For our April edition of Drinking With Writers, Wiley decided to interview someone who has had a big influence on his writing career. Wiley’s description of this mystery man bordered on obsessive with ramblings about genius and stunning good looks. I was concerned but also pretty curious, so I agreed that this person should definitely be part of our DWW series. We set a day and time to meet, but Wiley would not reveal the location. On the morning of our shoot, I packed up my camera gear and headed to the front door to see if Wiley was ready to go. He walked out of our dining room in a bathrobe and silently headed for our living room. Annoyed, but intrigued, I followed. What came next was two hours of narcissism, delusion, and fear.

We had sort of a bumpy start. The conversation began pretty quickly, and I wasn’t ready. I didn’t even have my camera out of the bag yet, and Wiley screamed, “Are you photographing us or what?!” Once we settled in, things flowed pretty well. I love when people are comfortable with me documenting them having a conversation. Often people are insecure and initially have a hard time acting naturally. These guys (guy?) seemed like old buddies who hadn’t seen each other in a while. There were no awkward pauses. At one point, Wiley did break down in tears because he was so flattered by all the compliments and hugs. I wish I had thought to photograph the flowers and chocolate they exchanged. All in all, it was an eye-opening experience.

Happy April Fools’ Day!