Face the Fred.

Mr. Philbin, Official Friend of This Blog, has complained that I'm constantly showing Fred cartoons, but have yet to reveal my actual face. For example, last year we had Fred's choices for Easter bonnet:

For some reason Mr. Philbin maintains that this is not my actual appearance. Fie!

All right, maybe it's an artist's impression. The fact is---well, you've heard the expression "a face made for radio"? Well, imagine how much worse a face made for writing is.

I thought about running a gallery of writers' photos, but decided not to. I wouldn't want to scare the children.

But you know, Mr. Philbin may have a point. The link between writer and reader is surprisingly intimate. I'm asking people to buy and read my books; the least I can do is to let 'em see my mug. So therefore, without further ado, here, for your enjoyment, is the first posting on the Internet of Fred's actual mug.

Isn't it grand?