I had the chance to pitch the screenplay version of my novel at the Willamette Writers conference a couple of weeks ago. I received enthusiastic responses, including the Vice President of Development from Fox. However, I screwed it up… simply… wonderfully… awfully. At my screenwriting class, Cynthia Whitcomb, my teacher, advised me if anyone showed an interest in Time Twist, to offer them a copy of the book. At two earlier pitches, both men had responded enthusiastically and seemed delighted at my gift of the book. After the Fox gentleman agreed to read the script, I offered him a book. He said he wouldn’t have time to read it. I told him he could take it home. Doh! I meant, to take it if he liked sci fi and wanted a book to read for pleasure, not to read with a view to buying, as I later realized it sounded like. His face tightened, his features drew grim, and he became business itself, without his previous warmth. I completely messed it up with thoughtless beginner enthusiasm. He took barely a day to respond in the negative after I sent it to him, but he was at all times professional and polite. I wish I had the pitch back again so I could correct myself. But it’s too late. A lesson learned and never to be repeated.