Picture THIS!

Why is it that otherwise reasonable friends of mine think it's a good thing to tell me they dislike my author photos? First off, they were selected by showing them to a lot of people, and those were the ones that came out best. Some people really liked them. Some did not. Photos, and a person's appearance in general, strike everyone differently. That's why some people think you look like a certain actress, and other people can't see it at all. It's also part of why some people are more attracted to you than others. If my author photo is already on my book by the time you've seen it, that means it's on at least 30,000 copies. Telling me how ugly it is when it's already there does me no good. If you can't think of something nice to say...

The odd thing is that people tell me I look "too serious." Author photos are usually thoughtful or serious; they're not modeling portraits. Look at Melissa Bank's photo for the Wonder Spot. This is a perfectly good author photo. If you stare at it a while, of course, she looks angry. And she is not smiling. But it's a typical author photo.

A few people have told me I looked angry in one or the other of my photos. I really wasn't, but thanks for notifying me. Other people think I look like I'm smiling (which I was in at least one), and some just see them as neutral (which they are).

So get off my back!!!