Once upon a time...

...there was an author who wrote modern-day retellings of fairy tales. (That would be me). And one day, the fabulously creative Courtney Wood --the senior online marketing manager for Penguin Young Readers, who publishes the aforementioned fairy tale retelling author -- came up with the brilliant idea that instead of sitting in a boring office to do an author profile video, they should do it in a horse-drawn carriage ride through Central Park because that's a very fairy tale-like thing to do. The fairy tale author loved the idea, especially since she had recently procured a black fur headband over the holidays which made her look very Russian princess-like and would be the perfect accessory to wear during the shoot. So one Thursday morning, on a very beautiful, freeze-your-butt-off January morning, the two -- along with the uber talented filmmaker Lauren Saffa -- went for a carriage ride around the park with a horse named Blackie (a lot of originality in that name) leading the way. Actually, they went around the park TWICE because the author tends to be a bit longwinded at times so they needed more coverage.

The video should be ready very shortly and of course I'll post a link here even though, to be honest, while I have no problem whatsoever talking in front of groups, whenever I see myself on film I want to book a one-way ticket to a deserted island and never return. Let's just say it's a good thing I chose the writing vs. acting path.