THE MEMOIRS OF SUMMER RAY

Now in our 15th year of Summer Ray, I finally feel that I am on solid ground and that the story has found its center. What do I mean by this? I wrote something like it in book 5, “Time…Begins Again” of the first Summer Ray series.

The Shaman answered, “You know, when you spin on the ice? If you are not centered, you travel?

Summer smiled then replied, “Wow! Grandmother, you know ice skating. But yes! If I am not centered, instead of spinning upright staying in one place, I spin almost out of control.”

The Shaman said, “It is no different if you are not living a balanced life my, Dear. You will spin uncontrolled and not find the peace you are in desperate need of.”

It wasn’t until I started to write the second series, in Summer Ray’s point of view that I started to understand what was missing from the first screenplay. Going back over the old script, I can see how it was spinning out of control because it wasn’t grounded. It wasn’t balanced. It was too far one way. Then too far the other way, with nothing in the center to keep it steady. It wasn’t set in concrete.

It was oftentimes, without the emotional attachment necessary, to grasp the viewers attention that is inside the pages of the books.

But writing a screenplay for a story to be brought to life on screen, is a whole different skill level. A whole new world opened up, when Summer’s personality was allowed to be free on paper. When her point of view came into focus, the entire script came to life, in a way I never imagined it would. It literally has life now. It is awake. It is alive. It is crying out now, to be seen and heard on screen. It’s an incredible feeling that I have not experienced before. The script went (in comparison) from this first book cover from 2013, to the second book cover in 2023!

I kept upgrading the books inside and out, until I felt that knowing that this is the right one. But in terms of the script, I didn’t know it still needed work. But God did! And when I started to write the series again in Summer Ray’s point of view, I was left with no choice. I HAD to rewrite some of the script. It is now cut to 104 pages. But I also have the remaining 47 pages, to start either the first episode for a TV script or part of the screenplay, if we go the film route. I am thinking we will be doing TV episodes. I plan to have at least five episodes by the time we start production of the pilot. So, we will have a jump start on future episodes and where the story is headed. I never thought what is happening in the script, would happen. It’s why I am so excited about it. Right now, I am just polishing it up to start entering it into film festivals worldwide. I am reworking the logline and how I am going to pitch this series as well.

Onward! Thank you so much for being a part of our Summer Ray world.