Long before Oklahoma became a production hub for major films, one writer and filmmaker was already pitching that vision. Operating a company called Films by Independent Artists, Inc. in the 1990s, she produced trailers for her own screenplays, hoping to secure funding for full-length productions in a state that wouldn’t embrace the film industry for another two decades.
“I was told by an L.A. Producer that I was ahead of my time,” she recalls of her early efforts to bring movie production to Oklahoma. What seemed impossible then has become reality now, though her own path took a different direction.
Pivoting From Screen to Page
After years of pursuing film production, including a 2016 collaboration with a Los Angeles producer on a screenplay adaptation of a book by a Bolivia-based author, the deal collapsed over funding issues. That became the turning point. Rather than continue chasing Hollywood, she shifted her focus entirely to published works and audiobooks.
The decision proved productive. Her memoir, “And I Thought I’d be a Nun,” now exists in both print and audio formats on Amazon and Audible. Several of her original screenplays have been transformed into book form, also available as audiobooks. She’s also developed a short story series featuring a character named Tapioca, alongside other published titles.
The Self-Publishing Challenge
The transition from aspiring filmmaker to author and screenwriter brought its own set of challenges. “Self-publishing authors seem to get lost in all the books out there,” she notes, acknowledging the difficulty of standing out in an oversaturated market where millions of titles compete for reader attention.
Now retired and at a different stage of life, her creative output has slowed but not stopped. Painting has become her primary creative outlet when the urge strikes, a more immediate form of expression than the years-long commitment that screenwriting and book publishing demand.
A Portfolio Built on Persistence
What emerges from her story is a portrait of persistence across multiple creative mediums. From producing independent film trailers before the infrastructure existed to support them, to working with Los Angeles producers on adaptations, to finally building a catalog of books and audio content that readers and art enthusiasts can access directly, her career reflects the reality of creative work: it rarely follows the path initially envisioned.
Her catalog now serves readers, potential moviegoers, and art lovers—audiences who might never have discovered her work had she succeeded in her original Hollywood ambitions. Sometimes being ahead of your time means finding a different road entirely.