Blog

Tony Acree Talks About Screenwriting

Tony Acree – Award-Winning Publisher, Novelist, and Screenwriter

Tony Acree is an award-winning publisher, novelist, and screenwriter. He lives near Louisville, Kentucky with his wife, twin daughters, two female dogs, two female cats, and says the way the goldfish looks at him, he’s sure she’s female, too. Tony recently spoke to our chapter about screenwriting.

Dark Harbor Pictures will be producing two streaming shows, one based on his Victor McCain thrillers, and the other on his Samantha Tyler thrillers. In addition, his screenplay, Songs of Bloody Harlan has been optioned for the silver screen by Jamezz Hampton and 1209 Productions. His publishing house, Hydra Publications, won the Jason Sizemore Award for best small press, and Publisher of the Year by the AOF Megafest and Conquering Disabilities w/Film International Film Festival.

His screenplay, The Hand of God, co-written by Sarah Gardiner, won Best Horror Screenplay at The LA Film Awards.

His first solo screenplay, Songs of Bloody Harlan, took Best Long Format Screen Play at the Imadjinn Film Festival.

Tony is currently the Creative Writer in Residence at the Oldham County Schools Art Center.

Tony is also on the board of Louisville Literary Arts.

Follow Tony on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTonyAcree
, on Twitter @TonyAcree, or on his website, Tonyacree.com. You can email him at Tonyacree@Gmail.com.

Tony Acree – So You Want to Write a Screenplay

We are delighted to welcome local author/publisher Tony Acree, who will speak to our chapter about how to write a screenplay. We are devoting most of our chapter meeting time to this, and hope you can join us, either in person or via our hybrid zoom meeting.

Date: April 8, 2023

Time:  11:00AM (after a brief business meeting)

Where:  Middletown library + via Zoom

Zoom: please click link to register for zoom 

https://sistersincrime-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEqf-GqqTksHdU3KlnJ5kjf3cXGTAwYQhaT

Tony Acree is an award-winning publisher, novelist, and screenwriter. He lives near Louisville, Kentucky with his wife, twin daughters, two female dogs, two female cats, and says the way the goldfish looks at him, he’s sure she’s female, too.

Dark Harbor Pictures will be producing two streaming shows, one based on his Victor McCain thrillers, and the other on his Samantha Tyler thrillers. In addition, his screenplay, Songs of Bloody Harlan has been optioned for the silver screen by Jamezz Hampton and 1209 Productions. His publishing house, Hydra Publications, won the Jason Sizemore Award for best small press, and Publisher of the Year by the AOF Megafest and Conquering Disabilities w/Film International Film Festival.

His screenplay, The Hand of God, co-written by Sarah Gardiner, won Best Horror Screenplay at The LA Film Awards.

His first solo screenplay, Songs of Bloody Harlan, took Best Long Format Screen Play at the Imadjinn Film Festival.

Tony is currently the Creative Writer in Residence at the Oldham County Schools Art Center.

Tony is also on the board of Louisville Literary Arts.

Follow Tony on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTonyAcree, on Twitter @TonyAcree, or on his website, Tonyacree.com. You can email him at Tonyacree@Gmail.com.

 

Author Meet and Greet – Saturday April 1 at 1:30PM Susan Bell and Elaine Munsch

Join Susan Bell and Elaine Munsch at Jeffersonville Library for a Meet and Greet. We’ll be talking about the chapter’s anthology, Mystery With a
Splash of Bourbon, and Elaine will be talking about her new novel, A Haunting at Marianwood.

Time: 
Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 1:30PM
Location:
Jeffersonville Library, 
211 East Court Avenue
Jeffersonville, IN 47130
Haunting Front Cover
 
 

New Passion – Identity Affirming and Acceptance Fiction – Young Adults

To say I’ve always wanted to be a writer is an understatement. I’ve always had a strong passion for writing stories. From the early age 11, maybe 12, plots would come to me (awake or sleep) and then I’d experience a burning desire to put them on paper. On weekends, I would babysit to purchase my creative equipment, which at that time was thick spiral notebooks and blue Bic ink pens.

However, this talent did not sit well with my hard-working parents, who assured me that I would become homeless and starve to death if I pursued this path.  But still, I wrote and babysat for supplies.

After a while, I realized I had another special talent: teaching. The many, many students that I’ve taught are all special to me. What is truly amazing is, I’ve instructed children from kindergarten to middle school, and most of them contact me from time to time. My teaching career was magical; I loved every minute. But still, I wrote stories that came to me.

At my retirement party, a friend placed a suggestion in my bucket list container, WRITE THAT BOOK. A bell went off in my head. Yes, I can do this and not be homeless or starve to death. I’ve already babysat (teaching for income) to buy modern writing equipment (computer, printer, and paper).

Starting this journey took me to Barnes and Noble, where I met Elaine Munsch, and she invited me to join the local chapter of Sisters in Crime, Derby Rotten Scoundrels.  Although my illness has kept me from participating as much as I like, I’ve enjoyed being a part of this group.

My first book, Double Triangles is the thrill of my life. Just seeing my words in a book formation – with my name on it – made my heart leap with joy. I could hardly contain myself when I got feedback on both books (my first and second) through text, social media, book talks, and round-table discussions. The characters from the books came alive for many readers. Although I wrote it without knowing some of the things I’ve learned by being a part of Derby Rotten Scoundrels, it is a dream come true for me. I’ve sold many copies of this book and most people insisted that I write a sequel. Desperate Angles is the second book in this series. Many readers are hooked on the characters and Louisville, Kentucky setting in both books.

Moving forward, a burning passion for writing has come to me in a different genre – Identity Affirming and Acceptance Fiction. Once again, the stories are coming to me and I feel the raw passion of my youth to write them down. I got hurt recently and couldn’t sit at the computer, but my old friends, spiral notebook, and blue Bic ink pen came to my rescue.  Writing life is good!

Sue Spalding, Private Investigator

Sue Spalding, local private investigator, was our guest speaker for our March meeting.

She has been an investigator for seventeen years. Originally she studied Child Psychology but took a criminology course and fell in love with it.

A friend of hers hooked her up with an investigator who was looking for a female operative. He was doing surveillance at a picnic and needed a female presence so he didn’t stand out as an adult male watching children.

When Sue started in this field, the requirements were 90-130 hours of driving surveillance with an affiliated company. Now, in Kentucky, there is an exam a prospective investigator must pass to get a license. Another requirement is to have  a million dollars’ worth of insurance before you start practicing.

Sue does mainly workman’s compensation fraud and child custody cases. In the first instance, she (or her operative) watches the subject to see if they do anything that, according to their claim, they shouldn’t be able to do.

In the child custody cases, most have to do with whether the non-custodial parent is really visiting with the child or are they passing the child off to another person to care for them during these visits.

Both scenarios involve long hours of sitting and watching or tailing the subject, mostly in the car. In order to avoid the police cruising up to her car as she watches, Sue makes it a point to alert the local police of her presence. That way, when a nosy neighbor calls to report a suspicious vehicle, the police can say they are aware of the situation.

When asked what she looks for in a person she might hire to be an operative, she says good, detailed reporting and an investigator license.

Sue is also licensed to practice in Tennessee and Missouri. Other areas of her work include insurance fraud, locating people, process server, infidelity and background checks.