DeGuere and fantasy writer,
George R.R. Martin, shared the same agent, who provided a copy of Martin's 4th novel, The Armageddon Rag, a rock 'n roll dark fantasy, to DeGuere because he was a Grateful Dead fan. DeGuere planned to write and direct an adaptation of the novel but the novel failed in sales. DeGuere and Martin stayed friends and DeGuere recruited Martin for his first Hollywood position as a writer in the reboot of
The Twilight Zone (1985).