Pipe Dream No More

As writers, when we create, the thought, at least for this writer, the thought is for our creations to be seen by others and, of course, to be appreciated by others.

When I began writing “The Climbing Boy” in 1982  I had no idea how hard it would be to be published and it took until 2003... until the surrealistic moment when I first held a copy of my then “published” creation within my hands.

My dream throughout those many years of writing and re-writing and, as most of you know, re-writing and re-writing and sending queries by the hundreds upon hundreds along with hundreds upon hundreds of  (SASSE) self addressed self stamped envelopes. Remember, at least for me, this was a time before computers and the internet so “The Writers Market” became my bible that I re-purchased year after year to scrounge through looking for agents that, so they would say, would look at the work of  unpublished want-to-be authors, and to look for publishers that, so they would say, would look at the work of want-to-be authors that do not have an agent.

Huge “catch 22” here because, as it turned out, in 99 out of a 100 cases the agents would not look at the work of an unpublished want-to-be and publishers would not look at  the work of a want-to-be without an agent.

Throughout those many years my dream, my “pipe dream” was to see “The Climbing Boy” on the “silver screen.”

During these rather frustrating years I did begin the entire process, the writing and re-writing process of the novel that eventually became “Becoming” and then – what is now in the process of being published—my last novel, “For Better or Worse.”  But throughout all those years, sucking on the proverbial opium pipe, my dream had always been to see “The Climbing Boy” as – really thinking of it as animation – my dream had always been to see “The Climbing Boy” as a movie.

Six months ago, finally, I was accepted by an agent and in November of last year I received an option agreement from a production company with the thought of making a “Climbing Boy” movie.

There were two changes my agent had suggested and it took until yesterday, (2/4/10) until we received notice that not only was the agreement signed, but a very well known, very well credited writer had read “The Climbing Boy” and has begun the treatment that will eventually become the screenplay with a projected, if all goes well, release for the Christmas season of 2011.

The production company can go either way: animation or real life; but the thinking is that they want to make a “Christmas Classic” along the lines of  “A Wonderful Life” that will become an ongoing yearly television event.

My opium pipe aside now, my thinking now: “from your mouth to God’s ear.”