JESUS CLONED meets speed dating: 8 movie reps bring new meaning to the word ‘intimate’
I was told these two-minute meetings with movie reps would be like speed dating, which is an unnerving notion that sort of — or mostly — baffles me. What I wasn’t told before I met these trendy, very good looking execs was how all eight of them, each sitting less than three feet from me at their own table, would stare right into my eyes. No. Really. Right. Into. My. Eyes. The. Whole. Time.
The word intimate is an understatement. And did I mention they were all very good looking? That intensity startled me. It surprised me. “Okay on the first one,” I thought. “Beginners luck, or she really did like the novel and the pitch. But all eight?”
Yes, all eight. Every one of the them did not let me go with their eyes.
I’m not sure they blinked.
I’ve auditioned before, many times, at pretty high levels. I’ve been in front of judges who beam like a proud parent, scowl in misery, or have no expression at all. But never this. I’m sure they are told to be nice to us authors, make eye contact, and perhaps offer an encouraging word or two at the end of the pitch.
No one who pitched their book this day truly has a clue as to how the pitch was received. That information will be coming to us in the next few weeks. And just as they did with me, these eight reps likely stared deeply into the eyes of the other authors. I have to believe is true.
But what an experience. What a time to receive through the faces across from me an understanding that yes, this novel, this baby of mine, this longstanding dream of hope and toil, this crack at new creation, is not a lark. It is not some passing thing. It’s my soul on pages. It’s the instrument I’ve been given to play. It’s my hope in a future I cannot yet see fully.
And more than anything — far, far more than anything — this novel is my gift to God. The Divine did this in me. I just showed up.
And I did show up. Boy, did I. I met their looks with my own. I unlocked the chambers of my heart when I spoke. Passion poured between these “non-strangers” and me. The exchange was perfect, important, peaceful, and exciting.
At the end of the day, I can say I tried. I danced with fate and with my faith in God, and the dance was good, and it was sweet.
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