A Book and A Film

The past several weeks have been kept me on pins and needles as my agents have been chatting with a number of publishers about the book I have been working on for past five years.  I have previously written about how much I learned in the writing and editing process in Confessions of an Amateur Writer, Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV.

Over the past week, we have been narrowing our conversations and negotiations.  And yesterday, we reached an agreement with what we believe will be the perfect publishing company for the book.  So, after literally thousands of hours of writing and editing, I am no longer an “amateur” writer.  After we sign the contract later this week, I will be able to provide more details about the plans for the book.  It is scheduled to hit bookshelves at a store near you in early February of 2016.  The original title, Throwing Starfish, has fallen by the wayside; I will be working with the editorial team over the next few weeks to come up with the final title.

Thanks to all who have encouraged and prayed for me along the way – you have my profound gratitude.

In other exciting news, we are finally able to share the two-minute teaser for the documentary film that we started last summer and hope to complete this next summer.

We are currently in the process of crowdfunding the final budget for completion and distribution.  As I have mentioned previously, the production company is Nashville-based Revolution Pictures, the director is Andy Reale, and the cinematographer is John Pope.  John’s last documentary won the Grand Prize and Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, so we are very excited about the cinematography and story.

If you want to see the teaser, click on the image below.  Also, if you, or someone you know, want to help us finish the film, we would be grateful for your support.  Check back at the crowdfunding site each week for new clips and behind-the-scenes footage of this story about Pepperdine’s impact on Uganda’s criminal justice system, told through the eyes of Pepperdine law students, a former juvenile prisoner who is now in medical school, and Uganda’s leading judicial officers.