Randy Susan Meyers

My Opinionated Self

Saving Divorced Socks!

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Hoarding, hiding, and divorcing socks: such are my dryer’s hobbies. (He likely hustles clients for a textile-marriage counselor—or is, perhaps, an instrument of the devil.) The other possibility, though sad, is more likely:  I’m a sloppy housekeeper. On ‘laundry ‘days’ (hah— as though I have the discipline to demarcate a wash day) when  struck by … Read more

When A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN meets a farm in Iowa: MILK WITHOUT HONEY

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“I’m looking for possible blurbs to be published on the back or inside cover of my 90-year-old mother’s novel,” Michelle Hoover wrote on Facebook. “Her health is precarious, she’s isolated in a care facility in Iowa, and I want to do something that raises her spirits and makes true one of her dreams, or as … Read more

When Facebook Friends Ask ‘Anything’

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Answering questions off the cuff is my favorite way of presenting—surprising (embarrassing?) myself with on-my-feet answers as I stumble into learning things I didn’t know about myself. Thus, when author Anjali Mitter Duva asked me to participate in the Arlington Author Salon, I was thrilled—until I cringed, imagining filling fifteen minutes without seeing or interacting with … Read more

Debut Books by Writers Over 40

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(first published in 2011) Originally, I tried to resist writing this  9especially after my plea against categorizing authors.) Plus, so many of us hide our age in this world of never-get-old, unearthing this information, even in our Googlized world, was difficult. But when, along with the plethora of lists of writers under 40, I was faced … Read more

Photoshop Botox for Author Pictures

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First, there was Vaseline on the camera lens.

Next up was rose-colored lighting, shooting through pantyhose, and soft focus.

And then came Photoshop.

No one tells the truth, of course, so for the “me-too-ism” of writers everywhere, I will set aside my vanity and offer the unadulterated, unvarnished, unphotoshopped truth. These are the things I did to prepare for my first author photo:

1) Googled ‘how to look good in photos and found advice. Very helpful advice.

2) Went for a professional make-up ‘consult’ (would that be tax-deductible?)

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