—–>I wrote this on Saturday<—–

I’m writing this while at Reagan National Airport, waiting for my flight home. I came out here to take pictures for the sequel to Stealing the Ruby Slippers (official title reveal coming soon) and, while only 36 hours long, it has been an intense trip.

First of all, you may think it a bit extravagant that I flew to Washington, DC, to take pictures for my book cover. I will (maybe) write a longer post about this at another time, but, basically, I needed an excellent photo of the ruby slippers, I couldn’t use the one I used for the first book, and I had Southwest credit. So the trip cost significantly less than hiring a photographer out here to take it for me.

But it wasn’t free.

I went back and forth almost everyday this week over whether this was a good investment or if I should be trying to figure out something else for my cover. Ultimately, we decided that it was the best option. So I made the trip.

Yesterday my alarm went off at 4:39 in the morning and I was at the airport at 5:45 for a 6:40 flight. With a connection in St. Louis, I got in just before noon, caught a shuttle immediately and was able to check in to my hotel. Getting to the Smithsonian was also super easy. Things were going great. Until I came around the corner and saw this:

Yep. Those are the original Ruby Slippers, but…seriously…could the light be worse?

I tried not to be too discouraged, pulled out my camera, and started shooting.

It. Was. Horrible.

Dark. Blurry. Entirely unusable.

I switched lenses.

Worse.

I Googled “Low light photography” and emailed my photographer brother-in-law. They both tried, but neither could give me much— I needed a tripod and an external flash, both of which were prohibited by the museum.

I sat down and almost cried. I was tired, hungry, and way too hot (it was insane this weekend.) I found a place to have lunch and got some coffee, then went back to the museum.

I played with the setting on my camera and the flash until I started to get some I thought might work. I took about 100 pictures (always stopping and getting out of the way when other people wanted time with the shoes), then packed up. I wasn’t getting anything different, and until I looked on my computer, I wouldn’t know what I had. I looked up nearby art galleries and walked over to the National Gallery of Art.

Here’s the thing about the museums in the Capital area of DC: they’re all free. Seriously. Free. And NGA was showing some Van Gogh’s. (I love him.) While looking for the little room housing his stuff, I had to pass through a room full of Monet’s and Renoirs. I mean…wow.

When I got to the Van Gogh room, this was the first one I saw.

His work…it’s…wow. I can’t even. I took pictures of everything, but if I post them all here it’ll take fifteen years for this blog to load. Just look at the museum’s website.

I took pictures and realized my iPhone was doing much better with the indoor light than the nice camera was, so I got the idea that maybe I needed to try my iPhone on the Ruby Slippers. On my way out, though, I stumbled on to this room.

The panorama only let me catch three walls. There was another. They were all Monet’s. (Link to the museum’s list of his pictures). I stood there for I don’t know how long, in awe.

Then I went back to the Smithsonian. The iPhone didn’t work on the shoes— the glass case made it too hard to see.

I went back to my hotel and downloaded the photos I had. Not terrible. I even did a mock up. But the focus was slightly off. (Through the view finder it was so dark I literally couldn’t see what I was focusing on.)

So this morning, I got up, packed and dropped my suitcase with the hotel staff, then was at the museum when it opened. I took 48 pictures of the shoes in 5 min. This time, I had my laptop with me, so I downloaded them right away.

Still didn’t get what I needed.

I took 46 more. Downloaded. Still not quite there.

Third time’s a charm…One last try…Whatever cliche is your favorite…

There was only one angle that was working at all, so I told myself this was the last shot. One more round and then I would just figure out how to use what I had.

I shot 39 more photos, then sat down to download them.

And…

I got exactly what I wanted.

In focus.

I packed up just sat there with tears running down my face (I’m not even sure if I was crying, it was so hot my face was melting off all morning.) But just knowing this trip wasn’t a waste…

You see, lately I’ve struggled with whether me pursing writing full time is too selfish. I am not taking MFA classes this semester. Both of the kids are in school, so it’s not like I’m doing anything contributing to the family during the day. Financially, we’re okay. Chris works incredibly hard and is is incredibly supportive. And it’s better for him knowing that he doesn’t have to worry about scheduling his days around the kids’ schedules. But still…I feel like I should be doing more.

I’ve tried to make up for it by working hard. I am slated to release two books a year (no more in this series, FYI) for the next two years. I know writing is a marathon, not a sprint. The more I write the better chance I have of making a living at it. I know all these things, and, still, it’s hard.

 

But this weekend I came and got a photo to use for my cover that I own and can do whatever I want with for less than it would have cost me to license someone else’s art. The investment was worth it. It was a small thing, but it was a reinforcement that this investment that Chris and I are making in my career is worth it too.

I left the museum and went to Dupont Circle for some bookstore browsing. Kramer’s is ranked as one of the best indie bookstores in the country. I got there and realized I’d been there before, the last time I was in DC. It was May of 2010 and Nashville was flooding.

I looked around for a while, didn’t find anything, then went to Books for America. On the way there, I passed Gandhi.

Books for America is ranked among the best bookstores in DC and…wow. Immediately I walked in and found a comic book for Austin. Then I found some stuff for Lily and another book for Austin. And four for myself. I spent a total of $26. On my way back to the subway I found another store– Second Story Books— and detoured.

Here, I picked up Big Little Lieshard cover, for $2 more than the Kindle version. The owner recommended Luna Grill for a good burger, (and it had this amazing mural).

While at lunch I found that Chocolate Chocolate was on my way back to the subway. The two owners were there, and absolutely wonderful. Now I want to read their book. As I type I have the truffles waiting in my bag (I’m still full from lunch.) (They were amazing, btw.)

From there it was back to the hotel to pick up my bag, and here to the airport. We’ll board soon, and when I get home, I’ll start designing my cover. Watch out for the big reveal!