Bio
Dawn Garcia has written since she could put pen to paper. Though she started in the film world as a Makeup Artist, she has done nearly every job there is in film – which is where her love of cinema and literature was fostered. She has had the rare opportunity to work with and be advised by Film Giants like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Walter Murch, and the one that jump started her career as a writer, Francis Ford Coppola. She’d be the first to admit she has no idea how it happened – but it did happen and one of the most valuable things she was taught was from Francis Ford Coppola who said, “Never let anyone dictate why you create. Do it because you love it”. As fate would have it, she does. Born in Santa Monica, California, Dawn has spent her entire life drawn to film, literature, and the arts. A mother and grandfather that were poets, Dawn was destined to explore the world of words. Something about a world free to express itself is what she’s all about. “What’s the point in having a voice if you never use it?” – she answers when asked why she writes. Here is how her career as a writer began – in her words:
“As a kid, I used to pretend I was a teacher, a host of a show, and often I pretended to be Vanna White. I loved the idea that an imagination could transcend you. Life was sort of fraught with loss and surprise and words became my refuge. In high school I took my first “real” creative writing course. I put my mind to it and decided that if words made their way to paper, they were no longer meant for me to keep inside and so the writer in me was born. Unrelenting, utterly real. I started out as a well-trained Makeup Artist in the film world but after a family emergency, decided that I had to write.
In March of 1998, I had the pleasure of taking a trip to Napa. As it unfolded, I decided to visit Francis Ford Coppola’s winery. Lucky me it was a day he happened to show – but then again, it seems everything in my life comes at the strangest of times. I sat outside drinking wine and eating bread and cheese and watched as every single person that walked by, realizing it was him, stopped to take photographs and get autographs and try their hand at impressing this iconic filmmaker. I just sat and wrote … I observed every behavior, nervousness, the sheer gull of strangers approaching this man who seemingly simply wanted to enjoy his book, cigar, and freshly made espresso. And then – without warning one of the “strangers” came to me asking if they borrow my pen. I was reluctant and kindly demanded they bring it back the minute they received the autograph they wanted from Francis. Yes, Francis. I never liked the formality of the entire name of anyone I admired. Francis. George. Akira. Jane. Anais. It’s just more real to me that way.
And so, this stranger crept off with my instrument and as the crowd thinned, I realized the stranger was long gone – but alas, my pen was nestled on the table of, you guessed it, Francis. I looked at my friend who always seemed surprised at my boldness and I got up, walked over and asked for my pen back. It’s funny the response you get when you’re not actually asking anything of someone but rather getting what you came for and going back to your life. It intrigues them. And I walked (well, ok, strutted) back to my table and continued writing my little piece and then without thinking, just addressed it: To Francis, and at the bottom signed my full name and I walked over and looked at this incredibly brilliant man and said, “I figured you should have this since it’s about the moment you just experienced” and I walked away. He DIDN’T throw it away! In fact he read it and then he folded it and placed it in his Tommy Bahama pocket. A few minutes later a waiter arrived with a periodical: Zoetrope: All-Story. He smiled, flipped it to the back and quietly said, “someone thinks you should enter this contest”. A contest – 15 writers are chosen out of countless submissions to attend a Writer’s Workshop in Belize for Francis and his magazine. I entered. And was accepted. Twice. The stories that were chosen are examples of my energy, youth, and hope that words can matter.”
A woman with a purpose, the idea that nothing is impossible and words can be a worthy opponent, Dawn continues to work on a variety of screenplays, editorials, fiction, and is a successful Food & Wine Writer. She believes that every experience deserves it’s own story and that somehow, maybe, her words, will leave this world a bit more beautiful than when she found it. Single mother-of-one, believer in the impossible, she is what she claims to be: a writer that isn’t afraid to use her voice. Currently she is editing an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s, “Dorian Gray”, and has 3 more Feature Films in process. She has also recently launched the highly successful “A Taste of Dawn” where she explores the story of dining out and traveling, in addition to having a loyal following of her more open Social and Political commentary blog about life and humanity at “Writeslave.Org”. Dawn is an avid writer and supporter of the arts. Writing isn’t a mere hobby for her, it’s what she is passionate about it and what pulses through her veins.
