When he was a teenager living in Plato, a friend told Josh Senter he should see the movie Jurassic Park.
Since there was no television in his family’s home, Senter hadn’t seen many flicks and he was skeptical about being positively impressed. But he did see Steven Spielberg’s 1993 breakthrough in special effects, and the experience changed his life.
“When I heard about it I said, ‘there’s no way they can make dinosaurs look real,’” Senter said. “But when I was watching it, I remember being like, ‘oh my gosh, this is unbelievable.’ After that I realized that if they can make dinosaurs look real, anything was possible, and that’s what I wanted to do.”
Home schooled along with his four sisters, Senter spent much of his youth being creative, often spending time alone in artistic endeavors like drawing and painting and even turning in school assignments to his mother that bore detailed illustrations. While his first ambition was to become an animator for Disney, his brush with Spielberg’s computer-generated velociraptors and other attractions at the doomed cinematic theme park pointed him toward film making.
Senter ultimately sent a collection of homemade films to an art and design school in Los Angeles County, and was one of only 15 students to land a spot at the institution that year. But with writing emerging as his favorite form of expression, Senter eventually changed his focus from directing to working on scripts, and in relatively short order ended up as a staff writer for the popular television series, “Desperate Housewives.”
“I realized that while directing work was fun, I really liked creating the story,” he said. “It’s the architecture that everything else is built on – like a blueprint. I think one of the hardest things to accomplish is to put together a story with characters and story lines that are not only interesting, but that people can relate to and lean to.”
Senter, 35, said he for a long time considered writing a book, and finally began the process about four years ago. His first novel, “Daisies,” was published July 22 by Diversion Books.
Including segments set in Oklahoma in the 1950s and the Ozarks in the 1970s and ’80s, Senter calls it a story about “learning to love from the people who come before us.”
“That’s our training for relationships,” he said. “But when I had the book finished, I realized it was also about the way romance and love have evolved in America in the last 70 years. That has really changed – and not necessarily for the better, in my opinion.”
Senter said the most satisfying aspect of writing is witnessing peoples’ reactions.
“When people tell me things like, ‘this book made me cry,’ or they do something like read passages back to me, it really touches my heart,” he said. “I’ve heard a girl I know say that the book is very easy to read, but it still had a very powerful impact on her. That’s exactly what I intended – I didn’t want people to have to take a lot of time to read it, but I wanted it to move them when they did.”
Despite knowing writing is where his heart lies, Senter said having a background in directing gives him a valuable cache of knowledge. He also said there’s still a part of him that likes the visual side of creativity.
“I still like painting,” Senter said, “but I think nowadays I paint with words. And I have a bigger canvas to work with because I can tell whatever story I want to.”
Senter said he sometimes has to virtually pinch himself to know his lifestyle is for real. About six years ago, he bought and refurbished a home within shouting distance of some of the entertainment world’s most famous and hallowed grounds.
“It’s so funny to me, because growing up you hear about the (TCL) Chinese Theater, the stars on the Walk of Fame, and all that,” Senter said, “but I never thought that would literally be my back yard. But my house is just up the street from Hollywood Boulevard. Now I walk down the street and the Oscars or some movie premier are going on.”
Last week, Senter went to a restaurant and bumped into Kathie Lee Gifford and Joan Rivers. He ended up sitting down to a meal with them.
“Sometimes I walk along and think, ‘this is crazy,’ ” Senter said.
Finding time in between TV commitments, Senter has already begun writing two more books (each with entirely different content than his first). One of his latest TV projects is the show, “Chasing Life,” a drama series that premiered June 10 on the ABC Family network, and he has two other shows in the works.
One of those shows is called “Marland,” which chronicles the life of E.W. Marland, who made fortunes in oil in Pennsylvania in the 1900s and Oklahoma in the 1920s, and became a politician in Oklahoma in the 1930s, serving first as a U.S. congressman and then as governor.
“The stories surrounding him are so fantastic,” Senter said. “It’s pretty exciting and I hope a network picks it up.”
Senter’s expanding resume already includes nominations for a Writer’s Guild Award and an Emmy. But despite being well-established in the bustling, ever-changing and sometimes cutthroat world of entertainment (and having colleagues with household names, like Eva Longoria), he maintains an appreciation for where he came from.
“It’s pretty phenomenal,” Senter said. “It began with Jurassic Park and became writing novels and television shows. But it’s a great life, and I’m very happy here in Southern California.”
Josh Senter’s book, “Daisies,” is available from several online sources, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.
Learn more about Josh Senter at his website, joshuasenter.com, or at his Facebook page.
I still like painting, but I think nowadays I paint with words. And I have a bigger canvas to work with because I can tell whatever story I want to.”