Valerie’s Blog

Hitting the Wall – An Opportunity

For many writers, the start of a new year is the time to set deadlines for the next twelve months. You may have hit all the deadlines you charted the previous January, or maybe not. The dawn of a new year has such potential. There’s nothing to be done about the year gone by. Let it go. You either made your deadlines, or you didn’t.

As this year draws to a close, I made most of my deadlines. But before moving on to the coming year so full of possibilities, I decided to take a look back. How did I …

Rewriting the Story: Understanding and Crafting Authentic Muslim Narratives

Front Row, l-r: Dan Milano – (Robot Chicken, Greg the Bunny), Valerie C. Woods – (Any Day Now, Soul Food)
Middle Row, l-r: Salam Al-Marayati – MPAC, President, Sohrab Noshirvani – (Dry River Road, Junkyard Dogs),Y. Shireen Razack – (Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments, Haven), Sue Obeidi – MPAC Hollywood Bureau, Director
Back Row, l-r: Cherien Dabis – (Empire, Quantico), Chris Keyser – (Party of Five, The Last Tycoon, Tyrant)

The The Writers Guild Foundation and the Hollywood Bureau of the Muslim

Sneak Peek!
Chet Baker: Always Looking for the Light

(previous working title Chet Baker: The Later Years)

In this short excerpt from the upcoming 2nd volume of memoirs by bop drummer Artt Frank, he offers an insight into the virtuosity of Chet Baker’s style.
Renaissance

“Ready?” Chet asked, and called out to us and counted off the tune, “I Remember You,” in a medium up-tempo, and sang a chorus while Sal (Nistico) stood off to the side listening with a look of admiration on his face. Chet finished singing and just sat there, eyes closed, left leg crossed over the right, with his head resting on the hand