Author George Willson has graciously allowed SimplyScripts readers an exclusive sneek peek of his breakthrough novel, The Fempiror Chronicles: The Initiation of David.

In 1775, at the age of 17, David Taylor is thrust into this new world of the Fempiror when he disobeys a decree against being out at night to be with his beloved, Beth. Now, he is forced to follow a new set of laws – to protect humanity from the dark side of the Fempiror race.

The Fempiror^* are a race created for a war in a country long forgotten. Like a science experiment gone awry, they share an incurable condition that gives them superior speed, strength, and lifespan, but sacrifices a life in the sun and a sense of normalcy with the rest of humanity.

Read the prologue and first chapter, free (pdf format).
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The entire novel is available at CreateSpace and Amazon.com

^*Fempiror: pronounced fem-PEER-or

About the Author:

George Willson is from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He has written over sixty plays, musicals, shorts, screenplays and teleplays, of which four have been produced. He plays piano, drums, bass, guitar, trombone, saxophone, and clarinet (among several others). He regularly writes songs to perform in a small group he plays piano and sings with. He produced and directed a feature length screenplay which he also edited and wrote the music for. The Fempiror Chronicles: The Initiation of David is his first novel.

This month’s theme and genre:

Genre: Romantic Drama/Comedy (Romantic Dramedy)
Theme: This piece of music
[display_podcast] This music has been graciously provided by Norm of The DrabbleCast and is released under a creative commons attribution 3.0 licence.

You must write a properly formatted script, 12 pages or less (courier 12 point font) and lyrics (to the music provided). The script and lyrics are not to exceed 12 pages.

Submit your script here by Friday, August 28 at 11:59 pm e.d.t.. Please do not put your real name on your script, however, please use your real name and real e-mail address on the submission form below. (After the exercise closes you can either have your script removed or resubmit the script with your name on it). Please put “(c) Copyright 2009” on your script.

This is a free exercise. There is no prize for winning (after all, we all win if we have fun). There will not be an official judging for the best script (after all, we all win if we have fun).
All submitted scripts will be posted anonymously for a few weeks before the writers are revealed.

The Schedule: August 21 11:59 pm edt – theme and genre revealed
August 28 11:59 pm edt – submissions due
August 29 – 31 – scripts posted without author’s names
August 31 – September 5th – review, critique, comment, guess who wrote what
September 11th (ish) – audio presentation of one selected script presented by iScript.com.

Very special thanks to iScript.com for sponsoring the challenge and judging the final scripts.

It is no secret that I’m a big fan of short speculative fiction in audio format.

I like to listen to stories on my MP3 player while cleaning the pool.

I strap my MP3 player to my head with a broken bit of swimming goggle strap and then get in the water and walk clockwise around the pool for 10 minutes. This creates an eddy in the middle of the pool where all the leaves, band-aids, scabs, legos and phlegmy stuff collect. I then suck this mass up with a hose. When I do this, I listen to The Drabblecast, an audio podcast of “Strange stories, by strange authors, for strange listeners… such as yourself”.

See? It all makes sense if you just hang in there.

The Drabblecast is a short audio fiction podcast narrated and produced by Norm Sherman and edited by Kendall Marchman and Luke Coddington.

Each episode presents a drabble, which is a story exactly 100 words, and follows with a short story written by some of the best writers in speculative fiction like Mike Resnick and Eugie Foster. The drabbles and stories are generally nothing you’ll find in other podcasts. The Drabblecast “aims to present stories too eccentric, disturbing, funny, and downright fun for more dignified genre publications. ”

So, if you like strange stories about animal death matches or ghosts in computers or hog-faced men, head over to drabblecast.org and download a couple of episodes. Listen to them while cleaning the pool. There is nothing like being discovered floating in the pool in a pink innertube with an mp3 player strapped to your head giggling to yourself – Don

P.S. Oh! Tonight at 11:59 pm edt – the One Week Challenge will be announced. Be there!

I was dorking around Subterranean Cinema this evening.

Let me digress. Subterranean Cinema is the definitive site for movies you’ve never heard of. Movies that are subversive, weird or just not mainstream. I was introduced to films and scripts such as Andy Kaufman’s The Tony Clifton Story and the George Romero version of The Stand (based on the work by Stephen King) and The Day the Clown Cried, the unreleased Jerry Lewis movie about a circus clown who led children to the gas chambers during World War II.

Yes, stiff stuff.

Most recently, they’ve aquired Noble Rot a January, 1982 unspecified draft screenplay adapted from Sweet Deception by Jay Sandrich that Don Novello (known better as Father Guido Sarducci) and John Belushi were working on just before John Belushi had one speedball too many and left this world.

According to Subterranean Cinema this was to be a a romantic comedy/adventure about a young, un-sophisticated guy named Johnny Glorioso, who takes an elite new California wine to a New York wine tasting contest (the wine has the much desired and very rare fungus named Botrytis or “noble rot” of the film’s title, that can either destroy an entire crop or turn it into a legendary smooth and sweet wine), falls in love with a very untrustworthy but sexually desirable young
woman named Christine, becomes involved with a diamond smuggling ring, and maybe grows up a little and loses his naivete in the process, while getting the last laugh in the kind of final scene that audiences loved seeing Belushi have.

Belushi considered it the role he was born to play, and became obsessed with getting it produced.

You can read the script in html format from SubCin:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

In addition, you can download the pdf version if you have winrar to open it here. Or, you can download the script in two parts here: Part 1 and Part 2

More information about the John Belushi movie that never was:
John Belushi’s visit to Coturri Winery scouting shooting locations
Writeup of the script. – Don

What is the One Week Challenge?

The One Week Challenge is a Free exercise where you will have one week to write a script (properly formatted) 12 pages or less (courier 12 point font) on the selected theme and genre to be revealed on Friday, August 21st at 11:59 pm e.d.t..

The script must be received by Friday, August 28 at 11:59 pm e.d.t..

Please do not put your real name on your script, however, please use your real name and real e-mail address on the submission form (After the exercise closes you can either have your script removed or resubmit the script with your name on it). Please put “(c) Copyright 2009” on your script.

No gambling! No running with scissors. This is completely Free to enter.

This is only an exercise. There is no prize for winning (after all, we all win if we have fun). There will not be an official judging for the best script (after all, we all win if we have fun). All submitted scripts will be posted anonymously for a week before the writers are revealed.

Please visit the discussion board for an idea of what is going to happen.

The Schedule:
August 21 11:59 pm edt – theme and genre revealed
August 28 11:59 pm edt – submissions due
August 29 – 31 – scripts posted without author’s names
August 31 – September 5th – review, critique, comment, guess who wrote what
September 6th – authors are revealed.

Additionally, I’m in talks with iScript.com to see if they are willing to audio produce one selected script.

And, I’m also in talks with Norm Sherman of The DrabbleCast to help put a little twist into the August ’09 Challenge. Take a moment to pop over to The DrabbleCast, a short fiction podcast that is often humerous, often bizarre, always fun. With sci-fi, fantasy, wierd, disturbing tales- narrated by Norm Sherman.

Try and figure out what the OWC twist will be. You’ll never guess. When the twist is reveled, I’m sure I’ll anger and alienate just about everybody. – Don

Over on the Unproduced Scripts page there are 47 original scripts for your reading pleasure. This represents about two days of submission, so if you don’t see your work, please be patient. I’ll have it up soon.

Steven has the final episode of his series Better Days. You can listen to the first six episodes of the first season here.

Kevin has his Nicholl Fellowship Quarter Finalist drama Inquest. And Matthew has his comedy Based on a True Story.

Also, the One Week Challenge is coming up. Stay tuned. – Don

Thanks to Russell for the heads up on these from Scribd.

Tender Comrade,
The Messenger,
Rio Bravo,
The Man Who Would Be King,
The Thomas Crown Affair,
The Big Sky,
Stage Door,
To Catch a Thief and
A Wizard of Earthsea (not the Sci Fi version).

Note: in order to download the scripts, you have to be signed in to Scribd. It is a free registration. The download link is under the script title in the upper left of the screen. – Don

Accountant falls into world of international espionage via facebook, another X-men: Wolverine script and some guy pimping Bandslam.

Soulshadows II is a weekly supernatural anthology series. Join Tanis, each week, as she highlights an item from her collection – each one containing the shadow of a very special soul.

Next up is Death Hunts The Soul by Javier Torregrosa, Tanis by Robert Newcomer.

Adrian’s stressed, financially broken, and will take help from anywhere he can get it. In Vegas they have dice, the past lies prophecies, and in tarot we have truth. What fate will the tarot cards reveal? 21 pages (pdf format).

Rated PG for gambling
I’ve re-uploaded the audio file. The complete audio script is now available
Listen to the Script
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Discuss this script on the Discussion Board