FILM, FICTION, AND OTHER STORIES
I have dozens of notebooks scrawled with story ideas, character notes, bar-stool observations, and eavesdropped conversations — many with flowers from my travels pressed between the paper, too. Here are some stories that made it out of those notebook pages, and into the world.
FILM
When I was a teenager in the 90s, I recorded all 19 episodes of My So-Called Life from the television onto VHS tapes. I spent days going through the motions of pause-rewind-play as I meticulously wrote out every line of dialogue from that ill-fated yet widely acclaimed season. I was obsessed with film and television, and the stories they told. I still am.
Here are two of my own screenplays…
LUNA
A couple is forced to confront the decades-old death of a woman they both loved, when their son visits their coastal home with an unexpected guest.
Feature Film, Drama, Mystery
Runner-up in Age Inclusion in Media’s Silver Bullet competition (2021)
Semifinalist in Gender Equity in Media Society’s competition (2023)
Quarterfinalist in The Writers Lab (2024)
Director attached. Currently seeking production and financing partners.
THE ONLY ONE
A woman, saddened by her non-existent love life, finds refuge in an old-fashioned dive bar. A mysterious man leaves her questioning reality.
Short Film, Drama
One of 10 finalists in Soho House’s Script House competition (2018)
Quarterfinalist in ScreenCraft’s Short Film Competition (2019)
FICTION
My third grade teacher — Ms. Hilpl at Pound Ridge Elementary School — handed our class mini hardcover books, their pages blank, waiting for us to write stories and draw illustrations inside. We were only tasked with writing one each. But I kept going back for more books — I had so many stories I wanted to put in those pages. There are still so many stories in my head that want to get out.
HOTEL CAPITANI
Under a pseudonym, Penny Cavallo, I wrote and self-published a story series centred on women — their pleasures, pains, loves, and complexities. That’s a fancy way of saying, “I write erotica.” I created a seductive world within Hotel Capitani, a mysterious hotel heaving with secrets.
Intended to be a series of four novellas, the first two are currently available on Substack, and I’m in the process of writing three and four.
OTHER STORIES
I’ve also written editorial stories and poetic prose.
A selection follows.
EDITORIAL
I was named one of the National Post’s Vancouver “Worthy 30”, where columnist Shinan Govani referred to me as:
“A mistress of the quip and a markswoman of the bon mot.”
Deighton Cup amuses all the senses, Vancouver Sun: read
“People are their truest selves when at the crest of a rollercoaster as the wind hits the back of the throat; that moment immediately after orgasm as the body tingles with paralysis; and when their money is riding along with a horse, clinging to the jockey’s back, eager to dash across the finish line first.”
Diner en Blanc: Succumb to something special, Vancouver Sun: read
“There are naysayers, grumblers, bellyachers, troublemakers who swirl up a tornado of discontent at any and all opportunity. Whether it’s under the breath or across the internet, most of us, a lot of us, gain sick pleasure from complaining. And like many sicknesses, it’s contagious.”
The Curves of Creativity, Haute RE: read
“Life isn’t predictable. There’s no telling where our years will take us — no matter how resolute our dreams or plans. But when we stand still and look back, we can see exactly how and why our journeys twisted and turned the way they did. Such is the case for Michelle Grimm, a Vancouver creative and artist.”
POETIC PROSE
Enough about me. Let’s talk story together. Maybe have a tea? A martini?