The Ardanea Pendant Wins Top Award!

Yay! We did it!

Saturday, March 1st, Jeanne McKinney and I, accompanied by family and friends, attended the 13th Annual International Family Film Festival at the Charlie Chaplin Theater, Raleigh Studios, Hollywood, California, and were thrilled to receive the winner's award for 2008's best Sci-Fi/Fantasy screenplay.

This year, the IFFF received entries from over 17 countries.

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Both Jeanne and I want to express our thanks to the fine people who organized the film festival--and to all the excellent actors who brought a scene from The Ardanea Pendant to life--and did a pretty nice job with the Irish accents :-)

It was so nice being among a crowd of movie people with high ideals who want to make exciting films with good family standards. If any of you are reading this, thanks for a great day, and I hope we all meet again in the future.

Between us, my family and I took a bunch of photographs, so I couldn't resist posting a few for the record.

My sons, Pete and Jeff, and Pete's friend, Drea, waiting to enter the Award ceremony.

After receiving our certificates from Chris Shoemaker, we had to "say a few words."


Later, we were interviewed in front of spotlights, for TV and marketing material.





On-stage line up of various screenplay category winners and finalists.

And then it was over, and everyone headed home. Jeanne to Southern California, my boys down the road south of Los Angeles a bit, and me to snowy Utah.

I have to say, writing screenplays on and off between books over the years with Jeanne has been a fabulous experience. Our minds and work ethics are in tune, and I've learned so much from her.

We have a good system going. Jeanne's a night owl, often writing to midnight and beyond, and I'm the morning bird, picking up next day by email at about 5.30 a.m. a thousands miles away. We've only met in person 4 times, but find the alternative, creating stories via the internet, exhilarating and productive. Thanks, Jeanne, for making work fun.

Here's hoping there's now a movie company out there who will pick up our mind-bending Twistory (history with a twist) screenplay and run with it around the world. We already have a sequel planned, set in Wales. Hmmm! Can I hear Scotland's bagpipes in the distance for a third . . .?