Run mad as often as you choose, but do not faint.“
Jane Austen*, Mansfield Park
Hey there!
I assume you’re here because you want to learn more about the very writerly (as well as multi-skilled) Valerie Peterson — i.e., me.
Among other things, I’m the co-writer of the mockumentary short “Pretty Dead” — which capitalized on my love of procedurals, true crime TV — and humor. It was an Official Selection of the 2020 New York Women in Film & TV Online Film Fest, 2019 HBO Women in Comedy Festival/NBC shorts program & 12+ more fests.
I’ve had a lifelong enjoyment of mysteries in all forms of media and a bit of murder or mayhem tends to infuse my own work. The dry wit of my family trickled down and leavens the serious situations depicted in my writing — kind of like in real life.
A finalist for the CBS TV Writers Mentoring Program (with an original procedural pilot and a spec) and a semi-finalist for the WGAE Made in New York TV Writers Room Mentorship Program, my short film writing/directing and feature/TV scripts have also been recognized by the Sedona International Film Fest, the Austin Film Festival, Cinequest, the Big Apple Film Festival, etc.
I have a background in strategic marketing, much of it in book marketing — mysteries, thrillers, general and cookbooks/travel/lifestyle. I’m the author of the “entertainingly irreverent” (Associated Press) Peterson’s humor/cocktail books and the co-author of Cookie Craft baking books. On occasion, I write about book publishing and lifestyle topics for publications like the Washington Post, the New York Times, etc. and for six years was the contracted Book Publishing Expert for thebalancecareers.com.
I’m a proud graduate of Fordham University in da Bronx (B.A. English, attended the gorgeous Rose Hill campus) and hold a film & TV directing certificate from NYU-SPS. Born and raised in Yonkers, NY, I now live in NYC.
*The most brilliant writer in the English language, IMHO.