James E. Reilly writes for American TV. He created the NBC soap Passions in 1999 and is still head writer. Before that, he was the head writer of Days of our Lives for many years. He recently (summer 2003) returned to Days of our Lives and currently head writes both shows. He is known for his outrageous and/or supernatural plotting -- "buried alive," "possessed by Satan," and "Elvis wedding" stories on Days, for example, and pretty much the entire storyline of Passions. He has a mysterious, reclusive persona in the soap press -- rarely or never photographed.