Writing Synopsis: A synopsis of my body of work consists of novels, feature-length screenplays, television pilots, movie trailers, and short stories. I have written and published articles for newsletters and brochures for both business and music publications. I was a staff writer for the PDX Jazz Festival in 2005. As part of the Oregon Public Broadcasting radio series, I wrote and recorded “A Jazz Life, My Encounter With Miles Davis,” which aired numerous times on NPR in the fall of 2017. Water-Fire-Steam (Novel) - The year is 1884. Rolla Alan Jones, an ambitious dreamer fresh out of an East Coast engineering school, is commissioned to design and build the first water distribution system in Spokane Falls, Washington, a booming town of twenty-thousand. He is everyone's golden boy for five years until the city burns down on August 4, 1889. The once-celebrated engineer is scapegoated for the catastrophe, alleging his system yielded inadequate water pressure. Asked to resign, betrayed by his friends, shunned by the community, and abandoned by his pregnant wife and three-year-old son, Rolla must find the strength to reinvent himself or return to New York as an abject failure. Based on a true story, Water Fire Steam is a story of forgiveness and redemption. It is for anyone who has ever had to claw their way back from an unwarranted accusation. Water Fire Steam has garnered national attention and secured the distinguished Top Choice Five Star literary pick from litpick.com. Ms. Zilka also received notification on January 11, 2024 placing Water Fire Steam among semi-finalists of the prestigious Goethe Book Awards who recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in post-1750s Historical Fiction. The Goethe Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs). Young Heroes (Novel) - my newest novel tells the story of four young everyday Americans living in Portland, Oregon who make heroic life-altering choices that change their lives forever. Set for 2024 release. Daizy Has a Dream - (Feature Screenplay) An unimaginable dream sequence forces bi-racial ex-con Daizy Tukman to accept that she possesses a unique spirit. Premise - If you discovered that you were a great person in a previous life, would it change the way you live? Promise - Can Daizy stay out of trouble long enough to realize her destiny? Daizy Tukman, in her early twenties works in a recycling plant and lives on Martin Luther King Boulevard above Lulu’s restaurant. Raised in the Foster Care system with no connection to her biological parents who abandoned her in a bus station. Her goal is simple: stop fighting and stay out of jail but, the powerful and inspirational spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr., shakes up her world. Dreaming Graffiti - (Feature Screenplay) Fawziah a.k.a. Mexico, a nineteen-year-old Muslim woman, struggling between a world of faith, culture, family honor, and forbidden love secretly pursues life as a street artist. Premise - The human spirit seeks to actualize its innate purpose. Promise - Can Fawziah/Mexico knit her two worlds together and fulfill her dream to be a free American-Muslim street artist? Formal Education Mitzi holds an MBA from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, and a Bachelor in Marketing from San Francisco State University. Mitzi is a professional jazz singer/musician who earned a two-year Professional Music Degree from Portland Community College. Her music career includes publishing three CDs and singing extensively in Portland’s best venues. Additionally, she performed in Sydney, Australia, and Holland with celebrated composer and pianist Amina Figarova. Her study of the writing craft came from university and private programs, intensive workshops through Author Accelerator, book and script coaches, copy and content editors, as well as her extensive self-study. Ms. Zilka is diligently working on a new historical fiction novel titled RAW, a short story titled Watcher at the Wood, and a feature-length screenplay not yet titled.