Writer-Director | Author-Auteur
I write paranormal noir novels, direct artsploitation films, create think pieces on cultural curios and collude on conceptual art. It’s a kind of worldbuilding underscored by my mordant, postmodern sense of humor (and an attempt to get right in art that which ain’t in real life). I promise to both edify and entertain — or my name isn’t Daedalus Howell.
My narrative works are part of an interconnected story universe. They share characters and other preoccupations of their author-auteur — mainly neo-noir, sci-fi crime, the paranormal, pills, the Many Worlds Theory, the cultural irrelevance of Gen X and a dark but redemptive sense of humor. These worldbuilding endeavors are inspired by my experience as a small town reporter (Petaluma, CA — a.k.a. Lumaville) where I grew up, repatriated and recreate (dare I say improve) here.
Looming large on the topography of any story world is the veritable Everest of the feature film. Well, we’ve got one (Pill Head, now in post-production!). Join in as we finish our film and watch some early efforts — you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll kiss five bucks goodbye…
Back in my early newsroom days, when I first concocted the persona and voice I’d write and perform as in my subsequent worldbuilding endeavors, the editors would let us cub reporters stray from our beats into a journalistic DMZ dubbed the “Reporter’s Notebook.” This was where we could write first person, hone our voices and basically indemnify the paper from any of our outre opinions.
The column was a sanctuary for those, like me, who fancied ourselves more writer than reporter and now, I continue something of the Reporter’s Notebook ethos in a mix of blog and premium content I call the Journo’s Notebook.
Lately, Karen Hell and I have been exploring what audiences bring to narratives in an interactive context. We collaborate as the collective company Culture Dept.