Wednesday, December 05, 2007

All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close up


Last week I got a phone call from one of the editors at the local newspaper. Seems they were doing a review of a book I was in and they wanted to interview me and send a photographer to my house for a photo shoot. "Would that be okay?" she asked.

*snicker* Well, duh.

The first thing that came to mind was "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close up."

My interview was on Sunday afternoon by telephone. And the photographer showed up at my house on Monday morning (after calling to push things back an hour because apparently I took second fiddle to the dead body that had been found earlier that morning).

The photographer told me what kind of shots he wanted and said that the editor had requested I wear a certain item. I set up a place for the photo shoot, put on the item and then smiled for the camera.

Unlike poor Norma Desmond, who was lost in a fantasy world where she dreamed of making a comeback in the talkies, I knew exactly what was going on and now I'll tell you too.

My name is Marilyn and I'm a member of the Red Hat Society. Some time back I submitted a recipe for a cookbook the RHS was planning. Because we Red Hatters embrace the philosophy that life is short and we should eat dessert first, the cookbook was aptly named "Eat Dessert First."

Two months ago I learned that out of over 1500 recipes submitted, my little recipe for Crispy Oatmeal Cookies had been selected to be one of the 200 recipes in the book. And the publisher sent me a copy of the cookbook as a thank-you gift.

That cookie recipe was the first thing I ever baked. My third grade teacher promised a cookbook to every student who brought in a sample of something they'd cooked at home. I don't know where that cookbook is, but I still have the original recipe my mother copied onto a piece of notebook paper for me.

The call from the newspaper was from the Food Editor. She's reviewing the cookbook and when she found out there was a local contributor, she wanted to follow up on that angle.

Instead of the deranged Ms. Desmond, my photo will probably look more like this:



Some of us will do anything to get our name in print. ;-)










"Eat Dessert First" can be purchased at most major booksellers and online as well. It's quite a nice cookbook and I'm not saying that just cause I'm in it. But if you buy it, I'll be happy to autograph my little spot in the book. ;-)

When the article goes live on the newspaper's website I'll post a link. And when I get my copy of the photo, I'll post that too.

In the meantime just remember that life IS short and sometimes it's downright fun to eat dessert first.

Update: You can read the article here. Guess I'll schlepp outside in the cold and get the paper to see which photo they used.

16 comments:

Barbara Vey said...

Marilyn, this is too cool. This will definitely be in my blog next week about This, that and the other thing. I'll let you know what day for sure.

Sorry, my photographer is busy taking photos of Santa and good little boys and girls, so he won't be to your house.

BTW, I think he belongs to the the Red Hat Society too.

Anonymous said...

Marilyn! You've changed so much since that last picture!!!

Congrats!

Nini

Anonymous said...

Marilyn, this is too cool! Can't wait to see the *real* you pic. And I'm all for eating dessert first. ;)

Rhonda Nelson said...

Congratulations, Marilyn! How cool!

Lynn Raye Harris said...

How cool, Marilyn!!! Congratulations. Girl, you are one fascinating person! Letters from Ogden Nash, cool cruises in the Caribbean and camel rides in Egypt, and now this. :) What else do you have up your sleeve? ;)

Problem Child said...

Very cool, PM!

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

I want some crispy oatmeal cookies... :)

Angel said...

Squeeee!!!!! Your first interview with the local paper! We expect to see the paper copy when we come over.

Angel

Playground Monitor said...

The photo in the paper is GREAT! Among other things, the caption says "She's a former customer service agent for Computer Science Corp. who now spends her time writing short stories and romance novels."

I mentioned RWA and I mentioned The Writing Playground. But alas, they ended up on the cutting room floor.

PM

Playground Monitor said...

Oh, oh, oh! And on page D4 they printed my recipe!

Provided I have time, I'll bake another batch of crispy oatmeal cookies for y'all to sample.

PM

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

Congrats, PM! You've worked very hard and completely deserve this moment :-) We're so proud of you.

And I want some cookies too!

Instigator

Katherine Bone said...

You're a local celebrity! Congratulations, PM! Can't wait to see the cookbook, read the article and see your picture in the paper.

I agree with Lynn. You are an amazing person and I'm so thankful you share all your wonderful experiences with all of us. :-)

Anonymous said...

Daughter Dear,
This is NOT your first appearance in the newspaper. Remember the little red dress you modeled for the Children's Shop and appeared in their ad? Then there was the story and photo about you and Sister Bev when you made pocketbooks out of "old-timey" metal lunch boxes? Of course it helps if Mommy works for the newspaper. Can't wait to see the photo. Loveya! Your Mother

Playground Monitor said...

LOL! Leave it to Mom to remind me of those other newspaper appearances. And yeah, it was great having her work at the paper because we got some neat perks -- theater tickets (not movie but live Broadway touring performances), discounts to tourist spots provided Mom wrote up a review for the paper -- and she was head of advertising, not a features editor. But my sister and I got to help write the piece. Guess that was my first taste of real writing. I hope y'all get to meet my mom some day cause she rocks.

Hmmm... she lives at the beach. Road trip!!!!!!!!!!!!

PM

Anonymous said...

Kewl!

Sonia

Carol M said...

Congratulations! I love oatmeal cookies! :)