About Me

My name is Ty Russell and I am an aspiring writer. I am 35 years old and I live on the Gold Coast, Australia. I am a high school Chemistry, Math and Physical Education teacher and surprisingly, I love to write.

I have written two full length novels; The Apprentice Detective and Future Family. For more information please click on the Novels tab.

I have also written more than twenty TV scripts and eight full length movie scripts. Please feel free to check them out above.

My love of writing, I believe, stems from my passion for reading. When I was growing up, my father, used to pay us for the books we read. I still remember wanting a catcher’s helmet when I was eleven. Without a word, he went to his room and brought back a box of twenty books by Robert Heinlein. His meaning was clear. If I wanted that catcher’s gear, I was going to have to work for it. Fortunately, Heinlein is incredible and since I’m no longer playing baseball but still reading, I think it was well worth it.

I also love Boston sports and am an avid supporter of the Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots. I love touch football, my friends and my family. I also am extremely excited to be marrying my girlfriend Nikki next year.

Nova Barnes is an ordinary fourteen year old boy in 2040. He’s not very smart, brave or athletic. He isn’t even that handsome, well unless you ask his mother. So imagine his surprise when he receives his official email offering him a position at the most prestigious school in the country; The Houston Space Academy.

His brother Pro, on the other hand, is popular for a reason. He’s handsome, strong and brave. He’s everything Nova isn’t. Despite this, he has his own problems. Pro may be a hit with the ladies but he’s not that smart and with his studies getting serious, he’s in serious trouble.

Meanwhile, Nova’s Mom is over Mars with excitement about his acceptance into the academy. But she is also worried that the academy doesn’t come cheap and with her payout from her famous husband not returning from space running thin, she has to get a job and fast.

Finally, Nova’s adopted sister Li Na may only be ten but she has issues too. Unlike her brother Pro, she received a full scoop of intelligence but all of her street smarts seem to have been replaced by book smarts and this is not helping her make friends.

Can this future family work together to survive bullying, testing, job hunting, friending and food rationing? They may have driverless cars, underground walkways and digital desk tablets but life still isn’t easy because let’s face it, times change but families don’t.

“This is easily one of the two best books written by my eldest son!”

Lee Russell, Ty’s Mother

I have just ordered 100 copies of my second novel; Future Family and I am ready to sell! If you send $20 to bsb: 734 604, account number: 541708, then I will mail you a first edition of the book.

Please just email me your mailing address to truss103@gmail.com and it will be waiting for you in your mailbox within the week. I will even sign it for you if you like. Although, it might be worth more without me scribbling on it. Up to you. Thank you. Sorry, Australian residents only. I cannot afford international postage yet.

After a life changing night with the girl of his dreams, Travis Shaw will do anything to find her again. Unfortunately, he has no money, he didn’t get her number or her last name and to be honest, he’s pretty lazy.

So, in a desperate attempt to reunite, he answers a Craig’s List ad and becomes an apprentice private investigator so that he can get his new mentor to find her for free.

But when his boss gets arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, Travis will have to not only find the girl himself but also help his new boss get out of prison.

“This is by far the best book written by my eldest son!”

Lee Russell, Ty’s mother

If you liked Chapter one, you believe my mother or maybe you just like the sound of the blurb, please click on the link above and head on over to Amazon to buy The Apprentice Detective. I really appreciate your support and I hope you like it.

Original Pilots and Scripts

I have written over twenty original pilots and TV scripts. Most of them are silly, family comedies with a few of them delving into action and adventure. Please read and share your opinions.

School Murse – After getting dumped, having his script stolen by his gf and moving back home with his parents, things somehow get worse when he has to go back to his old school to get a job as the school murse.

Private School Detectives – When a struggling private eye is hired to find out who’s bullying a boy at a local private school, he elicits the help of his kids to find the culprit. Turns out, they’re pretty good at detective work.

Couples Game Night – Nothing puts relationships and friendships to the test like a meaningless, weekly competition. Its great to have friends, but its even better to win.

Any Given Tuesday – A group of friends manage to stay tight by playing a weekly flag football game which gets way too competitive.

Early Retirement – A twenty two year old boy, fresh out of university and sick of the big city, moves into a retirement home when his grandfather passes away and leaves him his estate.

Book Club – Three immature, college roommates unlucky in love try to pick up girls by hosting a weekly book club. Not a bad idea except now they have to read, eat cheese and drink wine, not beer.

Act Fast – A desperate cop hires an actor to help with a case that he can’t go undercover in. He finds him extremely useful and they partner up full time but does he realize that there are no retakes in real life?

Come On Inn – A young man inherits a small, rural inn but instead of selling it, he decides to try an run it. He thinks it will be fun until everything starts to fall apart.

Virtual Reality – A struggling actor and comedian decide to audition for a reality TV show so that they can get some much needed publicity. Now they have to live with their decision and of course, the other crazies.

Body Issues – A shapeshifter uses his abilities to solve crimes. He is an orphan and not knowing who is parents are makes it harder and harder each time he changes to go back to ‘normal’.

Spec Scripts

I have written a number of spec or speculative scripts which are scripts of existing TV shows that you may be familiar with. My Community script was the first full script I ever wrote and it was an international finalist in Scriptapalooza.com’s annual competition. Please check them out and let me know what you think.

Community

Happy Endings

Modern Family

The Goldbergs

I have written a number of full length movie scripts. My favourite movies of all time are; The Goonies, So I Married an Axe Murderer and The Heat, amongst of course many others. I hope you get a feel for these movies as you check out mine.

Not Fit to Date – When the girl of his dreams walks back into the life, Kevin, an overweight party planner, decides to lose the weight and throw an amazing party to win her heart. It turns out, losing weight is hard, falling in love is even harder.

Father In Law – A New York fashion designer must test his manhood and travel to Maine to ask for the local sheriff’s permission to marry his daughter. When the Sheriff refuses, things get uncomfortable, especially when she goes missing and they have to work together to find her.

Sketchy – A sketch artist meets a girl and spends the night with her. She leaves in the morning and he doesn’t remember her name. He incriminates her in a crime so the cops find her. Unfortunately, it turns out she is guilty.

Token – With the Boston Celtics struggling, they try to buy some good PR by putting a token white guy on their team. This is a team famous for Larry Bird, John Havlicek and Kevin McHale and they hope that by playing a white kid, this will bring some fans back.

We Come In Peace – A rich family goes on the first ever vacation through space and when their spaceship lands on a foreign planet they discover extra-terrestrial life, but it’s not so intelligent.

Rivers of London Series – Ben Aaronovitch

When I heard that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, stars of the Cornetto series, were turning these books into a TV series, I couldn’t download them onto my Kindle fast enough. Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead are two of my all-time favourite movies and I was pumped to read anything with their tick of approval. Fortunately, not only are they excellent actors but they are also great judges of material. The River of London series was extremely enjoyable. I admit, the first book in the series, aptly named; The Rivers of London, was not his best. From the convoluted bad guy, to the difficultly establishing a magic filled world, it never really got going. But thanks to a relatable main character and an extremely inventive cast of characters, it is well and truly worth pushing through. I ate up the series with gusto and finished all seven books in a fortnight. See, I enjoyed it so much, English terms have invaded my lexicon.

Like so many fantasy novels before it, Aaronovitch embeds magical concepts into our lives with such skill that it makes you question whether it actually exists. The River of London series is funny, heartfelt, thrilling and intriguing. After reading the series, I can’t wait to watch the TV show and I wholeheartedly recommend you to give it a go.

Skyward – Brandon Sanderson

I have just recently begun listening to the podcast, Writing Excuses. It is an extremely entertaining and informative program that would be enjoyable for writer’s of all levels. From the professional to the closet amateur. Brandon Sanderson is the host of the program and a very impressive author. Skyward is one of his most recent books and a rare foray into the young adult genre. Sanderson is famous for epic fantasy but this novel showcases his talent across multiple genres.

Skyward is an exhilarating exploration of an alternate planet in which the population has become trapped by alien overlords. They patrol the planet like wardens and when the populace try to fight back with their spaceships and guns, they are attacked with greater firepower and engineering. Spensa is a new cadet at the Starfleet academy and she is a fantastic female protagonist. She is confident, she is brash and she is desperate to prove herself.

Sanderson manages to create an engaging world whilst not detracting from the interesting characters. My favourite of which, M-Bot, Spensa’s ship, is extremely entertaining. Artificial life learning sarcasm, how could you not love it? Harry Potter meets Top Gun in space. What more could you want?

Videos

In an attempt to build my brother’s digital portfolio, we foolishly created a series of webisodes creatively named; The Nat and Ty Show. By brother’s name is Nat if you weren’t able to break the code. They are ridiculous and the acting is well below subpar but they are short, so feel free to give them a go.