During a summer heat wave, a young woman struggles to stay safe when an attacker is loose in her urban neighborhood. But can she be cautious without slipping into paranoia?

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That’s right, I’m making a short film. It’s been in the works since fall of 2015, and now that I have a great script, locations to shoot at (in Denver, Colorado), and a patchwork crew, things are actually falling into place. It’s a little intimidating to be in charge of a project like this . . . but it’s intimidating like skydiving. You know, in that “Oh my god I might die but this is so freaking fun!” way. We’re shooting the first week of June.

*

And now a conversation between myself and Mythraeum readers:

Wait, Leslie—you’re making a film?

Yup.

But how does this fit with Mythraeum and its focus on mythology and archetypes? Like, at all?

Mythraeum is still in its larval stage, but here’s the plan:

I’m going to continue hosting writing contests based on myths and archetypes. Eventually, I’ll monetize things in a way that actually raises the rewards higher than $100. (Potentially a lot higher!) That’s coming later in 2016.

Later still (think 2017), I’ll choose one of the winning short stories from the past year and turn it into a short film. Then we’ll start the process all over! Each year, one of the best winning stories will be made into a short film.

You guys, I’m THRILLED about this! It’s a chance for writers to come together and explore mythology, learn about different aspects of archetypes, win money, and maybe even see their work turned into a film. How freaking fun is this going to be? (So you should totally submit a short story to the current contest. The Jan-Feb one is about Persephone. Make it good!)

HEAT is the first short film I’m making, and it’s based on one of my own short stories (which I never published). Consider this my trial run, which I’ll use as proof to you all that if I turn your story into a film, it will not suck. Really.

How can we be sure it will not suck? Are you just making this film on your phone? Do you have any idea what you’re doing?

Uh. Yes and no. I know I do the whole writing thing now, but my first job was actually acting. In a museum. (Yes, I know. A woman who writes about history and myth dressed up as all kinds of historical characters reinacting all kinds of historical events . . . hard to imagine.) I studied theater in Chicago and only stopped to focus full time on writing. I’ve been in a few productions over the years, and I’ve been going to film school for about a year now (so I guess you could consider this a student film).

So no, I don’t really know what I’m doing . . . but I feel confident in saying this won’t suck. (If only because I’m perfectionist as hell.)

Okay, that makes me feel a little better . . . but what about your cast and crew? Are they going to just be your friends? I mean, a collaboration like this involves more people not sucking than just you.

Well, hopefully we’ll become friends. But I’m actually going to work with people who know what they’re doing, and I’m going to pay them and bribe them with money and food and empty promises of glory.

In fact, here’s the casting call and more details!

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