Author Photo

Most people don't like having their photos taken -- and I am certainly among them. I usually smile too big (out of nervousness) and there are all these teeth showing, and then my eyes get squinty, and while I look like I'm happy, I also kind of look like a person who can't do anything but laugh. I have always longed for one of those author photos where the person looks friendly and open and serious and literary, and where they might just have a secret they want to share with you.

When it came time to take a new author photo for my new book, I asked my friend John to help me meet this elusive goal. John always has a camera in his hand, and it's a good camera and he knows what to do with it. He's also a really nice guy who I feel at ease around, so I thought we might be able to pull it off. John made me send him samples of photos I liked and photos I didn't like (I'm not telling who was on either list, so don't ask.) He scouted out some locations -- the beach, the football field at the school our kids attend, a weathered red adirondack chair against a pretty rock wall, a wooden fence, and the pool in his backyard. He also scouted out the times of day that would work best, and we aligned our calendars and made our plans to meet. My children dressed me, and voted that I should let my hair stay curly rather than try to straighten it into something sleek.

It took us three separate times to get any useable images. On Day #1, I was smiley and squinty. On Day #2, I was really tired and had taken a bunch of migraine medicine and John made me get up at 6 a.m. for the golden light and the results were not pretty. I was smiley and squinty and I looked like I was on drugs. Which I was. On Day #3, there were a bunch of pictures on the cool red chair and they were all bad. Smiley. Squinty. But then there were a series of pictures we took just as the sun was going down -- a beautiful early winter California sun. John's wife Laurie came and helped us choose a chair, a place in the sun. She chatted with me while John told me not to smile, and to relax -- and then lo and behold: we got some wonderful shots. I don't even know how it happened, but it did. And when I asked my friends to vote on which shot was the best, one came out the clear winner. The thing I like is that it looks like me. It looks like what I always wanted an author photo to look like and it looks like me. Thanks, John!