A CINEMATIC ADVENTURE
My first attempt to venture into cinematic stories seemed hopeful.
I entered the contest with cinebooks.com and won more than the 1000 votes required to make the first series in my five-series sci-fi thriller Zeeka Chronicles into a Cinebook.
Things were going fine until it was time to sign the contract. I was told that because Trinidad and Tobago was not a member of the European Union they could not proceed.
I heard nothing further from them, but my book is still listed as one of their projects and I asked for it to be removed.
In August 2022, I decided to get a screenplay written for my five-series sci-fi thriller. I arranged with a screenwriter from Stage 32, but he got into an accident and could not do it. I then asked the daughter of a close friend but she got a new job and could not find the time. I did a crash course and wrote the screenplay myself.
I submitted pitches for both the pilot and series.
Here are both the positive and negative responses.
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FOR PITCHES FOR SCI-FI THRILLER – SEPT. 2024
ZEEKA AND THE ZOMBIES – SERIES ONE - PILOT PITCH
CATALINA RAMIREZ;
POSITIVE: I like how the story keeps you interested and makes you want to keep reading it. I also like how you combine futuristic technology with elements of zombie horror.
NEGATIVE: clarity is required with high-tech settings and Zeeka’s motivation.
JODIE PLATT
POSITIVE: Hi, thank you for sharing this pitch with me. I like that the theme is good triumphing over evil after an event that happened 20 years before. The setting in South America, with the backdrop of Carnival, could make this visually attractive. It is also interesting that this is based on reality with the Zika virus as the inciting incident.
NEGATIVE: Clarity is required with set- up of the series and clarity with Steven Sharpe and Grady.
JONNY GUTMAN
ZEEKA CHRONICLES – Five-series sci-fi thriller
POSITIVE: This was definitely one of the most unique pitches I've ever read! I love that the inspiration came from a real-life crisis and that Brenda has taken it in such an imaginative direction. Like I said, this was one of the most imaginative pitches I've ever seen, but I think it's a little too ambitious for me! I wish Brenda good luck with it though because I think it would make an incredibly entertaining series!"
NEGATIVE: Too ambitious. Unclear as to how Janet and Mandy relate to the rest of the story or what were their motivations.
I am re-writing and not giving up.
Here is the blurb for the book:
GOOD TRIUMPHS OVER EVIL
When 51 programmable zombies unleash chaos and death on spectators at a Carnival event on the tourist haven of Gosh Island, local police, detectives, and a man kidnapped as a boy by their Master, must hunt down Master Zeeka before he kills again.The fictional series is set in 2036 on an imaginary island, off the coast of South America, well-known for fabulous beaches, resorts, and annual Carnival celebrations.
This science-fiction thriller with lingering themes of human flaws, evil, and good, is purely the author's imagination, inspired by the zika virus in 2016.
Reviewers have compared this futuristic sci-fi thriller five-book series to Frankenstein, Twilight Zone, and Shakespeare’s plays, and some have said it is movie material.
Zombies and robots take center stage.
The mind-blowing episodes begin in Zeeka and the Zombies Series 1 and continue in Zeeka’s Child Series 2, Zeeka Returns Series 3, Zeeka’s Ghost Series 4, and Resurrection Series 5.
The excitement builds with each series as the detectives unearth more clues, and the author succeeds in pulling the various strands together to offer a breath-taking conclusion, where good triumphs over evil.
This futuristic thriller was an award winner in the Category -Young Adult Thriller in Reader's Favorite International Awards 2018, winner in Science Fiction in SIBA Awards 2017, winner of the gold award in the category Science Fiction in Connections Emagazine Readers' Choice Awards 2018, and winner in the top ten finalists for science-fiction in the Author Academy Global Awards 2018.
The International Chamber of Writers and Artists in Spain gave the book an award in April 2023, on the occasion of World Book Day.
Reader's Favorite International gave it a five-star review.
Here is an extract of that review::
"Zeeka Chronicles is a thoughtful series and would delight fans of the genre.
Brenda Mohammed is an author brimming with original ideas, and definitely an author to follow."
