Just a bunch of life stuff.

(1) I love movies. Always have. Watching a story unfold through somebody else’s eyes is something that has long been my go-to way of decompressing from the stress of my own life. And, as a kid, watching movies together was one of my favorite things to do with my father (we still watch a movie or two every time I visit home).

So, naturally, as a writer, I’ve always wanted to write movies in addition to books. In fact, I think I wanted to write movies before I wanted to write books, but for years, I found excuses as to why I couldn’t (or shouldn’t) try: “I don’t know anybody in the industry.” “I’ve never written one before.” “It’s too damn competitive.” Blah, blah, more bullshit, and some additional blah. Writing a movie was always this lofty goal that felt unattainable in the present moment because I continually told myself that I would do it “someday.”

Well, after enough of that someday talk, a long dinner with a friend, and the encouragement of someone that I now consider a mentor, I decided last fall to finally write one. I finished the screenplay in March of this year and I successfully sold/optioned it just last week. Hopefully it goes into production later this year and I’ll have a premiere to invite you all to when it releases (I doubt the producers will give me that many tickets, but I’ll sure as hell try to get them).

Anyway, I suppose I just want to start today’s newsletter by saying thanks for all the support of my writing journey over the years; I know I’ve taken many detours along the way — but you have to admit, from Twitter to your local movie theater is one hell of a character arc.

(2) Speaking of movies, Kelsey and I watched “The Invite” together, and I have to say, I thought it was fucking brilliant. They nailed the complexities of sex, complacency, codependency, blame, resentment, and everything else that comes with long-term relationships. Without a doubt, I recommend that anyone who’s currently in (or hopes to someday be in) a long-term, committed relationship watches it. (Believe me, I never in my life thought I would recommend a movie starring Seth Rogen either.) And I know that Kelsey and I have personally had a very interesting and less-than-perfect kind of relationship, but one of my favorite lines from The Invite goes something like this: “When people are unhappy, they often seek a new relationship with somebody new, but if both people choose, you can have a new relationship with the same person.”

(3) I came across this quote worth sharing in a book that I’m currently reading (I won’t recommend the entire book yet because I have to finish it to make sure it doesn’t start to suck).

(4) I got Ethan his first “pet.” I mean, we have dogs and cats, but those are family pets. This is his pet. It’s a Mexican Red-knee tarantula. Growing up, I had several pet tarantulas. Hell, I even had a pet tarantula when I was living in a high-rise tower in the middle of Hell’s Kitchen in New York City — even though it was/is illegal to have one there (a rather stupid law if you ask me).

Anyway, I never tried to get Ethan into tarantulas like I was when I was his age, he simply developed an interest in them on his own, which has had me thinking a lot lately . . . How much of our personal interests are actually passed down in our DNA? Because, damn, Ethan is exactly like me in so many ways, even though I have never once tried to encourage him to be anyone other than himself. And when I wrote William Is a Weirdo, I had no idea that I was writing a book about my own son, right down to his obsession with Venus flytraps.

(5) The past few months have been profoundly transformative for me: personally, financially, spiritually, and pretty much any other way that a person can grow and change. This is new to me because I’m a stubborn guy, which has benefited me many times in life while simultaneously preventing me from seeing things that were right in front of me. However, once I started to open up and get out of my own way by accepting the role that I have played in my suffering, the world around me began to really change. So, if there’s one piece of advice that I can leave you with today, it’s this: Hold yourself accountable, but not unforgivable.

Thanks for reading.

As always, I appreciate your time, support, and attention.

—KC