monied monkeys

okay, that there cheesy shot that you see on my prolfile is an out-take from my first official headshot-taking frenzy. it happened last week in the alleyway behind a mate's block of flats - we also strayed into other flat-block communal areas. it's amazing how much texture you can find just about anywhere if you're looking for it. anyway, my friend took about a hundred (no exaggeration, either) shots of my face at close range whilst i kneeled/leaned/sat in front of as many interesting-looking backgrounds we could find. i have picked six shots i really like. of these, two have the same background as my profile pic (ie asphalt - i was sitting on the ground, looking up at the camera); two have me standing in front of a jasmine bush; two have me in front of textured blue-grey bricks. there were a couple of me in front of red brick, but it looked a little 'brick lane' to me - if the critics pan my book, the last thing i want them calling me is a try-hard! anyway, the pic on my profile is the one my husband liked best - which made sense, seeing as i thought it was one of the shots that should be buried forever. oh, well. i have sent off four of the best shots to my publishers and they seem quite pleased with them... now all i have left to do on the book front for the moment is to deliver them some bollywood sound and vision which they want to use to promote my work. scary, but true. something else i learned during photo frenzy - you never say 'cheese' when taking a photo - you say 'money', or 'monkey'. or 'monkies with money'. or 'my cheeks hurt from smiling too much, i've had enough of this and now i'm going home'.

writing news - a short story i wrote ages and ages ago is under consideration for inclusion in a cool zine-y type publication. it is called ace mag, and it's made by the people who make 'avant cards' advertising post cards. i love avant cards - grab them where ever i can find them cause they usually have really funky artwork on them. when i heard they had a zine i really wanted to get this specific piece of writing into it. it's a five hundred word piece and needs a little tightening, but i'm willing to do that; this piece has been dying to get out there for a while now. i took it along to the nywf last year and read it at an open mic. session. since then, it's been bugging me to let it out again. patience, my pretty; you may be allowed to run free all over melbourne soon, and you might even get illustrated.