June 30, 2005
I received an e-mail yesterday from a representative of a very well-known and successful movie producer requesting to read a manuscript of The Devil's Pitchfork. This is the second bit of Hollywood interest in my books, and frankly, I don't quite know what to feel about it.

I spoke briefly with my agent, Irene, about this, and told her my expectations were very low, and she said, "good." At the same time, this is a bit more than buying a Lotto ticket, you know? At the least, I can hope for a film option, which is some chunk of money that gives a producer or studio a chance to decide whether they might actually make the film. This might be $20,000 or so, as a percentage of what they will pay me if they decide to try to go ahead. Gee, maybe I should update my movie jargon. Anyway, that might be for a year or so, and if they go ahead, it could turn into real money, like $200,000 or whatever. And if a movie got made... and it was a hit...

It's hard to look at either of those figures without feeling some excitement, though naturally the bigger number makes me even more excited. At the same time, nothing could come of this at all, always a possibility. But it's hard not to dream...

Best,
Mark Terry