Heather

I am putting this addendum at the top in response to comments and questions about Heather and her book, resulting from my previous post The main post, below the line, has already been written, and I will leave it as is.

Heather is Sue's younger sister who won or placed in many short story contests before she got noticed by a publisher. After Clay Girl, the publisher pushed her for a sequel. Due to the vicissitudes of life, it has taken her quite awhile to complete the sequel. The two stories were originally one longer novel, but rookie authors, especially, are limited in how long a novel can be. Basically, she cut her original novel into halves. So, to answer the question about whether to read Clay Girl first, I would advise people to start with the original. Having said that, I am also guessing that Heather has gone to some pains to make Cracked Pots coherent to new readers.

One reader wrote that she had some trouble getting into Clay Girl but might try again. This is what I wrote in reply: 

I understand your difficulty with getting into the book. I am sure that I would have had the same reaction under different circumstances. 

 

It starts from the viewpoint of a young child who is thrust into a confusing situation. The fact that she's also talking a lot to Jasper, her imaginary little seahorse friend, doesn't help. It can be confusing at first, and I like to warn people about that. It does straighten out fairly shortly if I recall.

I only add this, just in case you were to feel that I am prejudiced, which I am; most people do love the book.

Onto the intended post.

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Speaking of Heather, the author (see yesterday's post), she required updated photos for her new book and related publicity. There was no way for her to get a proper photoshoot, especially during the recent lockdown. So the poor thing did her best by taking selfies with her phone. She then sent her images to me to see if I could improve them at all.

The first photo had a colour cast and a distracting background.

My first step was to adjust the colour. Then I darkened the background. You may see other modifications too, such as slightly reduced dark circles beneath the eyes. What she ultimately wanted was a b&w, but I worked in colour first.

Then I did the conversion.

For sure, it doesn't come up to the level of a professional studio portrait, but we both did our best.

Later, she sent me two additional photos, but I think I'll post them on another day.