For the next 100 days, We are featuring Female Authors from across the nation for the sole purpose of highlighting books created by women for women.

Award-winning screenwriter/novelist Beverly Gandara has written several screenplays, two novels and one non-fiction book. A New York native, Bev attended Brooklyn College and Marymount Manhattan College before beginning her screenwriting studies at the Gotham Writers Workshop after retirement from the corporate world. Writing in different genres, Bev completed several screenplays, many of which are contest-placed. Her comedy script, Rent Money won the Golden Palm Award for Best Screenplay at the 2012 Beverly Hills International Film Festival. Her Latin/Hispanic script Concrete Wings won the 2021 Accolade Global Film Competition and the 2021 World Film Carnival – Singapore.

Bev’s Five Star Readers’ Favorite, debut novel Concrete Wings, a family drama/coming of age story earned the Literary Classics Seal of Approval with a recommendation for school and home libraries and the 2021 Speak Up Radio Firebird Book Award. Her second novel, Soaring in Silence, a suspense thrillerearned aFive Star Readers’ Favorite Seal. Her third book, Women, Work and Triumph is a compilation of interviews with a diverse group of 26 fascinating women from 5 countries in 26 careers from A – Z with 1 goal – acceptance and respect. It earned the 2020 Five Star Readers’ Favorite Seal and the 2021 Speak Up Radio Firebird Book Award.

What inspired your start in writing and sharing stories?

I began my writing career after retirement and realized I knew many women with stories to tell who had no voice.

Describe your writing style in a few words. 

Biographical. I write screenplays, novels, and books in different genres and provide intimacy between the reader and my characters so that the reader accompanies them on their journey and feels invested in the story.

Reflecting back on all your work, what message flows through all the pages?

Freedom, inner strength, independence, and the knowledge that each individual is beautiful and on their own quest through life. Many of my stories are inspired by and or/based on true stories. My heroic characters understand that success isn’t always measured by what one becomes but often by what one overcomes.

What kind of research do you do to prepare for your work, and how long do you spend researching before beginning?

For each character, I develop a biography; give them a history, a physical description, behavioral traits, and include a secret that my character shares with the reader. If I am writing about a profession, or situation with which I am unfamiliar, I seek out experts in those areas and make sure I have a clear understanding of what I am writing so that the information is authentic. Times vary but I will not begin a project unless all aspects of the story are ready to be written.

Where do you hope to see your work in the next 5-10 years?

As an award-winning screenwriter and author, hopefully on screen, large or small.

If you could collaborate with any other writer in the world, who would it be?

Kahlil Gibran, a poet, philosopher, and artist, author of “The Prophet” written in 1923. His work has been translated into more than twenty languages and his art has been exhibited in the great capitals of the world. As he guides you with a roadmap through life, his language flows with spiritual beauty, revealing the depths of thought and hope for all. His words rise from the pages like soft clouds, enter your soul and give your worries a place to rest.

What advice would you give a new writer, someone just starting out?

Study the basics, determine the kind of writing you want to do, screenplay, novel, article, short story, etc. and read the work of the masters of that craft. Familiarize yourself with the rhythm of storytelling in the genre you choose and recognize that writing is as much a business as it is an artful talent and keep good notes and records.

 What is your definition of a Pretty Woman who hustles?

One who recognizes her value and is confident enough to follow her dreams, secure in knowing that those who join her on her path are positive influencers, and wise enough to eliminate or distance herself from negative ones. She seeks out friends and mentors and understands there is no expiration date on one’s dreams.

Bev’s books are available on Amazon and in all fine stores where books are sold. https://www.amazon.com/Beverly-Gandara/e/B01E7TYXJ8

Bev lives in the southern part of the United States with her husband Armando, whose experiences inspired the script and the novel, Concrete Wings. For more information about Bev and her work, please visit www.bevgandara.com