It’s The First Day of The Rest of My Life – As a Published Author
Thursday, September 11th, 2008“Houston, we have a launch!” I am in print. The proof of my new book, Hey Boomers, Dust Off Your Backpacks, arrived two days ago and I have read through and approved it, notified the printers that it is good to go, and ordered my first one hundred volumes. Not only are they preparing my copies, but they are submitting my information to the book world and setting me up on Amazon.com for sales there. I have heard that it could take a few weeks to show up on that site, but the day will soon come. Meanwhile, my heyboomers.com blog site is ready and waiting to take your orders. OR, if you just wish to have a look, the picture of the book’s front cover is there also.
You will forgive my enthusiasm if I tell you that it is actually the most attractive book in the whole wide world. But, it is. The whole cover is filled with a picture of my own backpack and a pair of hiking boots, photographed on my patio. Here are a few secrets of that cover shoot:
1.) The tawny red tone of the wooden bench was achieved by wetting the wood with my garden hose and I had to keep spraying it down because the day was so hot that the water soon evaporated.
2.) My own actual hiking shoes were a washed-out grey color and didn’t stand out so artistically, so I ran to the Sheriff’s Boy’s Ranch Thrift Shop and for the only time, before or since, they had this fantastic pair of practically-new brown boots with red laces and red ankle linings. $3 for these great props. They don’t fit me, but they are perfect for Kumpah, my good friend from Thailand, so he was happy to have them after their photographic duties.
3.) I was moving my plants around; ferns, palms, and peace lillies, to make the greenery in the background. I got into the role of photographer’s assistant (assisting myself) and I think it really paid off.
4.) Your rational mind might not realize this fact, but your subliminal mind will, and you’ll attribute great authority to my book because of the border and the title font. The cover is reminiscent of both Time Magazine and The National Geographic Magazine but not obviously so. No one realizes until I tell them and then they can see the connection immediately. It is as green as the Geographic is yellow and that sets them apart.
And that’s just the outside, folks… Buy the book. You’ll love the inside.
P.S. The back cover has a picture of me wearing that backpack in Mysore, India. I have a red dot on the center of my forehead just given to me in the farewell ceremony that the Green Hotel gives all of their departing guests. The little-known fact is that the red paint is mighty easy to smear in the sweaty heat and ten minutes after application most Westerners look as if someone has kissed them, wearing lots of lipstick. I have no idea how Indian women manage to keep their red forehead dot so neat. But, this picture was taken pre-moosh. So, quick, check it out before it starts to run. And, no….that shot is not featured on my blogsite. Sorry. There’s only one way that you can eyeball that one.
lindajbrown