Meet Phyllis Zimbler Miller | Screenwriter, Playwright, Book Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Phyllis Zimbler Miller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Phyllis, why did you pursue a creative career?
I have been a writer as long as I can remember. One summer during high school I wrote a novel — on a manual typewriter! — about children living in the White House.

I majored in journalism at Michigan State University, where I worked on the editorial staff of the daily newspaper, the State news, and met my husband at the paper.

Perhaps it is my love of sharing helpful information with others that fuels my writing. I believe that fiction and nonfiction writing can have incredible impact.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I found switching from fiction writing to nonfiction writing difficult. I took numerous courses, read many how-to books, and wrote and wrote. The hardest aspect for me was mastering point of view, which is very important in novels and does not exist in screenplays.

I am very interested in preserving history through my writing. My novel MRS. LIEUTENANT (an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semifinalist) is inspired by my own experiences as a new Mrs. Lieutenant in the spring of 1970 during the Vietnam War.

I have recently written a memoir of my husband’s and my experiences being stationed with the U.S. Army in Munich during the Cold War. Mitch was a U.S. Military Intelligence officer and I eventually got my own security clearance and a secretarial position with counterintelligence. I am seeking a publisher for that memoir — which includes original (unclassified) documents and has the working title: OCCUPYING GERMANY: ON THE FRONT LINES OF STOPPING THE RED MENACE.

I am also interested in the social impact of writing — which I include in a section of my website at www.millermosaicllc.com/social-impact/ — such as encouraging writers to portray safer sex in their fiction.

And then there is my current passion project — my free nonfiction Holocaust theater project www.ThinEdgeOfTheWedge.com to combat antisemitism and hate. Also, I am just now launching the podcast NEVER AGAIN IS NOW about antisemitism — see www.millermosaicllc.com/podcast-never-again-is-now/

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Before the lockdowns: museums — Los Angeles County Museum of Art, both Getty sites — and theaters — from large theaters in downtown LA to smaller neighborhood theaters — were my favorite spots in LA. Now some of this activity I’ve been able to do online. What I really missed during the lockdowns are the small local places in Beverly Hills where I can enjoy good desserts and good eavesdropping. (A writer gets her ideas from all over!)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My father, Al Zimbler, died in March 2020 at the age of 95. He was interested in everyone (and talked to everyone). I learned from him that everyone has a story. In his last years, although he still had one or two clients from his CPA practice, he wrote humorous short stories, frequently about love and sex. And he would say, “I’m a storyteller.” (You can see him do standup comedy and senior improv at www.AlZimComedy.com ) His 8 books of short stories are all dedicated to my mother, Ruth Fishman Zimbler, who died May 2020 at the age of 95 (they were born 3 days apart).

Website: www.MillerMosaicLLC.com

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/phylliszimblermiller

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ZimblerMiller

Facebook: www.facebook.com/phylliszimblermillerauthor

Other: www.ThinEdgeOfTheWedge.com