Military and Espionage Writing

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is a Los Angeles screenwriter in film and TV, published author, and former Mrs. Lieutenant who worked in counterintelligence with the U.S. Army’s 66th Military Intelligence Group in Munich during the Cold War.

Phyllis’ military writing has been awarded a Nicholl Fellowship quarterfinalist and an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semifinalist. She has been the co-host of a BlogTalkRadio military interview show and a member of the Department of Defense’s Bloggers Roundtable.

Phyllis is a member of Women in Film and the Military Writers Society of America.

Military Film Scripts

Historical drama MRS. LIEUTENANT – When four diverse young women arrive at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, as new officers’ wives in the spring of 1970 right after the Kent State shootings, they must overcome their prejudices and bond together in order to survive their new roles during the unpopular Vietnam War. (Adapted from Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semifinalist MRS. LIEUTENANT.)

Thriller MOLLIE SANDERS – When a female Navy officer wrangles a slot as the only woman on an experimental U.S. submarine, she has to fight a traitor within and enemies without. (Nicholl Fellowship quarterfinalist.)

Thriller NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK – When an explosion rocks the port of Los Angeles, a male Navy pilot and his female backseater are tasked with trying to prevent another terror attack on U.S. soil. (Prequel to MOLLIE SANDERS.)

(Above two scripts adapted into the book LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS.)

Military One-Hour TV Series Scripts

Drama SOLOMON’S JUSTICE – When a Vietnam vet suffering from PTSD becomes the first judge of the experimental LA County Veterans Court, he struggles with his own war demons as he dispenses justice to troubled veterans who have pled guilty to crimes. (Inspired by the real-life Los Angeles County Veterans Court.)

Historical teen drama PINKY SWEAR – When the teen daughter of a Puerto Rican soldier faces prejudice at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, in the fall of 1964 (right after the passage of the Civil Rights Act), she must learn to stand up for herself and others. (Prequel to MRS. LIEUTENANT feature film.)

Thriller FORCE PROTECTION — When the team of a force protection U.S. Army officer comes under attack in Iraq, the officer must follow the intel trail back to his own Chaldean neighborhood in Detroit.

Espionage Film Scripts

Thriller CIA FALL GUY – When an ordinary woman is called to CIA headquarters to identify someone from her past, she has to elude her CIA babysitters to discover whether she is being made the fall guy. (Inspired by working as a Department of the Army civilian in counterintelligence in Munich.)

Cold War thriller THE WIDOW SPRINGER – When the Berlin Wall falls, the widow of a Stasi clerk finds herself tangled in a web of intrigue and revenge connected to her dead husband’s death five years earlier.

Thriller TERMINAL LEAVE – When a veteran intelligence field agent is recalled after a disastrous mission and required to take leave, he decides to deal “unofficially” with his deadly nemesis.

Espionage One-Hour TV Series Script

Thriller DEFENSE – When a female CIA team leader in Europe and her field agents are assigned to work with Germany’s BND, the culturally diverse agents must figure out how to effectively work together to stay one step ahead of enemies seeking to destroy Western Civilization.

Military and Espionage Novels, Novellas and Short Stories

Historical fiction MRS. LIEUTENANT: A WOMEN’S FRIENDSHP NOVEL awarded an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semifinalist — When four diverse young women (African-American, Puerto Rican, Southern Baptist, Northern Jew) arrive at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, as new officers’ wives in the spring of 1970 right after the Kent State shootings, they must overcome their prejudices and bond together in order to survive their new roles during the unpopular Vietnam War.