In the first quarter of 2025, I shared that I’d be pitching my first feature screenplay to three film professionals.
Two were producers, one was a screenwriter from Hollywood.
Four months later, here is the update:
All three requested the script—meaning, they asked me to send the full thing over. In a pitch session, there is no guarantee the person on the other side of the table will ask you anything—let alone read anything. But after a 5-minute, timed pitch each of these professionals said they wanted to read the screenplay.
So that was Victory #1!
By now, all three have acknowledged receiving it.
One producer said, “No.”
One producer said, “We’re still interested, but haven’t read it yet.”
And the screenwriter said, “Let’s get you into a Hollywood screenwriting program.”
That’s Victory #2.
So in two weeks I will be starting the L.A. based program Act One.
Act One is an 8-week remote course taught by professional screenwriters and directors in Hollywood.
Turns out the screenwriter who said to apply will also be one of the instructors.
I couldn’t be more excited and grateful, both to the writer who encouraged me to apply, and to my husband for supporting this step even during our move to Rhode Island.
That’s right: we are moving.
So here is where military life and writing life will get interesting. I’ll be attending live Zoom sessions from our hotel room from 7-10 pm Eastern during our drive up the East Coast to our new base. Because, you know, L.A. time…
Meanwhile, the Air Force calls, and we must go.
Or rather, the Navy calls.
Because actually, Austin will be attending a year-long program at the College of Naval Command and Staff as an Air Force officer. There he will learn strategies taught and used by the U.S. Navy. Like Act One, the very fact that he got into this program was a huge answer to prayer that we don’t take for granted.
Oh yeah, and then once he finishes with the Navy in 2026, we will be moved somewhere else.
“Where?” you ask.
Great question!!! We don’t know!😊
In the meantime, I’ve started my second feature screenplay.
We’ve also said some goodbyes.
Although our move date isn’t until early July, summer is when many military families are shuffled across the country. Two of our closest friends—who have been there for us since before we were married, who supported us during the deployment and who welcomed me to base last fall, who even captured our homecoming reunion moment on camera—left this weekend for their new base in Georgia.
I hate goodbyes. Although in the military, it’s often “Until next time.” Because it’s a small Air Force, after all. You never know who will be stationed at your base next or where you’ll be shipped off to.
So in the end, it’s a matter of… perspective.
It’s a life I’m still learning, and will be for some time. Don’t be shocked if it works its way into my writing. 😉
There is so much more to say, probably best said in another post. But for the time being, I’d like to express gratitude to everyone who has supported us both in our journey. It has made the road that much richer.