ROB SANTANA's Blog
July 31, 2023
JANE AUSTEN in 2061?
IMAGINE Jane Austen being brought to the year 2061 by a trio of time travelers. Their goal? To find a cure for her spanning, mysterious illness, and a look at Halley's Comet.
According to a new, bizarre theory in 2061, one prolonged gaze at the comet will speed up the medication provided for Jane.
Then there's the many sights that await Jane, that will no doubt GALVANIZE her...
WRITING this novella was time-consuming and required research. Who knows how Jane would react to the ever-expanding changes in today's world?
I could only take wild guesses. Added to the challenge of writing this tale was creating a believable romance.
How DARE a guy write a romance for this legendary author. So, please, ladies, go easy on this ol' boy. Hey, guys love Jane, too.
Currently on pre-launch status.
According to a new, bizarre theory in 2061, one prolonged gaze at the comet will speed up the medication provided for Jane.
Then there's the many sights that await Jane, that will no doubt GALVANIZE her...
WRITING this novella was time-consuming and required research. Who knows how Jane would react to the ever-expanding changes in today's world?
I could only take wild guesses. Added to the challenge of writing this tale was creating a believable romance.
How DARE a guy write a romance for this legendary author. So, please, ladies, go easy on this ol' boy. Hey, guys love Jane, too.
Currently on pre-launch status.
September 10, 2015
9/10 and other thoughts...
Filmmaking was my passion. But that came after my first passion, playwriting, had ebbed. Perhaps because I had become jaded after several OOB successes during the 90s and 2000s.
My play BOMBER JACKETS was produced by MIRIAM COLON (Scarface) and garnered a damn good NY Times review; along with another damn good review from New Yorker magazine. (The New Yorker even published caricatures of the cast on it's theater section). I got a real kick out of that.
The reviews and sold-out perfs got the attention of HBO and Jersey Films. They had approached me after a sold-out performance. It lasted a month, this sudden spotlight. My 'fifteen minutes' were up.
Turned out HBO wanted to see more of my screenplays. Hell, I hadn't written near one. Two other Off-Bwy productions followed, however. Again, good reviews. I was proud of not having to produce a vanity production. The productions were legit, I got paid, and the actors were Equity. They were:
Chained Dog, at Repertorio Espanol, 2005) and most recently THE KING'S WHORE,(2013) about ANNE BOLEYN. That was staged at Soho Rep's theater and directed by Jen Wineman. So where was that mythical producer waiting to snap me up? Where was my 'champion'? Their indifference became my wake-up call.
Then filmmaking took over. From 2005 to 2014, I churned 'em out with my Canon 5D. (and a tiny crew). After some rejections, my short films were accepted into several top-rated festivals, including the screen version of Bomber jackets and Heysoos. But that whole 'Red Carpet' thing was delusional, at least for me. Calling Cards were exchanged. "I'll see your film if you see mine." I'd attend their films but the favor was never returned. "Networking" they called it. Yeah, right. See you later.
I began submitting screenplays I was sure no one would read. Who actually read them? 40-50 bucks for a chance to have your hard work plop onto a slush pile? That's nuts.
Then I began appreciating the fact that most major films came from novels. I found myself reading novels on a regular basis. This was prose! This was the genesis for movies. I became fascinated with authors whose books made the top- ten bestseller list. They were the true writers. (including, of course, the established ones from the classics)
So I began writing short stories, then two novels. Oh wow, look at me, I'm a real writer now, I thought. Then the submissions to short story pubs began. It was one rejection after another. Some pubs were kind enough to send me a critique along with the rejection, at least. Thank God for Scribophile, a handy writer's group.
My footage of the 9/11 attacks were used by the Discovery Channel (courtesy of Steven Rosenbaum)and HBO in 2002. Since then I'd become obsessed with that day. It wasn't until I got the prose writing bug that I hit upon the idea for writing a collection of short stories that centered on ten distinct characters.
Not about what they witnessed on 9/11, or what their thoughts were on that day, or where they had been, but about THE DAY BEFORE.
The germ of this idea came many years ago. (I even staged a play about it at MRT in 2010) I wrote a first draft then stopped. Who cared about this theme? Why should this be of any interest to a reader?
Then came that haunting documentary last year titled: "9/10, the day before." The ratings told me that people were open to hindsight. After all, no one asks "Where were you on 9/10?" Most folks don't remember. I set out to write ten stories about those clueless Americans whose dreams and arrogance were shattered the next day.
I gave it my best effort and, like a million authors out there, hope someone out there will give my book a shot.
Then I turned to filmmaking.
My play BOMBER JACKETS was produced by MIRIAM COLON (Scarface) and garnered a damn good NY Times review; along with another damn good review from New Yorker magazine. (The New Yorker even published caricatures of the cast on it's theater section). I got a real kick out of that.
The reviews and sold-out perfs got the attention of HBO and Jersey Films. They had approached me after a sold-out performance. It lasted a month, this sudden spotlight. My 'fifteen minutes' were up.
Turned out HBO wanted to see more of my screenplays. Hell, I hadn't written near one. Two other Off-Bwy productions followed, however. Again, good reviews. I was proud of not having to produce a vanity production. The productions were legit, I got paid, and the actors were Equity. They were:
Chained Dog, at Repertorio Espanol, 2005) and most recently THE KING'S WHORE,(2013) about ANNE BOLEYN. That was staged at Soho Rep's theater and directed by Jen Wineman. So where was that mythical producer waiting to snap me up? Where was my 'champion'? Their indifference became my wake-up call.
Then filmmaking took over. From 2005 to 2014, I churned 'em out with my Canon 5D. (and a tiny crew). After some rejections, my short films were accepted into several top-rated festivals, including the screen version of Bomber jackets and Heysoos. But that whole 'Red Carpet' thing was delusional, at least for me. Calling Cards were exchanged. "I'll see your film if you see mine." I'd attend their films but the favor was never returned. "Networking" they called it. Yeah, right. See you later.
I began submitting screenplays I was sure no one would read. Who actually read them? 40-50 bucks for a chance to have your hard work plop onto a slush pile? That's nuts.
Then I began appreciating the fact that most major films came from novels. I found myself reading novels on a regular basis. This was prose! This was the genesis for movies. I became fascinated with authors whose books made the top- ten bestseller list. They were the true writers. (including, of course, the established ones from the classics)
So I began writing short stories, then two novels. Oh wow, look at me, I'm a real writer now, I thought. Then the submissions to short story pubs began. It was one rejection after another. Some pubs were kind enough to send me a critique along with the rejection, at least. Thank God for Scribophile, a handy writer's group.
My footage of the 9/11 attacks were used by the Discovery Channel (courtesy of Steven Rosenbaum)and HBO in 2002. Since then I'd become obsessed with that day. It wasn't until I got the prose writing bug that I hit upon the idea for writing a collection of short stories that centered on ten distinct characters.
Not about what they witnessed on 9/11, or what their thoughts were on that day, or where they had been, but about THE DAY BEFORE.
The germ of this idea came many years ago. (I even staged a play about it at MRT in 2010) I wrote a first draft then stopped. Who cared about this theme? Why should this be of any interest to a reader?
Then came that haunting documentary last year titled: "9/10, the day before." The ratings told me that people were open to hindsight. After all, no one asks "Where were you on 9/10?" Most folks don't remember. I set out to write ten stories about those clueless Americans whose dreams and arrogance were shattered the next day.
I gave it my best effort and, like a million authors out there, hope someone out there will give my book a shot.
Then I turned to filmmaking.
