I chatted with John tonight. Since I hadn't received his notes, I had called him earlier this week to see if he'd received my script and find out if he'd been able to fax the notes. I'm using an e-fax service, so I feared that something had gone awry.

Nothing of the sort. It turns out that John's dad fell ill (his dad is in his 80s) and he went out of town for a few days.

We had a fine chat. John is 100% convinced that I'm committed to the project, but he didn't get the same feeling from Tom at all. We talked about Tom for a little while. What it boils down to is that John's Las Vegas group is on him to get something in writing that says John has the legal right to adapt the book. Tom, on the other hand, is waiting for John to put up money to prove that he's serious. Ai! John is going to talk to Tom and see if they can't come to an arrangement. I hope that I facilitated this step -- I want to write a movie, darn it!

John has now intrigued a couple of LA producers in this project as well. These are old-time producers, who worked on some older police shows (including Adam-12), so they're interested in the project as well. In fact, these producers also worked on all of Gene Roddenbury's projects way back when. They're old-timers who still know the game, and look around for back-door pilots they can make. John has stated that I am going to meet these guys, which I'm very much looking forward to.

In case the term is new, a back-door pilot is a one-shot project (a movie of the week, for example) that you make to see how people react (ratings) and then possibly make it into an actual series.

The script that I sent to John is MIND GAMES (sorry, bad title), which I'd long ago sent to SciFi for consideration as a TV movie. I've also toyed with the idea of this character and setting as a series. John's going to read MIND GAMES tonight, primarily as a writing sample, but also with an eye to taking it to the ex-Roddenbury producers separate from the adaptation project.

For the last couple of weeks, I've been feeling like my wheels have been turning, but I'm getting nowhere. This, however, serves to prove what a good friend has assured me -- I'm making the contacts I need to get read, and eventually reach my goal of earning a living at writing. I'm thrilled that this might go somewhere. I'd love a chance at a back-door pilot. I'd love to meet these producers and learn from their experiences.

So, I guess I need to sit back with yet another cup of patience, and see what the morrow brings.