Elena Zaretsky

The edge in Elena’s writing comes from her Russian immigrant background and is tempered by her sunny SoCal upbringing: kinda like Dostoyevsky on Molly. She learned English from classic reruns, studied Political Science, Communications, and Theatre at UC San Diego, spent a year in England, trained at the William Esper Studio in New York, and eventually realized she preferred pulling the strings to standing in the spotlight.

As a screenwriter, Elena penned the record-breaking Rocky Mountain Christmas, followed by Wedding Season, with Double Con Christmas on deck for Christmas 2026. She was a three-time finalist for the Warner Bros. Writers’ Workshop and, in 2020, both a Finalist and Semi-Finalist in the Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Competition.

In 2015, Elena earned a master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology—a credential that informs her work, even when she’s poking fun at it. 

When she’s not writing about gods, mystical mischief, or love gone sideways, she’s surfing, snowboarding, or hiking with her maltipoo (and soulmate) Gus, who remains unimpressed by all of it.