On Photo Shoots and the Very Talented Mark Kuroda (Help me pick a favorite?)

One of the strangest and awesomest parts of suddenly being a Real Life Author is that though you may write a book in your pajamas on the couch, forgetting to brush your teeth before 2 in the afternoon, the process of “selling” that book involves you actually dressing yourself and combing your hair and smiling for cameras. In order to sell your book, you have to show up and appear sweet and normal. This hair-combing and wearing real clothes is called “Marketing.”

For a girl like me, this news is both exhilarating and terrifying. After all, my life-long dreams included Amy Grant passing her microphone and cheetah print pants on to me one glorious day. I love smiling for cameras. But it’s also terrifying, because: cameras. And judgement. And my tendency toward vanity and snuggling with my ego. I’m scared of being mocked and I’m scared of being praised.

Aren’t we all?

But here we are. Hi, I got some new photos made of me. Because I’m an author and I’m supposed to. Also, because I like my new hair-do.

Now I’m going to show them to you because you need to know about my favorite new photographer in all the world. If you live in San Francisco or have friends who live in San Francisco, spread the word…

Mark Kuroda met me on one of the sweetest little streets in San Francisco’s Union Square, and, with great talent and kindness, took photos of Micha the Author, somehow creating some pictures that might just convince people who don’t know better that I sometimes brush my hair and wear non-yoga pants.

I walked down the middle of the street in my fancy heels (without falling down!). I did interpretive dance on the corner and no one yelled obscenities at me. And I stood in front of the most gorgeous urban backgrounds. All of this was only possible because Mark is an incredible photographer and was so fun to work with.

This is what he accomplished.

We’re going to be making some BIG CHANGES around here in the next month or so, before my book releases. I can’t wait to tell you about it!

Until then, which are your favorite photos? Which should we use if we were to–ahem–redesign my entire website (for example)?  Let me know in the comments!

And don’t forget to take a peek at Mark Kuroda’s website and send all your SF people his way…

Thanks for humoring me.

Micha

PS  Please forgive me for including these bonus interpretive dancing pics.

PPS Special thanks to Liz, Caitlin, and Cecelia for accepting twenty dressing room mirror-selfies of me while I tried to find the right outfit. Also, to Laura Turner, the one and only, who held my bag and told me when there was lipstick on my teeth.