Here’s What I Think…

I had trouble sleeping last night so I turned on the television around 4 AM, just in time to catch the Memorial Service commemorating the tenth anniversary of the death of Princess Diana of Wales.  There are very few times in one’s life when you remember exactly where you were when you heard the news about an icon’s passing.  People definitely remember where they were when word reached them that JFK had been assassinated in Dallas.  I remember being at my grandmother’s house when I heard about Elvis and on the school bus when I heard about John Lennon.  But Diana, for some reason, had a much bigger impact on me.  Maybe it’s because she was just such a fabulous breath of fresh air from the other stuffy royals, or perhaps I just loved the fact she was friends with Elton John.  I don’t know.  I was in Berlin, Germany promoting a spin-off series of the David Hasselhoff hit KNIGHT RIDER ten years ago today when one of the actresses from the show who I was traveling with called me in my hotel room to share the news.  I felt sucker-punched.  But why?  I never met Princess Diana.  It wasn’t like she was family.  But in a way, I guess, she was.  She was so compassionate, so warm, and seemed to be such a loving mother and caring soul.  This summer, while vacationing in Greece, I read Tina Brown’s expose THE DIANA CHRONICLES.  It was very juicy and gossipy, and surprisingly well fact-checked.  Diana came across at many points in the book as vain, manipulative, and at times even unstable.  But it didn’t change my opinion of her.  Everyone has their faults.  Nobody’s perfect.  I can’t imagine the pressure she was under with the press recording her every move, every gesture.  But in the end, she gave the world two handsome, well-adjusted sons, one the future King of England, and she also gave us some enduring, comforting memories.  Diana will always live on in my heart.

I’m off to Munich, Germany for meetings on an animated series for which I will be writing a few episodes.  My friend Michael, an old buddy from my NYU days, is the head writer and the series itself is a fun half hour adventure with a religous theme (not my forte, but what the hell?).  With talks of an upcoming writers’ strike in Hollywood next year, this is a good way for me to become “strike proof.”  If we do hit the picket lines and my projects at Lifetime and Fox TV Studios stall, animation is a great way for me to keep going since it is not covered by the Writers’ Guild.  So this trip is an investment of sorts.  I’ll also use the time if we strike to write another mystery novel, hopefully another installment in the LA Dolls series.  However, I remember back in 2001 when there was also constant talk of a strike.  I planned a month long cross country trip in a rental car, hitting tourist spots like Vegas and Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Mount Rushmore and Cleveland’s Rock ‘n Roll Museum, the Liberty Bell in Phillie, New York City, and finally my home town of Bar Harbor, Maine.  I was half way through my journey when word reached me that a strike had been averted at the last possible second.  I shrugged and kept on driving.  Despite the false alarm, I was seeing parts of my country I never would have ever seen otherwise.  Usually if I have some time to travel, I’m on a plane to Europe.  So the non-strike proved to be a blessing.  That could happen again.  But I’m not going to be caught off-guard.  I’m a writer.  That’s my vocation.  I need to write.  I have to make sure I can support my union and make money at the same time!  So… Auf Weiderstein!

I’ve just scheduled a book reading and signing for my new mystery novel Fingerprints & Facelifts: An LA Dolls Mystery on September 19^th, 2007 to be held at Borders located on the corner of Sunset and Vine in Hollywood.  I’m hoping for a big turnout so keep the date open!  There’s also been some interest in the book from a few major motion picture production companies who want to discuss a feature film version of the book.  I can’t talk specifics yet, because as you know in Hollywood, nothing is real until you’re actually lined up at the box office buying a ticket.  But I will be sure to keep you posted on all those developments.

It looks like I’m going to Germany in a couple of weeks to work on a new animated series for Kika, a popular children’s television network.  I’ve wanted to travel more for work, and this project will definitely give me that opportunity.  I’m also keeping my fingers crossed that Lifetime will pick up my two hour movie/backdoor pilot in the coming weeks because the studio Lionsgate has discussed shooting in Montreal or Toronto if that happens.  I don’t know why I love to travel so much.  Probably because my life has been mostly centered on three locales for most of my life—Bar Harbor, Maine (where I grew up), New York, New York (where I went to college and began my career in television), and Los Angeles, California (where I have spent most of my adult life working as a writer).  But there is nothing like showing up at the airport, armed with my passport, knowing I am embarking on a journey to some far away place.  It gives me a charge, a sense of excitement, and quite frankly, I’m addicted to the rush.  I’m talking with a friend about going to Argentina for New Year’s, a country I have yet to visit.  Then there is Thailand and Russia, and most of the Scandinavian countries I’m looking at for next year.  Not to mention a possible trip to Vienna for Thanksgiving with my buddy Rob to visit new friends we met in Greece this summer.  I’ve carved out a life for myself that doesn’t involve going to an office every day.  I probably would have a hell of a lot more money if I had chosen to go that route, but this freelance life, the key word being free, is what I believe keeps my healthy, happy heart pumping.

Sometimes I put too much pressure on myself to write.  Working on several projects at once, if I don’t produce every day I start to feel as if I’m falling behind schedule or wasting valuable time.  But writing is a tricky endeavor.  Sometimes it flows and sometimes it doesn’t even when you’re on a deadline.  Also, when you receive notes from a network (like I did from Lifetime Television at the end of last week), unless your script is shooting the next day, it’s always best to take a few days to let the notes sink in before plopping down in front of your computer to address them.  My best cure for writer’s block is a movie at the Arclight in Hollywood.  For me, there’s nothing like escaping into someone else’s story to get the creative juices going.  Hikes in the Hollywood Hills also do wonders.  Sometimes I wind up running back to my house because the ideas start arriving at such a rapid rate, I’m afraid I’m going to lose them before I have a chance to jot them down.  But never sit in front of the computer for hours, staring at the blank screen, hoping for some divine intervention.  Go about your day.  Take a friend to lunch.  Or write a blog entry for your website.  Inspiration can strike at any time.  At least that’s what I’m counting on as I write this.