planting dandelions, the beauty of different and a giveaway

This is my friend Kyran, whose book I mentioned in this post, and who I happily was able to connect with while I was in New Orleans.  I talked Kyran into allowing me to photograph and interview her for Own Your Beauty, and I'm so glad she said yes:  not only is she obviously quite lovely to photograph, it gave me an opportunity to compliment her directly about Planting Dandelions.  Her publisher had sent me an advance copy, and I read it while I was on my flight to Towson.  It's a smart read, with certain parts of it that will make you laugh out loud, others will have you choking back tears, and even others you'll find yourself feeling a bit uncomfortable -- and for me, any book that will have you experiencing all those emotions is a good one.  She reminds me of a latter-day Erma Bombeck, writing in a very real and raw way of life as a wife and mother in the 21st century (not to mention that as an immigrant to the US herself, there were certain parts of it that felt very familiar).  Really enjoyable.

After buttering her up, she let me have a second copy of the book, and because I've been wanting to do a giveaway for a while of my book, I thought, dude, it's Easter, Mother's Day fast approaches, so why not give away both books at the same time?

So simply leave a comment below (wherever in the world you may be), and I'll pick a winner at random to win a copy of both books -- I'm kicking myself for not getting Kyran to sign her copy; however, I promise that my book will be made out to whomever you like.  So you can keep them both, or give them both to your Mom for Mother's Day, or keep one and gift the other -- whatever works for you.

I'll pick the winner sometime on Sunday, and announce on Monday's post.  Until then, have a great weekend (and Happy Easter!) to you all.

Images: Both shot with my Nikon D300, 50mm lens.  Kyran's portrait:  aperture 1.4, shutter speed 1/250, ISO 320.  The books:  aperture 1.8, shutter speed, 1/100, ISO 200

Song: I feel it all by Feist.  Today's song chosen for you today by Kyran.