My introduction to this blog has an abject apology to Laura Numeroff, who did a much more enchanting list with, “If you give a mouse a cookie.”
If you give a writer a contract,
she’s expects her book to be published.
If you publish her book,
it will need to be marketed.
If you market her book,
you’re going to need a headshot.
Of course, the author is expected to furnish the headshot. In this case, the author has a record of taking terrible photographs – her hair askew, her eyes closed, a dollop of something on her chin – you get the picture (pun intended in honor of my father and my daughter). Just as one is expected to pay the piper in the old adage, one can expect to pay a photographer who can pull off a reasonably good headshot.
But this author has an ace in her pocket. Some years ago, the writer’s oldest son brought a new daughter-in-law into the family with a bonus of twin granddaughters. From their first family Christmas with us, Lauren established a tradition that she has maintained over the years of sneaking more than her share of my homemade chocolate covered cherries. Now, what does that have to do with a headshot? I’ll tell you.
Lauren Damaskinos (you can check her website) grew up and now lives in Brooklyn, making her living as a professional photographer. She may have felt guilty about the extra cherries, but I’m claiming it was great love for her grandma that convinced her to take an excellent headshot with my hair brushed, my eyes open, and no dollops on my chin. She also took pictures of the Arlington Branch of the New York Public Library for the book and insisted that she needed no pay. Still, the next family Christmas will have extra chocolate covered cherries for her and for Hannah, who has always been her cousin-in-crime, aiding and abetting at the candy bowl.