BIRTHPLACE: Mt. Airy, NC
CHILDHOOD: Columbus, OH
EDUCATION: The Ohio State University, BS in Elementary Education (1973); Walden University, MS in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (2007)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE: Middle School Math (1973-74); Title 1 Reading (1974-1975); Substitute Teacher/Tutor (mid 1990s-2002); High School English (2002-2013)
OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE: Zell Freelance Services, Writer (mid 1990s-2014); Central Ohio Renaissance Productions LLC, Writer (2014-current)
FAMILY: Married Merlyn K. Zell (d. 2012) in 1974; Children–John, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Jennifer, William, Lillian, and Megan; Grandchildren–Mara, Lauren, Elisha, Andrew, Ethan, Amelia, Brant, Isabella, Grace, Jackson, Dominic, Zachary, and Luke.
FAMILY ALBUM
Q & A
1. When did you start working with your characters and their stories?
Back in the mid 1980s, I was bored during a winter season, so I decided to write a novel. Since this was pre-PCs and since I was a poor typist, I wrote the story longhand in pen on yellow legal pads. My first three characters were Stephi Grant, Mark Daniels, and Ed Bradford.
2. Why didn’t you continue to write your stories as novels?
After I completed two correspondence writing courses and had invested in a word processor, I tried writing two of the stories as novels in the early 1990s. I completed the first drafts, but became bored with the editing of the drafts. I discovered that I’m not good at writing descriptions–give me action and dialogue. (A good novelist is adept at writing descriptions.) Thus, I concluded I’m not a novelist.
3. You have written and self-published two books about God. Is Journeys faith-based? Why or why not?
Journeys is not faith-based. Since I want the series to appeal to as many people as possible, I decided to leave religion out of the picture. The main thrusts of the stories are family, friendship, and romance.
4. You used a quote by James Baldwin on this site’s home page. Why did you select it?
Mr. Baldwin’s words encapsulate the main theme of the series: love–whether it’s between family, friends, or romantic partners–brings out the best in people.
5. What kind of training have you had in the art and craft of filmmaking?
As an educator and an efficient learner, I have been able to draw knowledge from many different sources. Of course, lots of practice and feedback have been involved.
6. Why have you taken so long to reach this point?
I needed to gain the life experience of the years between the mid 1980s and now. My characters and their stories have so much more depth than they did in the early days. By the way, since I started on the path of screenwriting in 2013, I have not been bored, not at all, with my characters and their stories.
7. Why are your characters so diverse?
Diversity has been a reality in my life: my junior high and high schools were diverse, The Ohio State University was/is the definition of diversity, several groups that our family interacted with were diverse, and my high school English classrooms were diverse. In fact, I modeled the series diversity on the diversity of those classrooms.
8. Which character is your favorite?
I love all of my characters equally. I have immensely enjoyed working with all of them and their stories.
9. What are your goals for Journeys?
My first and foremost goal for the series is to entertain the viewers. Running a close second is to encourage those viewers to love. Journeys could be a substantial dose of what the world needs now: Love, Sweet Love!