WRITER
Professional Association Memberships
Novels
FOUND OBJECT (110,000 words) is an upmarket novel of psychological suspense with a speculative element that blends the depraved whims of the ultra-rich with the vicarious high of the film, Being John Malkovich. For readers of Sarah Penner, Danielle Trussoni's, The Puzzle Master and V.E. Schwab's, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. In a culture where Elon Musk sends the one percent to the edge of space, the mysterious creators of The Found Object Society offer something far more tantalizing—the ability to experience the death of another human and live to tell the tale.
THE OVERGROWN (complete at 81,000 words) is an upmarket, coming-of-age, literary horror novel for adults that's Judy Blume on the outside and Stephen King on the inside.
Steeped in 1979 suburban Americana, it explores the dread and power that comes with a girl sexual maturity.
Told in a cusp-of-thirteen-year-old girl's and three adult women’s points-of-view, THE OVERGROWN, compares well with the immersive and disturbing atmosphere of Megan Abbott’s The End of Everything and Jennifer Fawcett’s Beneath the Stairs. It embraces the perceived terror of adolescence, much like Donnie Darko and Stranger Things.
CIGARETTE GIRL (71,000 words) is an upmarket novel of suspense with a speculative element, submerged in mid-1990s-Guilianified-NYC, and the gritty truths that lurk beneath the surface of high-end strip clubs.
CIGARETTE GIRL combines the question of fate, much like Chloe Benjamin's The Immortalists, along with the down and grungy of Marie Rutkowski's Real Easy. It's told in two alternating timelines and will appeal to fans of the pacing and puzzle-solving aspect of Ruth Ware’s In a Dark, Dark Wood, the visceral sexuality of Megan Abbott’s The Turnout, as well as the intoxicating faux-glam of the film, Hustlers.
*Finalist in the Adult Fiction category of the Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize contest*
What people are saying about CIGARETTE GIRL...
"[CIGARETTE GIRL] is raw and filled with an intense grit that will make you feel as if you've been plunged into the world of 1990s NYC. A superb tale!
-Georgina Cross, Best-selling author of The Niece, Nanny Needed, The Stepdaughter and more
"I loved it. The imagery and storytelling are beautiful. I was hooked. I think it's smart, your prose is captivating, and I really like Hedy. It has a kind of Where the Crawdads Sing feel to it in that its character development forward and the mystery feels a bit secondary…but being compared to Crawdads isn't too shabby. It's a story that's going to stick with me."
- Author of Her Dying Day, Mindy Carlson
“I think CIGARETTE GIRL is better than Girl on the Train. AJ Finn's Woman in the Window has a similar vibe with an unreliable narrator & a twist. The thing I think that’s very fresh about your book is the setting—it’s so unique and unexpected.”
- Stephanie N.P. Beta-reader
“I recently read The Last Thing That He Told Me by Laura Dave which I definitely can find parallels with for CIGARETTE GIRL. It’s a mystery (incredible page-turner), where the main characters (also female) are faced with a situation that requires them to look into the past to try to find answers to their identity. Can’t wait to see CIGARETTE GIRL out and in-print!”
- Ilena K., Beta-reader
“My first thought is Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner.
The whole Manhattan setting and the on-going mystery remind me of CIGARETTE GIRL.
Second thought: Paula Hawkins The Girl On the Train. The protagonist is equally mysterious with her life spinning out.”
- Pam F.M., Beta reader
Screenplays
Going Dutch is a comedy about the televised fall and rise of swashbuckling weatherman, Dutch Driesen, whose late-1970s heyday was cut drastically short by betrayal. Dutch’s long and riotous road back to weatherman glory will lead him to reconnect with his estranged daughter, Steve, as they journey to tiny Trippingham, WA in search of redemption.
Den Otäcka Amerikanen (The Horrible American) in Swedish. Mariska—dual citizen of the US and Sweden—returns to her childhood sanctuary in Sweden after being chewed up and spit out by a Hollywood that has found her obsolete at the age of 35. Will she find herself at home again? Or does she, truly, belong nowhere?
Live
UPFRONTS is a send-up of the TV and Cable Networks annual pimping of their Fall Show line-ups to the advertisers and press. The WLC Network’s President and Head of Programming, Tater Simkins, is proud to invite you to her UPFRONTS presentation of her ass-kicking Fall TV Show line-up. Enjoy glossy, sexy promo videos from her three new TV shows and meet their stars – live and up-close! Click here to view performance!(Directed by Mike Shapiro; Director of Photography, Todd Bieber; Featuring: Amy Landecker, Matt Ballard, Henry Zebrowski, (the brilliant, much loved & missed) Lloyd Porter, Jeff Hiller, Katherine Maughan,
SPLEEN (Life Lessons from an Inappropriate Drunk). Click here to view performance!
How many Bridal Shower, Wedding and Birthday Party for 1-Year Old invites have you gotten recently? Sick of it? Get your catharsis on when SPLEEN says all of the things you’ve only dreamed of saying.
TV Pitch
CELEBRITY FAMILY FOOD: in this half-hour reality road trip, our host, Michelle Maryk, travels the country to visit first generation American celebrities and their Moms to learn to cook that one very special dish from their Mother’s homeland that our celebrity can never forget.(co-written and produced with Lauren Flick; sizzle reel produced by P3 Entertainment).
