This is the story of how ze internets make crazy things happen. (You have to say it like that. 'Ze Internets.' Using a heavy, unidentifiable foreign accent is a bonus.)
One early spring day, I took a photo of two friends who were crazy in love, as she jumped into his arms on the cobbled streets of Gastown. I sent it to them and I put it on my blog. And that, I thought, was that.
Suddenly, it exploded and was reblogged thousands and thousands of times. It was a little exciting, but mostly just an amusing social experiment, and occasionally I would do a reverse image search to see where the photo had ended up. (A few examples: a dating website and a Huffington Post article about the power of hugging. Not to mention numerous tumblr blogs devoted to teenage love, longing and despair, in equal quantities.)
A year ago, I was asked to use it for the cover of a self-published e-book. Then, a few months ago, another author emailed me asking if he could put my photo on his book cover. Since I am clearly not up-to-date on French novelists, I googled his name. Turns out Marc Levy is the most-read French author in the world. GULP. And Steven Spielberg made a movie of one of his books. GULLLLP. So I said yes.
This week, I received copies of the book and saw the cover in real life! I can hold it in my hands. My name is there in tiny print and everything. And if you search under the #marclevy hashtag on instagram, you will see numerous photos of the book lying next to cups of coffee or delicate china plates holding muffins lightly spread with butter. (You know how it is. On instagram, you can't simply post a photo of the book you're reading. There must be food involved. And latte art, if at all possible. These are the rules.)
So that was it. The crazy story of ze internets. And here is the photo, and here is the book cover.
