Who is Dramaquill anyway?

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I’m a writer who is actually lucky enough to be able to incorporate my creative side into my job. 

 I co-own a performing arts business with my best friend and we offer a plethora of classes in:
music
dance
drama
musical theatre
creative writing
http://www.slightlyoffbroadway.com

Even as a child I couldn’t stop myself from coming up with stories and wanting to see them acted out.  So, when kids came to my yard to play, they often found themselves immersed in one of my make-believe worlds where they would be given characters to play and stories to perform.  Who knew that being bossy as a kid could translate into “director” as an adult.

Blessed with musical abilities as well as a very creative imagination, I could sit and make up endless songs.  Who knew that the child who always sang her own creations as she played on her swings for hours at a time would someday compose eleven original songs for a full length musical and then have the good fortune to direct a production of that same musical.  “Mannequins” hit the stage in 2000.

When I finally realized that the characters and stories that refused to stay in my head could actually be a way to earn a living, I was ecstatic.  Developing a drama program that incorporated song and dance into it saw the birth of our studio’s Musical Theatre Dramatix programs.  Currently, I supply approx. 6-8 original scripts every school year for our productions.  Kids and parents alike can’t wait to see what I’ll come up with next.

But I knew that published clips were the only way to get many to take me seriously as a writer, so I began the arduous task of submitting to publications that paid writers for content.  Luckily, my children’s poetry got some recognition in magazines like WeeOnes, My Friend and Hopscotch. In fact, watch for my two newest rhyming pieces, “Marsupials” and “The Language of Tap” in Hopscotch for Girls in 2009.

One of my musicals for young children, The Wizard’s Trick, was purchased and received a production at the Little Tomato Children’s Theatre’s summer drama camp.  I have also sold several scripts to middle school drama departments.

But playwriting and songwriting are only two areas of interest to me.  Currently, I’m finishing my fifth revision on a suspense/thriller adult novel.  Under the tutelage of published author Marilyn Henderson, I am working to strengthen this manuscript before submitting queries to agents and publishers.  I thank the books of Mary Higgins Clark and Marilyn Henderson for all that they have shown me about writing a gripping page turner.

Do I have enough time to write?   NEVER!

Have I made piles of money writing?  NOT YET!

Have I run out of ideas?  YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!

Stay tuned to see what happens as I continue delving into new genres.

Currently, my other projects include:
Thinkers (a YA contemporary sci-fi novel)
Quick, Pass the Chips (chicklet/YA)
The Humpa Lumpa (PB)
It Isn’t Easy Being Me (PB)

and a ton of others in various stages of the creative process.