Writing. Writing. Writing.

That pretty aptly describes my life this past week. I finished "The Outsiders" and am now in the middle of writing "Hip-Hop Zombies". I will be shopping my skills around Hollywood this week and next using "The Outsiders" and an episode of WITHOUT A TRACE I wrote last year as my writing samples. It's a long process with the goal of getting a staff writing job on a TV series. I swear, this business beats the hell out of you sometimes. It demands a lot; discipline, salesmanship, networking, wit, charm, the ability to communicate well verbally, assertiveness, and, as I was reminded by a friend the other day, being bold. Many of these assets I've had to learn through trial and error. Up until about fifteen years ago, I was a devout wallflower. If I went to parties or any kind of a large social gathering I tended to stay on the side and hope that somebody would come over and talk to me. If I hadn't changed that behavior I wouldn't be anywhere near as successful.

For example, last night I was at a function at the TV Academy for the FX show "Rescue Me", starring Dennis Leery (left), written and produced by he and Peter Tolan (right). In the old days, the only way I would have talked to either of them would have been if they came up talk to me or if they had specifically wanted to meet me. Now, I have no problem going up and complimenting them on their show and then promoting myself in some way. Last night, I spoke with Dennis about interviewing him for Emmy Magazine, and he was very interested. My conversation with Peter was mostly about getting him to feel comfortable around me so that if and when I meet him or work with him in the future he will feel more at ease.

Speaking of interviews: I was interviewed last week for Backstage West Magazine, the text of which can be read by clicking the link in the right called interviews. It was one of the first interviews in a very long time where the writer actually quoted me correctly.

By the way, I am still waiting to hear if there is any news about "Special Unit", I am still hoping that no news is good news. When it goes to series though, you will definitely hear about it here as soon as I can put it up.

I was thinking again last night and this morning how blessed I am to be in this position. Believe me, a lot of God thanking goes on around here! I'm not only thankful him, I thank the thousands of people who have pointed me in this direction either directly or indirectly. Because I surely could not have made it by myself.