How I went from being a stick figure to a real girl.

Every once in awhile, I disappear from the blogosphere. Last week was one of those times, as I finished an initial round of revisions to the SANCTUM sequel with the agent in preparation to send it to the editor. And that's done! Yay! On to the next thing ...

But before I do that, let me tell you: I do not like having my picture taken. Over the past year and a half, I have been very happy to be a stick figure (particularly because that drawing was created by a child I happen to be quite fond of). However, when SANCTUM sold, my dear agent said to me: "You have to get an author photo taken."

Gah. Ugh. Erg. Argh.

I made those sounds for months. I also took absolutely no action on the author photo front. I stuck my head in the proverbial sand and clung fiercely to my avatar.
Until the publisher said: "Oh, hey, we need an author photo of you within the next thirty days." And sure enough, it was actually in the contract I'd just signed.

Oops.

Did you know that eye-rolling has a special sound of its own? It does. And I know because I can hear Kathleen doing it, all the way from New York.

So! Author photo! I scoured the local listings for photographers, but was confronted with pictures of puppies and babies.

Now, a few of you have read SANCTUM, the story of a rather rough-edged girl who sneaks into hell to rescue the soul of her best friend. So you know it's ... not a puppies and babies story, to say the least.

Don't get me wrong. I actually have nothing against puppies or babies. But I wanted an author photo that would, at minimum, not be entirely incongruous with the tone of my story.

I finally found a photographer I liked. Her name is Rebecca Skinner. After a few friendly email exchanges, I asked her ..."How would you feel about taking my picture in ... I don't know ... an abandoned building or something?"

I thought she would think I was totally weird. Instead, she responded with something like, "Are you kidding? Awesome!" and linked me to her Facebook gallery. I was stunned. Turns out Rebecca is a veritable connosseur of local abandoned mills.

Brilliant! We scheduled a time. She told me to wear boots and be ready to get dirty.

I was so very excited. This was going to be great.

Now, it didn't turn out quite how I expected, but I'll tell you that story on Wednesday. Oh, and I'll be posting my shiny new author pic at that time, too, as well as giving you a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card.

While you're waiting in great anticipation of finally seeing my (frankly unremarkable) face, please go visit Lydia for her Medical Monday post, and Laura (who just signed a contract with Kae Wilson publishing! Go congratulate her!) for her Mental Health Monday post.