Simon Beckett | THE PERFECT PUBLICITY PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
August 12, 2009
Well, it's been an interesting week. Work on my new David Hunter novel was
temporarily suspended for a sudden flurry of publicity. Which makes a welcome
break, to be honest, and gets me away from my desk. But I've discovered that
one of the side effects of writing about a forensic anthropologist - someone
who spends much of his working life with the not-so recently dead - is that you
do get some unusual requests. Which was how I came to be in an abandoned
cemetery at dusk one evening, posing for photographs in the pouring rain for a
German newspaper.
Like most writers, I tend to be a little self-conscious about having my
photograph taken. Should you go to the gym first to tone those desk-bound
muscles? Have a make-over? Buy new clothes? Usually none of those, of course.
You just stand awkwardly in front of the camera and trust in the photographer's
skill to keep you from looking too stupid.
But a graveyard photoshoot was a first for me. And also for the woman walking
her two dogs, judging by the look on her face when she suddenly came across the
strange man standing among the gravestones. Still, all-in-all it seemed to go
well. And now it's done I've no excuse not to get back behind my desk and
settle back into the real work.
Dull, perhaps, but at least it isn't raining. Tell us what you think of Simon's experience in the "graveyard!"
Comments
7 comments posted.
Re: Simon Beckett | THE PERFECT PUBLICITY PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
I'm not sure I'd want to be walking a graveyard at dusk though I admit my husband and I have visited some more historical graveyards, during the day, where we get to read the dates that go way back. (Diane Sadler 9:08am August 12, 2009)
Had to laugh at your prep comments since I hate having my photo taken. (Karen Barnett 4:12pm August 12, 2009)
Sounds...interesting... I may have been a little weary about the time of day! (Kelli Jo Calvert 4:53pm August 12, 2009)
I sure wouldn't want to be in a grave yard at dusk!! Too spooky! I'm like you - hate to have my picture taken! (Martha Lawson 9:19pm August 12, 2009)
There are worse places to have your picture taken. We once rented a house out in the country directly across the street from a cemetery. We got a lot of smart remarks and dire warnings. An elderly relative had the best comment. "They'll be the quietest neighbors you'll ever have." They really were. (Patricia Barraclough 11:46pm August 12, 2009)
You don't need to worry about the gym or new clothes when you are getting photographed in the rain - no matter where it is! (Karin Tillotson 12:27pm August 13, 2009)
I've been photographed in a graveyard. But it wasn't at dusk, nor in the rain. Above all, I wasn't posing for a publicity photo. lol And I never feel photogenic. I look at some recent family photos and can only say, "Yuck, get me out of here."
Do we get to see finished product? Which German publication was the photo for? The German translation of your books? (Sigrun Schulz 10:05am August 13, 2009)
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