Christy and I went to Baton Rouge this weekend. We saw the Celtic Woman show and had a great time.

On our way home my dad called and let me know that my niece, Leah, died.

She was 21.

She leaves behind a 3 year old daughter and a three month old son.

I only have two blood nieces. She was the youngest.

I've teased her at every family gathering since she was old enough to walk.

I loved her. I think she loved me.

This doesn't seem real.

Heard from Chuck today. He's been in jail for a couple of days - for missing a court date for a traffic ticket. Sounds like it was a pretty horrible experience and it turns out it wasn't even his fault.

In a moment of compassion I asked if he got man-raped in the shower.

I got a schedule of events for Contraband Days from Troy. This will help Scott and I plan our shooting days for the festival.

Having two projects going on is hurting my brain.

Mercy screened tonight at the Arizona International Film Festival in Tucson.

I wonder how it went.

Got an email from Patrick today. He had a great trip to NY to screen Mercy and got a chance to visit with Angela and Josh.

Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to read the fourth draft of Red 71. He is going to put together a schedule and a budget and give me very detailed notes. I can't wait.

He did mention that he signed a distribution contract with Unearthed Films to distribute Mercy. They were his first choice for a distribution company so this is a good thing.

Got some extraordinary feedback from Corey on Red 71.

Corey has only been on my reader list for a few months, but his feedback is amazing. He's direct and honest.

I wish I had two or three more just like him.

Got good feedback from Chuck on Red 71. He's one of my faster readers. A few things confused him, but that was the point.

Also got feedback from my daughter, Emily. She said Eeew twice, but she liked it. She likes reading my stuff, but, just like Christy, doesn't give me very constructive feedback.

Scott came over tonight to teach me how to use a camera. We're going to be doing a lot of shooting for the Buccaneer documentary and I thought it would nice if I could do something other that carry the gear.

We had a blast.

He shot a micro short of me frying donuts. And I actually spent a couple of minutes trying to learn to use the camera.

Good times...

I deliberated for a bit about this, but I sent the fourth draft of Red 71 out to my readers. I felt compelled to warn them about how violent it is.

Hope they like it.

I sent the fourth draft of Red 71 to Patrick today. It came in at 81 pages. I changed the ending - again.

I cheated a bit on the page count. I used Final Draft's tools to 'loosen' the script a bit. It happily added around six pages for me.

I also numbered the scenes. This is the first official 'shooting' script.

Scott sent an email letting me know that he had been added to the Film Alliance meeting to discuss and praise Mercy. He said that Gary Shannon will be recognized for his Best Actor awards and he and Carol Anne both will also be honored for the Accolade awards they won for their work on the film.

He invited me to the meeting. It's on April 30th.

I'd love to go but doubt I have time.

Patrick and I talked about the script again. A few more changes. Nothing dramatic. He sounds like he is getting really excited about the project. Makes me feel good.

I think Scott is going to go to Tucson. I've talked to him about riding together and sharing a room.

I suspect he snores as loudly as I do.

Patrick sent an email to Gary Shannon and let him know that Videoscope gave him the best actor 'B'-ward. Pretty cool.

Patrick would like Gary to play the role of Pedro in Red 71. I think he would be great.

Every Tuesday, I pack up my laptop and go to the Books-A-Million coffee shot to work. The change in scenery really helps sometimes. Tonight Julie brought John Ware and we discussed his project Rock, Paper, Scissors. It was a great idea. I hope he writes it.

Julie discussed her project plans for the next year and they're pretty ambitious. I brought them both up to date on Red 71 and my other plans for the year.

Afterwards, we all (Christy, Julie, John and myself) went to KD's diner for greasy food.

It was a great night out.

Got an email from Patrick. He hasn't had time to read the third draft yet. It bugs the crap out of me that I get so nervous about this. I sure hope I grow out of it.

Christy and I saw Grindhouse tonight.

Wow. I really enjoy the freedom of being a writer, but I can't imagine the unfettered joy of being a writer/director. It does make me think.

Got an email from Christian Kaijer with Vaco Resources in Tucson. He's a headhunter I sent an email to over a year ago, before I decided to go back to Knoxville. He was just saying hi and happy Easter.

I wonder what the job market looks like in Tucson?

Sent the third draft of Red 71 to Patrick. It came in at 70 pages. Based on Patrick's feedback, I've added several new flashbacks. I've also ramped up the violence. This is even more violent than Blue Glass.

Hope he likes what I've done.

Another PR email from Patrick regarding Mercy. And another good review on Horror Talk. It just keeps coming. Hopefully, all this positive press will have a good impact on the budget for Red 71.

Sent an email to Scott Buck today. Scott is Christy's first cousin and a writer on HBO's Rome. He was also a writer on Six Feet Under and I've heard he is moving to Showtime's Dexter.

He replied right away and we exchanged some information about how we're both doing. I'd like to meet him when I finally make my way to Los Angeles.

April Fool's Day.

Got a reminder email from Scriptapalooza about the upcoming contest deadline.

I'm so plugged into Red 71 now that I can't even think about working on anything else.

Weird.

I'll be glad when I reach the point where the contests don't mean anything anymore.