Page 101 of The Last Second Chance
“Answering brewery emails—we’re closed tomorrow, by the way—and working on some script polishing.”
“Is this the one you turned in to Scary Al?”
He grinned. “I’ll have to tell her you said that. She’ll love it. And yes, it’s the same script.”
“What’s it about?”
He paused just long enough for her to know what came out of his mouth next wasn’t the entire truth and it made her curious.
“It’s, uh, a love story.”
“Don’t you usually write the shoot ‘em up, blow ‘em to bits stuff?” she asked, even more curious now.
“Every once in a while I like to dabble.”
“Huh,” Joey said. She rolled over to face him. “So what’s the process like?”
“For a screenplay?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, either you get an assignment from a studio saying ‘write this’ or you have an idea of your own and write it on spec to sell to a studio. Once a studio picks it up, they try to get their ducks in a row to actually develop the project. That’s when a whole bunch of people get involved and I send Al in to handle it all for me. She hammers out a purchase price that she’s happy with and twists some arms to get it, and then I get to work with the studio’s team to handle rewrites.”
“Do you have any say in what happens to it after a studio buys your stuff?”
“Not everyone does, but Al always makes sure I’m involved and have a voice. I started doing some producing a year or two ago and that helps keep my vision intact.”
Joey grinned. “You have vision.”
“Shut up.”
Joey’s phone dinged on the nightstand next to her. She rolled over to look at the screen and laughed.
“I think your Mom needs a break from babysitting.”
She held up her phone so Jax could see Phoebe’s text.
If the roads are clear, I’m coming to your house tomorrow, drinking a bottle of wine, and napping.
Jax laughed. “She raised me and my brothers. How hard can Evan and Aurora be?”
Joey texted her back.
Kids driving you nuts?
I raised three boys. And right now I’m thanking the universe that it wasn’t three girls.
Bring them by tomorrow. I could use Evan’s help in the stables. We’ll put Jax on Aurora duty.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re my favorite out of all my children.
Joey readthe text and made a hmm noise.
“What’s that noise mean?” Jax asked.
“Your mom just said I’m one of her kids, which makes what we just did in this bed illegal and gross.”
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