Okay. So I know industry folks tend to side-eye writers with a large portfolio and no IMDB credits. The perception being that the work is no good. However, I'm going to do it anyway. A friend recently accused me of keeping my head down too much and just doing the work. My large portfolio is a direct consequence of that.
As for the quality, several of them have contest recognitions which suggests I'm doing something right. Also, watching folks lean in during my table reads is another clue I'm not completely horrendous at this. Since they're not doing me any good sitting in my cloud drives, I thought I'd share them here.
If you're a showrunner looking to staff someone who keeps their head down and does the work, I'm your girl!
Here's the list of spec scripts that I wrote to apply for various fellowship applications over the years. To be clear, I don't own the characters. These were all written to illustrate that I can write in a voice that's not my own.
Returning to my writing roots. When I was a pre-teen, my mom got sick of driving me to the town library every five minutes so she got me a Harlequin subscription and STILL had to drive me to the library. As a result, I wrote my first romance at 16. It was super terrible. While taking a TV career break, I circled back to novels and contracted with various publishers. All are available for purchase. Links below.
When the fellowships began requiring pilots to apply, I pivoted once again. Below, you'll find a few of my favorites. All are available as staffing samples or straight up sale.
"Motherless Child"
LOGLINE: When Robyn discovers that she has a secret son as a result of a covert government experiment, she must protect her family from his volatile presence while also unraveling the conspiracy responsible for his existence in the first place.
Read Sample"To Protect & Serve Whom?"
LOGLINE: After an incident with Ginny and Bracia leaves a racist cop in the hospital, the citizens of Wellsbury fall prey to their own unconscious biases which threatens to tear the town apart forever.
Read Sample"Zoey's Extraordinary Expectations"
LOGLINE: When Zoey throws herself into the development of the Sprq Pen, a device that would have helped her father communicate, she ends up spread too thin and has to reassess her priorities after missing out on her friends, her family, and her life.
Read Sample"Shame the Devil"
LOGLINE: After Bob Whitmore successfully folded the megachurch the Greenleafs built into his church conglomerate and stripped them of power, Lady Mae unites the family and the rest of Calvary's members in the battle to save Calvary from his clutches.
Read Sample"Sleeping Dogs Bite"
LOGLINE: After his failed coup attempt, Kendall goes to war with an anti-vaxx Mommy Blogger which threatens Waystar Royco's stake in both Big Pharma and the essential oil industries. Meanwhile, Roman's lead launch engineer refuses to take any further orders from him after an ATN reporter gets an unarmed black man shot by the cops and says that Roman instructed him to do it.
Read Sample"These Kids Are Alright"
LOGLINE: Randall's false arrest for substantially injuring a problematic foster boy jeopardizes Deja's adoption process and lands Tess and Annie in foster care.
Read Sample"Bulls, Bullies & Bullshit"
LOGLINE: Axe and Chuck enjoy a temporary cease fire when a common enemy creeps up on their radar.
Read Sample"Hushed"
LOGLINE: Danny and Baez investigate when a famous singer goes missing and his bodyguard turns up dead.
Read Sample"Screw the White Hat"
LOGLINE: Olivia Pope has amnesia. Piecing together that her life is infinitely better where she has no idea who she is, she's faced with the a hard choice when her memory returns: Go back to being Olivia Pope: Gladiator. Or keep it a secret and just be Olivia: Happy.
Read Sample"The Way Lady Luck Dances"
LOGLINE: When Rachel goes missing, Raylan and Tim fear the Mexican cartel is out for revenge until they uncover evidence that her disappearance is related to a horse-racing scam her husband's mistress is running.
Read Sample"A Tale of Two Fish Wives"
LOGLINE: When Ariel comes to Storybrooke on a mission to get her voice back and kill Regina, not necessarily in that order, Mary Margaret vows to help her.
Read Sample"Synchronized Murder"
LOGLINE: When a synchronized swimmer drowns during her routine at competition, Shawn impulsively accuses the woman's duet partner of murder hoping Lassiter will allow him and Gus on the case.
Read Sample"Telemarketing Terrorists"
LOGLINE: The Threat Matrix team take on a terrorist cell that uses a telemarketing scam to raise funds.
Read Sample"Welcome Home"
LOGLINE: After a mysterious two year absence, Sydney learns that she alone can fulfill the Rambaldi Prophecy and destroy Sloane who is now the dominant global super power.
Read Sample"Doubles Trouble"
LOGLINE: Cordelia's mothering instincts surface when a demon clones himself to end the world, but doesn't count on the clone being sweet and filled with childlike wonder.
Read Sample
Erica Kellogg is a former Olympic synchronized swimmer who has been blackballed from the sport she adores. She’s dealt with her loss by joining a world renowned security firm where she can lose herself in a myriad of dangerous assignments. Needless to say, she’s not thrilled when she learns her latest case barely amounts to babysitting duty. If that weren’t bad enough, Trevor Cole, the man she’s been assigned to protect is, in her opinion, nothing more than a spoiled rock star. She doesn’t count on finding out there’s more to him than meets the eye or falling in love.
Click here to watch the trailer
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What can a coupon queen possibly have in common with a Crown Prince?
Everything.
After being accused of attempting to rob a bank that was actually trying to rob them – legally – a coupon queen goes on the run with a Crown Prince who’d been living in the U.S. anonymously for the past year. Armed with only her coupon binder, the two flee the area in an effort to meet up with his royal head of security for protection. But first, they must elude the two very determined bank guards who will let nothing stop them from retrieving the damning video of the bank incident from the couple.
Click here to watch the trailer
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Carissa Langston is a perfectly lovely woman, so she can't figure out why she's always been single. The higher ups at Cupid Headquarters are wondering the same thing.
What none of them knows is that Quincy, her assigned cupid, fancies himself in love with her. He doesn't think anyone will ever be good enough for her--especially not that James "Hutch" Hutchington person. Who cares if the man is really Carissa's soul mate?
When Carissa and Hutch run into one another after years apart, sparks fly. Quincy does some fancy cupiding to keep them apart--no matter the cost. Can Carissa and Hutch thwart cupid and reach their happily ever after?
WARNING: Cupid hijinks, sexy chemistry between soul mates, and adult content.
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Jaylyn Sanders is a church girl. She grew up a church girl and expects to remain a church girl long after she’s dead and chilling in Heaven. Zeke Malone is a billionaire philanderer whose good looks and charm can lure any woman he wants into his bed. Except Jaylyn. Knowing he's on the verge of losing her forever, Zeke does the one thing he vowed he’d never do again. He agrees to attend church with her. After all. How bad could it be? Turns out, it’s worse than he’d imagined. The secret he’d been hiding from her for years is brought to painful light. Unafraid to call him out on his mess, Jaylyn issues a challenge Zeke knows he should refuse. He tries to call her bluff, but they end up in Vegas and married. She treats him to an explosive honeymoon night proving that everything he’d feared about the marriage bed was unfounded. However, outside the bedroom, neither of them can figure out how to be married in general nor married to each other in particular.
Can Jaylyn and Zeke survive The Marriage Curve?
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Seriously sexy TV star, Evan Josephs, is usually a nice guy. “Usually” goes right out the window when the script they’re shooting gives him stage directions like “lean on the bar and look hot as per usual.” He’s a Yale graduate and classically trained actor for Pete’s sake. Fortunately, he’s saved his diva card for exactly this kind of situation. He demands that the writer be sent to the location to fix the crap that she wrote for him. Tamara Keller is thrilled that not only has she sold her first freelance television script, but she sold it to her favorite show. The sale is just what she needs to finally get some momentum going in the TV writing career she’s been working to build for so long. Being summoned to the set by the ticked off star who hated her work was not an experience she expected. Neither did she expect to wake up next to said star in her bed the following morning. Tamara has worked too hard on turning her dream into a reality. Getting overly cozy with Evan is the very thing that can derail it. Can Tamara keep her eye on business when pleasure is oh so close?
WARNING: Sweet romance, but strong language.
Available Now
GENRE: Darkly Comedic Action Thriller
FORMAT: 1 HR TV
LOGLINE: After an aging writer who is struggling to break into Hollywood receives advice to try a backup profession, she discovers that it’s just as hard to build a career as an assassin as it is to staff as a TV writer.
GENRE: Crime Drama
FORMAT: 1 HR TV
LOGLINE: An unforgiving black ATF agent who passes for white risks breaking cover with the genocidal white nationalist organization that killed her sister in order to apprehend a serial bomber who is targeting minority communities.
GENRE: Family Crime Drama
THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES if DEXTER were the patriarch
FORMAT: 1 HR TV
The Family That Slays Together...
LOGLINE: After a preacher who receives orders from God regarding whom to protect or whom to kill is caught murder-handed, he's blackmailed into protecting an atheist reporter and has to choose between saving the man's soul or saving his life.
GENRE: Dark Comedy
FORMAT: 1/2 HR TV
Dark Workplace Comedy with Cupids
LOGLINE: After centuries of living in rebellion and dealing with Lucifer’s shit, a demon who found his calling as a fake cupid must lead a rebellion of his own to prevent the collapse of human civilization when a clueless archangel is promoted to manage his team of cupid co-workers.
GENRE: Light Crime Drama
FORMAT: 1 HR TV
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES with Synchronized Swimming
LOGLINE: After being accused of murdering the teammate they all hated, a ragtag team of synchronized swimmers dive into crime fighting only to find themselves in over their heads once they realize they have to bring down corrupt politicians and members of the Russian mob in order to clear their names.
Click here to watch the trailer