I've written screenplays professionally for 28 years, and I have taught the subject for 22. You don't kick around this business for this long without plenty of ups and downs. My first seven years were somewhat of a blur. I came screaming out of the gate, making good money and working with A-list actors and directors. But too immature and hungover, I wore out my welcome. Work dried up, and I thought I should probably do the same. I went back to school full-time and finally got my bachelor's degree in my 30s. It was a wonderful, albeit humbling, experience. Just as I was starting to miss writing for a living, an old script of mine sold, and I was somehow back writing again.I was determined not to repeat the same mistakes I made in those early years, and so far (*knock on wood*) I haven't.One thing I have done consistently through this time is teach. It has become one of the great joys of my life. My focus is on practical skills that make a difference. I know they work, because I use them myself, and I've seen students turn pro using these processes.I have written for, among others, Phoenix Pictures, TNT, MTV Films, Castle Rock Entertainment, ABC, NBC, CBS, Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures and Disney. I've developed screenplays for Matthew McConaughey, Nicolas Cage, Barry Sonnenfeld, Chow-Yun Fat, and others.WINCHESTER, the film I co-wrote starring Helen Mirren and Sarah Snook, about the infamous Winchester Mystery House, opened nationwide in 2018. My eighth film, THE HAUNTING OF THE QUEEN MARY was released late last year, and DADDY'S GIRL for XYZ Films will shoot in 2024. I recently set up MOST WANTED at Miramax with director Ruben Fleischer (ZOMBIELAND, VENOM) attached.Some other films I've written include UNSTOPPABLE with Wesley Snipes, PLAYING HOUSE, which I directed, BLACKOUT with Jane Seymour, CRITICAL ASSEMBLY with Katherine Heigl, and a couple of others.One of my big life goals was to teach screenwriting at my beloved alma mater, The University of Houston. Which I now do. Go Coogs!