I've finally been given the all-clear to share more details and pictures about “Dare to Dream, an Indie Author Documentary" in-production documentary film.  (Note: I'm not certain this will be the final official title.)

The main filming took place in May 2024 at the home of highly successful fantasy author Michael J. Sullivan and his wife, Robin.  It was an amazing and, at times, dizzying experience.  I felt like a minnow among marlins, almost as if I didn't quite belong with peers of such high caliber and success in the publishing world.  Yet, there I was, and it was a fantastic experience.

Taking place in rural Virginia, in the shadows of the Shenandoah Mountains National Park, it was a remarkably picturesque filming location.  The drive was an hour and a half from the Washington-Dulles airport with winding mountain roads, one of which turned from pavement to gravel and made me hope I wasn't about to drive straight into the forest.  The first day was spent on introductions and socializing with Michael, Robin, Angela Howe (penname Lorien, an aspiring author under Michael's tutelage), A.C. Cobble, producer/director Adam Grandy, and cameraman Dustin.  That evening, Robin made guacamole and Michael grilled hamburgers for dinner.  Turns out they are excellent hosts!

The next day, I hung around the house as filming took place in various areas.  There was eventually talk of doing some of the filming outside in the front yard, with the mountains in the background.  I found myself suddenly part of the “stage” crew as I helped to carry furniture out into the yard for what is likely to be a rather iconic scene of the film.  The scene involved an industry discussion between Michael, Robin, and A.C. Cobble.

My interview was filmed later that afternoon in the main living room of the house, as seen in the picture at the top of this page.  (The shirt on the rail was removed before the actual filming.)  I was given surprisingly little guidance about what to say and generally ran with what came to mind, although ultimately Adam did ask some more specific questions to continue the discussion.  I continued to hang out through the next day, when I also got to participate in what Dustin calls “hero shots” - basically the camera coming in for a close-up while I'm looking away, suddenly turning to face the camera is it got closer.  Good stuff.

The filming actually had another day to go, but I had to leave that night to get to my daughters' piano recital.  Flight delays caused me to miss a connection home, and I ended up driving all night from Charlotte to Louisville.  (The recital was lovely and totally worth it.)  Then I actually flew back to Dulles immediately following the recital because I wanted to catch the rest of the cast that had just arrived for the filming.  That's when I got to meet Bryce O'Conner, Emilie Nikota (penname Delemhach), Daniel Greene (over a large YouTube channel), author Miracle (M.L.) Wang (known for her Sword of Kaigen martial arts fantasy), influencer Jackson Dickert, and author Travis Baldree (known for Legends & Lattes).

Also, author superstars Andy Weir (The Martian) and Will Wight will be in the film!

But the fun didn't stop with the May filming.  Turns out Adam and Dustin are based out of the Indianapolis area, and they offered to come down to MY house for additional filming later in June!  While in the area, they also filmed a local author friend, Lydia Sherrer.

I'm told the final film will come out next year, perhaps in the summer.  They'll be going around to various film festivals.  As I find out more info, I'll definitely be sure to let you guys know.

In the meantime, I feel very blessed and excited to be a part of this production.  Hopefully it'll be entertaining, useful, and inspiring for indie authors everywhere!

For even more of my pictures, check out this Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/groups/heroesoftimeseries/posts/2303819633283101/.