About Michele Montgomery
Author | Screenplay Analyst | Storyteller | Essayist | Traveler | Dog Lover
Michele Montgomery is an author and Hollywood screenplay analyst whose stories make the strange relatable and the familiar feel extraordinary. Her essay “We Were Snubbed by Our Dead Dog. Twice” was published by The New York Times.
Her debut novel, Adventures of a Maybe Human, was partially written during a life-changing literary seminar in Kenya. She leads the Writing Date Program for the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, where members—fondly known as the Write InMates—pen books, form deep bonds, and donate kidneys to one another when necessary. Raised in the Midwest, she now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and loves travel, art, crafts, and dogs—even the snubbing kind.
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In writing, I love to mix earth’s reality with the realities we sense but can’t prove. Afterlife. Paranormal. Sixth sense. I explore how they impact our world through stories with wild suspense, quirky humor—always grounded in the real world. The beginnings of Adventures of a Maybe Human got its spark when a family friend visited after undergoing a heart transplant. How interesting to wear someone else’s heart inside your own body! I felt compelled to fictionalize a character who was an organ recipient. Imagine my shock when—after having done extensive research—my fit, athletic husband had a heart emergency and had to apply for an organ too. After weeks in the hospital, he didn’t ultimately need it (he’s fine now, thank you). Having transplant research going into his situation was extremely helpful, yet I received a level of medical and character research beyond what I’d ever dreamed. Sixth sense? Subconscious? Who knows? (Yes, he deserves an award. Is there a Nobel Prize for spousal support?) My writing seems to be a family affair.
One of my favorite works was published by the New York Times. “We Were Snubbed by Our Dead Dog. Twice.” It’s a true story about our dog, Jesse. The little rascal. I probably won’t run out of stories since I come from a large, wacky Lebanese-American family rooted in Midwestern ways. I’ve lived most of my life in California and consider that home. When I write, I set an intention of entertaining and surprising my readers. To give us something we can connect with. To share in an outward, tangible way because I choose to believe we’re all in this world together.
Organizations that haven’t kicked me out yet
