CLEVELAND — Ariel Franklin is a writer, model actress and Maple Heights native, whose book "The Heart Wants," blends, romance and fantasy.
"I have always loved all things fantasy. I remember falling in love for the first time and I was like, this must be magic. I've always to my core belief that love and magic are the same," Franklin said.
But the themes in her book take creative turns from page to page.
"The Heart Wants" is about true love and what love really means. The main character, Marie, she dies and goes to heaven and realizes like I am not done with my life. So she ends up finding her way back, but at a very tough cost."
And as Ariel began the journey of building her magical world, her dreams started to expand on what "The Heart Wants" could be.
"I am a movie buff because you can just create a world that no one's ever seen before," she explained. "And so I feel like I was able to write this story so freely because I knew I could make it into a film. I worked with a local production company named Mystic Cinema and they took my story and made it practical.
So Ariel began creating the film version of her story, recently hosting a book launch at the Cleveland Public Library and using the sales from the book to make her dream a reality. And as an actress herself, Ariel saw a chance to help her cast and crew.
"I realized that I was going to have people on my set who, maybe, this was their first time or you know, they're really good at what they do, but because they don't have a resume yet, somebody didn't give them an opportunity. I created spaces for cast and crew where they could show things on their portfolio that would qualify them for bigger projects."
While continuing to work on the film and promote the book. Ariel says she's learned a great deal from her journey of chasing her dream.
"Don't worry about what you don't know. Just start and do it and you'll learn along the way."
You can more about Ariel and her projects here.