Interview with Jo Beth Mitchell: Photographer

Around here, The Coming Evil is a family affair--mostly because I've been writing this since before I was married and had kids. After Realms finished designing their killer cover for The Strange Man, it fell to me to provide an author photo. Seeing as how I had only a weekend to get it, I was hard pressed to find someone with the skill and eye for detail I needed to perfectly capture my likeness. I mean, this was an important picture. If you can't trust my grinning mug, why buy my book?

I turned to my loving and supportive wife, Meghan. She's been by my side nearly every step of the way, offering encouragement, love, and--when needed--brutal honesty. The Strange Man wouldn't exist without her, so I trusted her to do the honors of taking my author photo.

Well, as it turns out, as caring, loving, and supportive as Meghan is, she's not so great behind the camera.

After that failed, I sought out our last hope.



Our daughter, Jo Beth Mitchell.

Time and again, Jo has impressed us with her picture-taking abilities, and we both knew we had found the expert we needed. Here's the picture Jo took:



Getting my advance copy of The Strange Man today, I'm proud to see my little girl's first professional photo (albeit cropped and re-sized to fit the format's needs) featured on my book. In honor of this event, Jo Beth was gracious enough to spare me a few minutes of her time for this exclusive interview!

Greg Mitchell: How old are you now, Jo?

Jo Beth Mitchell: Four.

GM: You recently started pre-school. Are you enjoying that?

JM: *nods*

GM: What's your favorite part?

JM: Uh, when we go out for recess.

GM: You’re also an aspiring writer, with your short fiction "The Princess and the Ant" and "The Mermaid" (both unpublished) under your belt. Any new ideas on the horizon?

JM: Well...hm...well...um yes.

GM: What are they?

JM: Well, I don’t have the ideas for them, but I do know which ones I want.

GM: Okay! You took a really good picture for my book. Do you like taking pictures?

JM: Yes.

GM: Jo, what are your dreams for the future?

JM: Being a princess.

GM: Do you like having me for a daddy?

JM: Of course I do! *hugs*

GM: What’s the best thing about having me for a daddy?

JM: Wrestling! *jumps up and down*

GM: One last question: If Rainbow Brite and Strawberry Shortcake had a wrestling match, who do you think would win?

JM: Rainbow Brite.

GM: I agree.

Special thanks to Jo Beth for taking the time to sit down with us. You can head over to Amazon and purchase a copy of her picture for $13.99--and get The Strange Man attached to it for FREE! How can you beat that offer!