The Empty Beach

The small seaside town of York, Maine is the perfect backdrop for this lighthearted novel. Like most people, music has always been a huge influence on my life, my moods, and on my attempt at finding love. From my close friends - to my summer romances - and all the crazy shenanigans in between, music not only highlights these memories, but provides a nostalgic soundtrack for the highs and lows of growing up and growing apart. It is said, there hasn't been a girl who I've had a crush on that I haven't made a mixtape for - the guarded Elise Carlile in the summer of '95 was no exception.

Jody grew up in the Kittery/York area of southern Maine. He originally started out as a screenwriter. As of now, he has written nine feature-length screenplays ranging from dramas to dramedies to comedies. Not only did Jody grow up in Maine, but he makes it a point to utilize and represent his state as much as possible. From Maine's scenic rocky coast, to its remotely pristine backwoods, to its eclectic characters; all serve as backdrops and pay homage to his beloved state. His ultimate goal is not to just sell his scripts, but to have them filmed right here in the great state of Maine. Unfortunately, searching for the proper financing has been a long, tiring, and at times, disheartening process. Feeling helpless in the whole 'funding' process, Jody decided to reverse the typical Hollywood blueprint. That blueprint being: It's almost ALWAYS a novel that gets turned into a screenplay and not a screenplay which gets turned into a novel. Jody's thought process was simple: It's much easier to self-publish a book rather than self-finance a movie, and who knows, maybe, just maybe, this will be a screenplay that gets turned into a book only to eventually get turned back into a movie! But even if this wild idea never comes to fruition, at least by turning it into a novel, the stories themselves will be able to be enjoyed by the public. Whether it's two or two million people who buy his books, Jody is just happy that they are no longer collecting dust in a desk drawer.