Thank you again for subscribing to this newsletter. I’ve never done one of these, and I generally don’t like writing about myself as much as I like writing fiction, so bear with me. This first newsletter will serve to get everyone up to speed on what I’ve been up to creatively. In the future, maybe I’ll be a little more reflective? Offer more recommendations? Talk about my writing craft?

A little about me

If you don’t know my background, I’ve been pursuing a career as a writer and filmmaker since high school. I’ve directed five shorts and two feature films in the last 13 years — all of which were DIY, mostly self-funded, and huge learning experiences.

My greatest ambition, even more than filmmaking, has been to be a published author. I wish I’d chosen literally any other dream job — becoming a working writer is so much harder than they tell you. And they already say it’s hard. It took writing four novels and seven years of “querying” (the soul-crushing process of presenting your work to literary agents and groveling for representation) before I landed an agent — the amazing Alexandra Weiss at Azantian Literary! And it has now taken five more years and three ADDITIONAL novels before any kind of deal or traction has come forth (I want to reiterate how great my agent is at her job; it’s just tough out there right now in the genres I write). I can’t publicly share the details of my recent, ambiguous accomplishment just yet, but rest assured, I’ll be bragging about it in excruciating detail in newsletters to come.

EASY DIGGING

Chances are you’re reading this because you were part of EASY DIGGING in some way, so you probably know the whole spiel. But just in case you don’t, its a feature-length mockumentary about a man digging a hole to China that is equal parts ridiculousness and heart. With $3500, the help of the Austin Public Producer’s Program, two whole years of my life, and the participation of so many talented performers, my production team and I brought this film into its final form.

Check out the really cool website my co-producer Keith Charba made for the movie.

EASY DIGGING premiered at AFS Cinema back in December, and as of yesterday, tickets are ON SALE for a screening at We Luv Video on Friday, February 7th. It’s only 30 seats, so tickets will go fast! Get them here.

There will likely be another screening in Austin this spring — still working that out, more soon.

We have already submitted to 12 film festivals, and since the world is cruel, it will be months before we hear anything about those. I’ll keep everyone updated! This film is so special to me, and I feel so proud of how it has come together. Hopefully I’ll be sharing lots of good news in the year to come! Or at the least, more people will get the chance to see it!

Also someone wrote a (good) review of the film!

Fatal Instinct

On the improv front, I am co-directing a show with Tess Hermes at The Hideout Theatre this spring – an improvised 90s erotic thriller called Fatal Instinct. We are holding auditions this coming weekend, which will be followed by many weeks of rehearsals. The show will be on stage at the end of March and through April.

If anyone has an erotic thriller they really love, or one that is really bad, please tell me about it, and I will rent it and watch it gleefully.

Other Stuff

Lots of cool events are always going on at We Luv Video in Austin! If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a non-profit video rental store and microcinema, a resurrection of the iconic I Luv Video. I help manage the store, and it is very special to me, so I’ll be sharing fun video store things on this newsletter in the future.

Speaking of movies, follow me on Letterboxd if you’re into that — I just got back on after many years away, and I want to see what everyone is watching!

And to close, a few recommendations

I just finished reading this hilarious and thought-provoking book called The Husbands by Holly Gramazio. It’s an absurd premise carried out super well — this woman basically keeps getting new husbands out of her attic. I don’t want to say anything else about it!

I tried a new taco place last week. So if you’re in Austin, and you like really good tacos, I recommend trying Vecinos. Excellent homemade tortillas. They have a pretty varied menu, including puffy tacos, breakfast tacos and tostadas, and it’s next to Zed’s Ice Cream if you want to go wild.

Until next time, y’all!