me so ugly

another unspoken joy of the author biz is the author photo. when i signed with pantheon four books and six years ago, i gave them a photo that was four years old, but a photo i liked. now its ten years later and when i show up at readings i feel compelled to explain to people that something terrible hasn’t happened to me in the last few weeks — like the mariner in the poe story, “descent in the maelstorm”, whose hair goes white overnight. so for THE WAKE UP i send my publsiher a current photo and request they use it on the jacket. the word comes back: “we’ve shown the new photo around the office and we all agree that the previous photo reproduces better.” my first thought is that i didn’t realize my vasectomy showed, but then it becomes obvious that they prefer the younger version of me. hey, so do i, but this is what i’m stuck with. so if you ever see me at a reading or at bouchercon, trust me, i didn’t hit by a truck, just father time.

i think i’ve embarassed myself enough for one day. i’m going to order room service, one of the great parts of book tour. tonight i read/sign at M is for Mystery in san mateo. i’ve read there before and never had a bad time. adios.