Send in the Paparazzi, I’m in a Magazine

I think I must get about a dozen emails per day from bots and scammers claiming to want to assist in some way with my author career. They want to share my book with alleged book groups or have the magic tool for promoting my book to readers. Some steal the identities of actual literary agents and make unsolicited offers of representation. I strongly suspect (for reasons I will not elaborate on here because I don’t want the bots to know how I am on to their tricks) that the overwhelming majority if not all of these scammers are finding me via Facebook. It’s exhausting.

I’m not out there quite as much on the internet as an artist, but I have had a few scammers contact me about my art usually with some sort of NFT scam they are pitching. So, when someone reached out to me regarding a watercolor painting I had shared on Instagram I was definitely skeptical. It’s sad, but unfortunately this is reality.

The good news is this was a real live person from a legitimate organization and they didn’t want a dime from me. She was from The Purple Martin Conservation Association which puts out a quarterly magazine for members and they were working on a special feature on purple martins in art for an upcoming issue. On Instagram she had seen a watercolor painting I made last year in response to a Doodlewash prompt and asked if I would consent to having it shared in the article. I said yes still half thinking it might be a scam because the internet has made me so wary.

Photo of the Purple Martin Conservation Association magazine.

But recently an actual, real magazine showed up in my mailbox.

I flipped through the pages and there was my little painting alongside some truly awesome purple martin art. How cool!

Photo of a watercolor painting by Alissa Carin of a purple martin as it appeared in a mazine.

Purple martins are strikingly beautiful songbirds. In this part of the world, they rely on people to provide accommodations for them. The Purple Martin Conservation Association is a non-profit organization whose focus is on ensuring the survival of this bird species. You can find out more about purple martins and the Purple Martin Conservation Association here.

Speaking of magazines, in June the July/August issue of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine is due to hit newsstands and in it you’ll find my short story “Mysterious Ways” so be on the lookout, mystery fans.

And me, I’ll try not to let all this fame go to my head.

— Alissa