In Which I Fall Out of a Tree in the Name of Awesomeness... and You Vote on Something...

So Shelley over at Is It Hot In Here Or Is It This Book recently posted about author headshots, and it sort of got me thinking... See, I don't take serious pictures. I mean, you'll find dozens of me glowering (apparently, I tend to glower) and hundreds in which I'm making absurd faces (I've actually been told that I have a rubber face, and I agree) but when it comes to 'serious' photos... um, yeah, I'm not so good at taking them. And since I don't have an agent, haven't even gotten passed the 'so close it was ALMOST an offer to rep' stage, I didn't think I needed to bother. After reading Shelley's post, I reconsidered. It was a timely bit of information, especially since I've been competing the the weekly challenges over at Underneath the Juniper Tree. Which, let me just squee and say that you should definitely go check out Underneath the Juniper Tree. They are awesome. And I think it's okay if I announce that a short story of mine will be in their June issue, since they've already posted that information on their blog. *cheers quietly to herself*

Now that I've blathered, I'll get back to the falling out the the tree in the name of awesomeness. After reading Shelley's post about headshots, I knew immediately that I didn't want a 'standard' one. I wouldn't even look like me if I tried to pose for something formal. I mean, really, the pictures of me at Fenris' wedding (where I was the maid of honor, no less) involved body builder poses... and I got all the bridesmaids to do them too... yes, I'm not very good at acting mature. Thankfully, Shelley included some of her favorite author photos in her post. And I saw that I could be me and still make it work. In my little warped mind, an idea was forming. The only requirements were that I had my trusty hat on, my hair was in braids, and that Scrump be involved, because, well, he goes everywhere with me. To these three things, I added a motorcycle jacket, combat boots, a ball gown and a steer skull bolo. And off we went. Into a tree. Because I love trees.

Climbing up was easy. I've had practice. Ma always dressed us in dresses, but then never forbade us from running feral, so I've been climbing trees in dresses since I learned how to walk. Subsequently, changing positions was equally easy. Getting down was the easiest though, because I fell out of the tree. Fenris, who was taking the pictures, got some great shots - both before and after my departure from the tree - so it was well worth it. Below, I've posted my top pics for an 'official' author photo. There's a chance one of my photographer friends will get to take some more photos this Saturday, but for now, these are my favs. Um, I can't post the post-splatter pictures without some editing. They are utterly fracking hysterical... however, my Skully underdrawers are all out there front and center... and seeing as how I'm agent-hunting and 'sposed to be all professional and stuff, they aren't really blog-compatible...

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I know, 7 pictures isn't exactly 'narrowed down' but I put some up because folks over on FB have commented and said they liked them. Of these, I've got one I'm leaning toward, but I want to hear objective opinions. So let me have it! Leave a comment voting for the one you'd like to see on a book flap (assuming I ever manage to land an agent :) and then go get your hubby, or your wife, or your kids, someone off the street, anyone you like, and have them vote for a picture. Heck, send your followers, and friends over. I'd love opinions from total strangers. Remember, I write YA of all varieties. And you'll have to excuse the strange shape of the layout. I got some serious blog-hate from my template when I was loading photos...