Michael Horse PBS Arts Segment

One of the best parts of being a storyteller is no matter what the genre, you get to meet interesting characters who change you, just by being in the presence. I spent 2 days with Michael Horse of Twin Peaks fame and his wife, Pennie Opal Plant, of saving the earth fame for a PBS art/culture/history show.  Not only did I get to work with Michael on this project but another one for PBS as a voice over narrator. And I hope to cast him again and again. And spend quality time with Pennie is rare and enchanting. She is truly phenomenal.  I could not be any luckier!

I look like I photoshopped myself in! 

We are collecting Michael Horse photos for the segment, so please send them my way!

Keeping up with the Nutshells!

Check out this great Nutshell story by Frances Glessner Lee biographer, Bruce Goldfarb 

2025 Emmy win for director/producer Susan Marks

Susan Marks aka Marks won a regional Emmy for her documentary storytelling with Pioneer PBS for Held in Minnesota: Untold WWII POW Stories.

Screenwriter and filmmaker, Marks recently received another region Emmy for a historical documentary film about a very under-told WWII story that even some WWII experts were shocked to learn. This project was definitely a labor of love with a pretty happy ending. 

Murder in a Nutshell: The Frances Glessner Lee Story documentary film update

We had a great fine cut of the documentary film and then I pulled it apart in edit so I could add some great new interviews. We still have a lot of work to do but it's coming together beautifully! The film will be done very soon. (As God and all of you as my witness!)

September 2025 Editing Update for Murder in a Nutshell

 The absolute best part of deconstructing and reconstructing the current edit of Murder in a Nutshell: The Frances Glessner Lee Story documentary is revisiting the photos I took throughout the years. The detail and forced perspective are astounding. Frances Glessner Lee was a genius on so many fronts. For you Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death fans, do you know which Nutshell this is? 

Murder in a Nutshell: The Frances Glessner Lee Story

Editing Corinne May Botz in Murder in a Nutshell

We are working hard on the re-edit of Murder in a Nutshell: The Frances Glessner Lee Story. Why the re-edit? We recently filmed two incredible interviews that will add so much new dimension to the documentary. We could not be more thrilled to "cram in as many clips as possible" from our interviews with the legendary Corinne May Botz and Frances Glessner Lee's Great granddaughter, Avery Lee. The film should be done in just a few short months and again, we could not be more thrilled. 

All that Glitters TV Pilot by Susan Marks

Frances Glessner Lee definitely influenced me writing the TV pilot, All that Glitters. The main character in my script is brilliant, misunderstood, obsessed with murder, struggling to fit into societal norms, an underdog driven by redemption and held back by inner demons, just like Frances. In fact, my character's name was Frances for many versions of the script until I changed it to Grace because it is more appropriate for something that happens later in the series.

A bit more about All that Glitters: Inspired by a secret U.S. intelligence program, Operation Paperclip. a quintessential 1950s housewife becomes obsessed with an unsolved murder in her pristine suburb, leading to the discovery of a sadistic Nazi doctor hiding in plain sight and the subsequent unraveling of her own life. 

I'm thrilled to see All that Glitters in the Hollywood Reporter but I would be even more thrilled to see it made into a TV series. Thank you Women's List. What a classy group of individuals.