationship. We need to ESTABLISH characters in the normal world before we plunge them into the wild ride of the story. Dialogue doesn't establish the relationship, we need actions. A picture is worth a thousand words - "I love you" are just three little words. Everyone says I love you, you need to SHOW it in order for the audience to believe it.

There's a cool scene in the film SHOWING the relationship between mother and son. They are playing a kid's game together, and mom (Katherine Erbe) is having as much fun as her 5 year old. This is probably half a minute long at most, but it really sets up the relationship. It also establishes the mom as being 'cool'. You LAUGH at how silly she is playing the kid's game! They could have done the same thing for the husband and wife.

A similar establishment problem pops up later in STIR OF ECHOES when a character's actions are MUCH BIGGER than their motivations (as we understand them). This leads to a "say what?" on our part as the audience. This character CAN have bigger motivations, and I'm sure in David Koepp's mind (and maybe even on the page) those motivations exist. In a strange way, we see traces of them. But the traces are faint. After the movie, when you're trying to explain the "say what?" moment, you may theorize a larger motive. But by that point in time, you've already been pulled out of the film's reality by the "saw what?" moment. Again, all that was needed was a bit of action to ESTABLISH the larger motivations.

STIR OF ECHOES is a great, scary, haunted house story. Better than just about any of the J-Horror or Hollywood junk that has come out since. Because it was released about the same time as this little Bruce Willis ghost movie called THE SIXTH SENSE, people probably figured it was the knock off movie and skipped it. Mistake. If you like classic horror movies that depend on dread and suspense rather than spurting blood and severed heads, check it out.

Don't take anything for granted in your screenplay. If something is important to your story, make sure you establish it! SHOW IT! It doesn't matter what's in your mind... what matters is what you get into the AUDIENCE's (reader's) mind. All we needed was ONE tender moment between husband and wife - that would have made STIR OF ECHOES into a great film and would have made DRAGONFLY into... well, nothing could have saved DRAGONFLY.

If you don't show it, the audience can't know it!

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BRAND NEW!

How Do I do That?

101 SCREENWRITING ANSWERS Blue Book!

New to screenwriting? You probably have questions! How do I get an Agent? How do I write a phone conversation? Do I need a Mentor? What’s does VO and OC and OS mean? What is proper screenplay format? Should I use a pen name? Do I need to movie to Hollywood? What’s the difference between a Producer and a Production Manager, and which should I sell my script to? How do I write a Text Message? Should I Copyright or WGA register my script? Can I Direct or Star? How do I write an Improvised scene? Overcoming Writer’s Block? How do I write a Sex Scene? And many many more! This book has the answers to the 101 Most Asked Questions from new screenwriters! Plus a Glossary of terms so that you can sound like a pro! Everything you need to know to begin writing your screenplay!

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Making Your Own Movie?

WRITE IT: FILM IT BOOK!

Making Your Own Movie?
Writing An Indie Film?
Writing A Low Budget Genre Script To Sell?
Writing A Made For TV Holiday Movie?

You will be writing for BUDGET. On a standard spec screenplay, you don’t have to think about budget, but these types of screenplays writing with budget in mind is critical!

If you are making your own movie, budget, is even more important - and you need to think about budget *before* you write your screenplay... or you will end up with a script that you can’t afford to make (or is a struggle to make). Everyone is making their own films these days, and even if you have done it before there are lots of great techniques in this book to get more money on screen - for less money! You can make a film that looks like it cost millions for pocket change.

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THE BOOK THAT STARTED IT ALL!

*** THE SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING *** - For Kindle!

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Tips FAQ

THE BLUE BOOKS!

FIND A GREAT IDEA!

*** YOUR IDEA MACHINE ***

Expanded version with more ways to find great ideas! Your screenplay is going to begin with an idea. There are good ideas and bad ideas and commercial ideas and personal ideas. But where do you find ideas in the first place? This handbook explores different methods for finding or generating ideas, and combining those ideas into concepts that sell. The Idea Bank, Fifteen Places To Find Ideas, Good Ideas And Bad Ideas, Ideas From Locations And Elements, Keeping Track Of Your Ideas, Idea Theft - What Can You Do? Weird Ways To Connect Ideas, Combing Ideas To Create Concepts, High Concepts - What Are They? Creating The Killer Concept, Substitution - Lion Tamers & Hitmen, Creating Blockbuster Concepts, Magnification And The Matrix, Conflict Within Concept, Concepts With Visual Conflict, Avoiding Episodic Concepts, much more! Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 175 pages!

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FIGURE OUT YOUR STORY!

*** OUTLINES & THE THEMATIC ***

Your story is like a road trip... but where are you going? What's the best route to get there? What are the best sights to see along the way? Just as you plan a vacation instead of just jump in the car and start driving, it's a good idea to plan your story. An artist does sketches before breaking out the oils, so why shouldn't a writer do the same? This Blue Book looks at various outlining methods used by professional screenwriters like Wesley Strick, Paul Schrader, John August, and others... as well as a guest chapter on novel outlines. Plus a whole section on the Thematic Method of generating scenes and characters and other elements that will be part of your outline. The three stages of writing are: Pre-writing, Writing, and Rewriting... this book looks at that first stage and how to use it to improve your screenplays and novels.

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GOT STRUCTURE?!

*** STRUCTURING YOUR STORY ***

William Goldman says the most important single element of any screenplay is structure. It’s the skeleton under the flesh and blood of your story. Without it, you have a spineless, formless, mess... a slug! How do you make sure your structure is strong enough to support your story? How do you prevent your story from becoming a slug? This Blue Book explores different types of popular structures from the basic three act structure to more obscure methods like leap-frogging. We also look at structure as a verb as well as a noun, and techniques for structuring your story for maximum emotional impact. Most of the other books just look at *structure* and ignore the art of *structuring* your story. Techniques to make your story a page turner... instead of a slug!

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STORY: WELL TOLD!

*** STORY: WELL TOLD ***

This book takes you step-by-step through the construction of a story... and how to tell a story well, why Story always starts with character... but ISN'T character, Breaking Your Story, Irony, Planting Information, Evolving Story, Leaving No Dramatic Stone Unturned, The Three Greek Unities, The Importance Of Stakes, The Thematic Method, and how to create personal stories with blockbuster potential. Ready to tell a story? Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is over 85,000 words - 251 pages!

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HOW DO I DO THAT?

*** 101 SCREENWRITING ANSWERS ***

New to screenwriting? You probably have questions! How do I get an Agent? How do I write a phone conversation? Do I need a Mentor? What’s does VO and OC and OS mean? What is proper screenplay format? Should I use a pen name? Do I need to movie to Hollywood? What’s the difference between a Producer and a Production Manager, and which should I sell my script to? How do I write a Text Message? Should I Copyright or WGA register my script? Can I Direct or Star? How do I write an Improvised scene? Overcoming Writer’s Block? How do I write a Sex Scene? And many many more! This book has the answers to the 101 Most Asked Questions from new screenwriters! Plus a Glossary of terms so that you can sound like a pro! Everything you need to know to begin writing your screenplay!

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NO KINDLE REQUIRED! Get the *free* app (any device, except your Mr. Coffee) on the order page on Amazon!

START STRONG!

*** HOOK 'EM IN TEN ***

Your story doesn't get a second chance to make a great first impression, and this book shows you a bunch of techniques on how to do that. From the 12 Basic Ways To Begin Your Story, to the 3 Stars Of Your First Scene (at least one must be present) to World Building, Title Crawls, Backstory, Starting Late, Teasers and Pre Title Sequences, Establishing Theme & Motifs (using GODFATHER PART 2), Five Critical Elements, Setting Up The Rest Of The Story (with GODFATHER), and much more! With hundreds of examples ranging from Oscar winners to classic films like CASABLANCA to some of my produced films (because I know exactly why I wrote the scripts that way). Biggest Blue Book yet! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is over 100,000 words - 312 pages!

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MOVIES ARE CHARACTERS!

*** CREATING STRONG PROTAGONISTS ***

Expanded version with more ways to create interesting protagonists! A step-by-step guide to creating "take charge" protagonists. Screenplays are about characters in conflict... characters in emotional turmoil... Strong three dimensional protagonists who can find solutions to their problems in 110 pages. But how do you create characters like this? How do you turn words into flesh and blood? Character issues, Knowing Who Is The Boss, Tapping into YOUR fears, The Naked Character, Pulp Friction, Man With A Plan, Character Arcs, Avoiding Cliche People, Deep Characterization, Problem Protagonists, 12 Ways To Create Likable Protagonists (even if they are criminals), Active vs. Reactive, The Third Dimension In Character, Relationships, Ensemble Scripts, and much, much more. Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is once again around 205 pages!

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I WRITE PICTURES!

*** VISUAL STORYTELLING *** - For Kindle! (exclusive)

Show Don't Tell - but *how* do you do that? Here are techniques to tell stories visually! Using Oscar Winning Films and Oscar Nominated Films as our primary examples: from the first Best Picture Winner "Sunrise" (1927) to the Oscar Nominated "The Artist" (which takes place in 1927) with stops along the way Pixar's "Up" and Best Original Screenplay Winner "Breaking Away" (a small indie style drama - told visually) as well as "Witness" and other Oscar Winners as examples... plus RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 200 pages!

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*** DESCRIPTION & VOICE ***

IS HALF OF YOUR STORY IN TROUBLE?

Most screenplays are about a 50/50 split between dialogue and description - which means your description is just as important as your dialogue. It just gets less press because the audience never sees it, the same reason why screenwriters get less press than movie stars. But your story will never get to the audience until readers and development executives read your script... so it is a very important factor. Until the movie is made the screenplay is the movie and must be just as exciting as the movie. So how do you make your screenplay exciting to read? Description is important in a novel as well, and the “audience” does read it... how do we write riveting description?

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PRO DIALOGUE TECHNIQUES!

*** DIALOGUE SECRETS ***

Expanded version with more ways to create interesting dialogue! How to remove bad dialogue (and what *is* bad dialogue), First Hand Dialogue, Awful Exposition, Realism, 50 Professional Dialogue Techniques you can use *today*, Subtext, Subtitles, Humor, Sizzling Banter, *Anti-Dialogue*, Speeches, and more. Tools you can use to make your dialogue sizzle! Special sections that use dialogue examples from movies as diverse as "Bringing Up Baby", "Psycho", "Double Indemnity", "Notorious", the Oscar nominated "You Can Count On Me", "His Girl Friday", and many more! Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 175 pages!

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NO KINDLE REQUIRED! Get the *free* app (any device, except your Mr. Coffee) on the order page on Amazon!

WHAT IS A SCENE?

*** SCENE SECRETS ***

What is a scene and how many you will need? The difference between scenes and sluglines. Put your scenes on trial for their lives! Using "Jaws" we'll look at beats within a scene. Scene DNA. Creating set pieces and high concept scenes. A famous director talks about creating memorable scenes. 12 ways to create new scenes. Creating unexpected scenes. Use dramatic tension to supercharge your scenes. Plants and payoffs in scenes. Plus transitions and buttons and the all important "flow"... and more! Over 65,000 words! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is around 210 pages!

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SUBPLOTS?

*** SUPPORTING CHARACTER SECRETS ***

Expanded version with more techniques to flesh out your Supporting Characters and make them individuals. Using the hit movie BRIDESMAIDS as well as other comedies like THE HANGOVER and TED and HIGH FIDELITY and 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and many other examples we look at ways to make your Supporting Characters come alive on the page. Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is around 170 pages!

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ACT TWO SOLUTIONS!

*** ACT TWO SECRETS ***

Expanded version with more techniques to help you through the desert of Act Two! Subjects Include: What Is Act Two? Inside Moves, The 2 Ps: Purpose & Pacing, The 4Ds: Dilemma, Denial, Drama and Decision, Momentum, the Two Act Twos, Subplot Prisms, Deadlines, Drive, Levels Of Conflict, Escalation, When Act Two Begins and When Act Two Ends, Scene Order, Bite Sized Pieces, Common Act Two Issues, Plot Devices For Act Two, and dozens of others. Over 67,000 words (that’s well over 200 pages) of tools and techniques to get you through the desert of Act Two alive! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is well over 200 pages!

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Can You Make It bigger?

***BLOCKBUSTERS (and BEACH READS) ***

Thinking about writing a big Disaster Movie? An Historical Epic? An Epic Adventure Film? Or maybe you like Gladiator Movies? This book looks at writing Blockbusters and those Big Fat Beach Read novels - anything epic! Usng movies like JAWS, POSEIDON ADVENTURE, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, and those MARVEL and FAST & FURIOUS flicks as examples. What *is* a Blockbuster? 107 years of Blockbuster history! Blockbuster Characters. Blockbuster Story Types! Why modern Blockbusters are soap operas! Social Issues in Blcokbusters? Big Emotions! Keeping All Of Those Characters Distinctive! How to avoid the Big problems found in Big Movies and books! More! If you are writing a Big Event Movie or a Big Fat Novel, there are tips and techniques to help you!

ONLY $4.99 - Kindle Version

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All About Rewrites!

*** REWRITES Blue Book! ***

When You Finish Your Screenplay Or Novel...
The Rewrites Begin!

The end is just the beginning! You’ve finished your story, but now the rewriting begins! This 405 page book shows you how to rewrite your screenplay or novel to perfection. Everything from Character Consistency to Shoeboxing to How To Give And Receive Notes to 15 Solutions If Your Script’s Too Long! and 15 Solutions If Your Script’s Too Short! to Finding The Cause Of A Story Problem to Good Notes Vs. Bad Notes to Finding Beta Readers to Avoiding Predictability to Learning To Be Objective About Your Work to Script Killer Notes and Notes From Idiots to Production Rewrites and What The Page Colors Mean? and a Complete Rewrite Checklist! The complete book on Rewriting Your Story!

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Want To Look Like An Expert?

*** RESEARCH & WORLD BUILDING BUILDING! ***

Using movie examples like TOP GUN, HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, BLUE CRUSH, ADVENTURE LAND, several of my produced films, JOHN WICK, the novels of Donald E. Westlake and Thomas B. Dewey, SPY KIDS, the LORD OF THE RINGS movies, SOYLENT GREEN (which takes place in the far off future of 2022), and many others we will look at researching stories and creating worlds. The 8 Types Of Research, the 10 Types Of Information To Look For, 12 Important Elements Of World Building. Plus chapters on How To Rob A Bank and Commit Murder And Get Away With It for those of you interested in crime fiction, and Researching The Future for those writing science fiction, and Levels Of Reality if you are writing about a version of the real world.

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All About LOGLINES, TREATMENTS, and PITCHING!

*** LOGLINES, TREATMENTS, and PITCHING! ***

You have written a brilliant 110 page screenplay, but how do you get anyone to read it? You need to distill it down into some form of verbal moonshine or story rocket fuel that will ignite that bored development executive or manager or agent and get them to request your screenplay. But how do you shrink those 110 pages into a 25 word logline or a 2 minute elevator pitch or a one page synopsis or a short paragraph? This 100,000 word book shows you how! Everything you need to know! From common logline mistakes (and how to solve them) to how your pitch can reveal story problems to the 4 types of pitches!

ONLY $4.99! - Kindle version.

READY TO BREAK IN?

*** BREAKING IN BLUE BOOK ***

Should really be called the BUSINESS BLUE BOOK because it covers almost everything you will need to know for your screenwriting career: from thinking like a producer and learning to speak their language, to query letters and finding a manager or agent, to making connections (at home and in Hollywood) and networking, to the different kinds of meetings you are will have at Studios, to the difference between a producer and a studio, to landing an assignment at that meeting and what is required of you when you are working under contract, to contracts and options and lawyers and... when to run from a deal! Information you can use *now* to move your career forward! It's all here in the Biggest Blue Book yet!

Only $4.99 - Kindle version.

STORY IN ACTION SERIES!

THE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE MOVIES

NEW: Updates On Films 7 & 8 Casting!

The First Six Movies analyzed! All of the mission tapes, all of the “that’s impossible!” set pieces and stunts, the cons and capers - and how these scenes work, the twists and double crosses, the tension and suspense (and how to generate it), the concept of each film as a stand alone with a different director calling the shots (broken in the sixth film), the gadgets, the masks, the stories, the co-stars and team members (one team member has been in every film), the stunts Tom Cruise actually did (and the ones he didn’t), and so much more! Over 120,000 words of fun info!

THE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE MOVIES - 347 Pages - Only $3.99 ! - Kindle Version

*** THE BOURNE MOVIES

All five "Bourne" movies (including "Legacy" and it's potential sequels) - what are the techniques used to keep the characters and scenes exciting and involving? Reinventing the thriller genre... or following the "formula"? Five films - each with an interesting experiment! A detailed analysis of each of the films, the way these thrillers work... as well as a complete list of box office and critical statistics for each film. This book is great for writers, directors, and just fans of the series.

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Over 240 pages!

*** THE TERMINATOR MOVIES ***

He's back! The release of "Terminator: Dark Fate" is set to begin a new trilogy in the Terminator story... 35 years after the first film was released. What draws us to these films about a cybernetic organism from the future sent back in time? Why is there a new proposed trilogy every few years? This book looks at all five Terminator movies from a story standpoint - what makes them work (or not)? What are the techniques used to keep the characters and scenes exciting and involving? How about those secret story details you may not have noticed? Containing a detailed analysis of each of the five films so far, this book delves into the way these stories work... as well as a complete list of box office and critical statistics for each film. This book is great for writers, directors, and just fans of the series.

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HITCHCOCK FOR WRITERS!

Strange Structures!

*** HITCHCOCK: EXPERIMENTS IN TERROR! ***

Contained Thrillers like "Buried"? Serial Protagonists like "Place Beyond The Pines"? Multiple Connecting Stories like "Pulp Fiction"? Same Story Multiple Times like "Run, Lola, Run"?
HITCHCOCK DID IT FIRST!

This book focuses on 18 of Hitchcock's 52 films with wild cinema and story experiments which paved the way for modern films. Almost one hundred different experiments that you may think are recent cinema or story inventions... but some date back to Hitchcock's *silent* films! We'll examine these experiments and how they work. Great for film makers, screenwriters, film fans, producers and directors.

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LEARN SUSPENSE FROM THE MASTER!

*** HITCHCOCK: MASTERING SUSPENSE ***

Alfred Hitchcock, who directed 52 movies, was known as the *Master Of Suspense*; but what exactly is suspense and how can *we* master it? How does suspense work? How can *we* create “Hitchcockian” suspense scenes in our screenplays, novels, stories and films?

This book uses seventeen of Hitchcock’s films to show the difference between suspense and surprise, how to use “focus objects” to create suspense, the 20 iconic suspense scenes and situations, how plot twists work, using secrets for suspense, how to use Dread (the cousin of suspense) in horror stories, and dozens of other amazing storytelling lessons. From classics like “Strangers On A Train” and “The Birds” and “Vertigo” and “To Catch A Thief” to older films from the British period like “The 39 Steps” and “The Man Who Knew Too Much” to his hits from the silent era like “The Lodger” (about Jack The Ripper), we’ll look at all of the techniques to create suspense!

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FICTION

Featuring Shelly Steele !

*** THE SHOTGUN APPROACH ***

A Pop Star is murdered on the VIP floor of a luxury hotel by a shotgun blast to the face... completely ruining an original piece of art on the wall behind him. Violent SFPD Homicide Inspector Shelly Steele must find the murderer... without killing anyone in the process. That won't be easy! A locked room, A handful of clues. A chase and shootout on the hotel's fire stairs. Who is the killer? His ex-Partner? His ex-Wife? His ex-Record Label Owner?
THE SHOTGUN APPROACH 105 pgs!

ONLY $.99 - Kindle Version

Featuring Smart & Final !

*** A FINE UPSTANDING CITIZEN ***

25 years ago Senator Milano killed a man. Now he's one of a dozen suspects in an information leak. Being interrogated in the executive boardroom on the 30th floor of an office building... The informant will not be leaving by the elevator. Can he solve the crime before they discover his secret? Fnd the rat before the trap springs on him?

A FINE UPSTANDING CITIZEN (CRIME TIME THRILLER) 86 pgs!

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Crime Time Thriller !

*** FOLLOWED HOME ***

Bowden knew the best place to find a victim is somewhere they feel safe. Diane Taylor would be his next victim...

It began with a car jacking at an upscale grocery store, but fresh out of prison Bowden decided to take everything - forcing Diane to drive him her her luxury home. Trapped in her SUV with a violent man, can she find a way to turn the tables on him and survive?

FOLLOWED HOME (CRIME TIME THRILLER)

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Featuring Smart & Final !

*** PRIME RATE ***

Chuck Skinner brought his father's failing butcher shop back into the black with the help of modern day cattle rustlers. Nice story if it ends there...

But now the head of the MaryAnn Mob of cattle rustlers suspects him of cooking his books, and has brought in an "accountant" nicknamed Smart & Final... to hold him accountable. Can Chuck talk his way out of this?

PRIME RATE (CRIME TIME THRILLER)

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MITCH ROBERTSON MYSTERIES

Mitch Robertson #1

*** THROUGH THE RINGER ***

Screenwriter Mitch Robertson just wants to sell a script, but ends up solving the mystery of a whiz kid writer whose new script stinks. From an upscale vodka bar in Beverly Hills to the Writer's Guild Library to an old mansion in the woodsy Brentwood district, Mitch follows the clues to uncover the secret of the hot new writer who has suddenly turned cold.

THROUGH THE RINGER

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Mitch Robertson #2

*** THE FAMILY'S JEWEL ***

"The Presidential Suite of the Hollywood Hoover Hotel looked like a bloody battlefield: bodies everywhere, furniture broken, red liquid dripping from the walls, dead soldiers littering the elegant Berber rug as clouds of smoke overhead bounced between two air conditioning vents.

Mitch Robertson stepped over the body of an ex-child star turned sex tape star turned pop star and entered the room, spotted a gun on the floor and picked it up... careful not to spill his coffee with three pumps of mocha syrup from Penny’s Coffee Shop. That coffee was gold, the only thing keeping him going in this dazed state of wakefulness. The gun felt light. Holding it, he saw the silhouette of an 80s action star sitting sideways on a tipped over chair. Motionless. Was he dead? Mitch was still hung over from the Awards Party the night before, and wondered whether this was all some sort of crazy nightmare that he would wake up from... but when he tripped over the brown legs of a bottomless Superhero, flaccid junk encased in a condom but still wearing his mask, and hit the edge of the sofa, gun skittering and coffee spilling, he realized that it was all very real. What the hell had happened here?"

Short Novel. Only 99 cents! - Kindle Version

Mitch Robertson #3

*** THE UNHAPPY MEDIUM ***

When Warren Moultie, the "Psychic To The Stars", private files, with dirt on everyone in Hollywood, are stolen, Mitch must find them and the thief before the blackmail begins! But when studios and movie stars and pop music stars and TV stars begin receiving demands for millions typed by an ancient typewriter on cheap paper, the entire Entertainment Industry is depending on him. Who stole the files? The Psychic? His wife? His mistress? One of his famous clients?

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