Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The Lineup


Yesterday I was standing in line when it happened: a woman turned to me and asked, "Don't you write books?"

Now, this is something of a first for me. I had no idea where this was heading. Did she need a loan? Was she mistaking me for a well-known author?

I nodded.

"I thought I recognized your picture," she said. I didn't ask her to explain. Perhaps she had seen my photo on the WANTED board in the post office. I wasn't taking any chances. I just thanked her. And she didn't comment on whether or not she actually liked my books, if she had read a couple.

Thankfully, my last book didn't include an author photo. I like that about publishers, when they don't worry about photographs. My name is embarrassing enough.

At least she didn't ask, "So, how do you pronounce your name?"

I would have told her, "Alleycat," just to be safe.

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