STEVEN A FINLY

      Steven A. Finly has been a writer and musician since his teenage days growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan.  Steven’s passion for creative writing -- in any media -- has been a driving force his entire life. 

      His first screenplay, "Off Season," sold just days after completing it, and his first novella, “Blind Trust,” was made into the feature film “BLACKHEART.”  With such early successes, Steve became hooked on writing.  As a member of the Writers Guild of America, West, he’s had seven of his screenplays produced and garnered ten screenwriting awards. 

     
    Steven's current novel 'WASTED'  is now a finalist in the 2021 Launch Pad Prose writing contest (out of over 2000 entries).  The book is a twisted tale of sex, drugs, murder, and revenge in the Motor City during its late 1960’s rock and roll heyday.  Loosely based around real events, the story is designed to be the first installment of a trilogy following the lives of three Detroit families (one rich, one middle class, and one working class) as they journey through the social, political, and sexual revolutions of the psychedelic drug-fueled 1960’s through to the cocaine-crazed 1980’s... and Steve should know because he was a rock & roll guitarist during those years.
 

   

     BACKGROUND INFO:

  

• Steven’s seven produced screenplays include: “WISHFUL THINKING,”  “IN HER MOTHER’S FOOTSTEPS”
  (aka "Deadly Inheritance"), “SHADOW WARRIORS,” “BLACKHEART," “PRESSURE POINT,” “WHATEVER IT TAKES,” and “PAST OBSESSIONS.”

• His first novella, "BLIND TRUST" was made into the feature film "Blackheart."

• (new!) Steven's horror/thriller screenplay "LITTLE PRETTIES" was a semifinalist in both the 2019 and 2020 Scriptapalooza Screenplay Contest and the Scriptapalooza Top 100 Scripts list. (still available)

• His screenplay "THE LAST GAME" (based on a short story by Phil Kaufman) has recently won, placed, or been a finalist in seven screenplay contests (and is currently available).

• He's sold or optioned over 20 screenplays, along with 5 writer-for-hire script and book projects.

• His numerous screenwriting awards include; The Scriptapalooza Screenplay Contest top 100 scripts (twice), The Screen Craft Horror Screenplay Contest (twice), The Los Angeles Screenplay Expo (third place),  The Hollywood Film Festival (third place), Chesterfield Script Contest, and CineScape Magazine’s Sci-fi Screen Story Contest (third place), Los Angeles Screenplay Contest, Worldfest-Houston International Film Awards (winner), Palm Springs Cinamgraphic Film Festival (winner), among several others..

• He has written, produced and directed four video shorts.

• Steven attended Wayne State University, Arts & Crafts College, Oakland Community College and UCLA .
  He's taken classes from writing gurus including Syd Fields, David Freedman, John Truby, Pamela Jaye Smith and Robert McKee.

• Steven plays guitar, bass and piano.  As a teenager, Ted Nugent was his first guitar teacher.  
  and he's recorded over a dozen of his own songs.

• In the late 1960's, Steven worked -- and later performed as a musician -- at Detroit’s infamous Grande Ballroom run by Russ Gibb.  He's been in bands that have opened for Fleetwood Mac, Bob Seger, Ted Nugent, SRC, The Gang, The MC5, Cactus, The Sky, The Knack, and Paul Butterfield.

• His brothers, Jon and Mike Finly were also very well-respected musicians during the same time period.