Meet the UNDERTOW cast – Ana Lane

Every character in UNDERTOW has their own back story – not just little details, but HUGE stories. I wrote it that way so that readers would connect with multiple characters and not just Eila and Raef. As book review blog Twin Spin writes, “Although there was one main character in Eila, there was a great and entertaining supporting cast that were interesting enough to be able to stand on their own within the story. Often I find that beyond the main character the rest are either boring or annoying. Not in this case. I found myself invested in all of the characters.” (See the full review here: TWIN SPIN).

While the story mainly revolves around Eila and Raef, two other characters have a tendency to scene-steal: Ana and Kian. Their whole, tumultuous history from the summer before will come out as a novella called CRUEL SUMMER. So when I was looking for a face for Ana, I needed someone who was petite, but feisty, with big expressive eyes and a take-no-shit attitude. I needed someone who could really convey the character, switching between emotions and have it show on her face. I found that one girl on Leslie McKinnon’s Facebook page and it happened to also be her BFF – Christa Mullaly.

Here is the 4-1-1 on Christa Mullaly, aka ANA LANE.

Age: 18

Hometown: Barnstable

High School: Barnstable

Favorite Bands / Musical Groups: It is way too hard for me to just pick a few.

Hobbies: playing guitar, piano, singing, painting and camping

Favorite quote (from anywhere): “Never mistake wisdom with education”

How did you first find out about the fact that some random author (me – lol) wanted to use you as a cover model? Was it through me or someone else? I found out through Leslie!

What made you say “yes” and did you think I was insane when we talked on the phone before the shoot? I said yes because it was something new for me, and for Leslie too, so I figured it’d be something fun to try with my best friend.

What was it like to be the physical embodiment of a fictional character? It felt really cool being a character! When I read the book it was fun to try and see how much me and Ana had in common. She’s very strong willed and I love that.

What did you think of the shoot when you were there? My family didn’t even really know too much actually. It was kind of just, “oh hey by the way I’m going to be on a book cover” haha

Did you have any worries? I was nervous at first with all the clothes and make up and green screens. Also, shooting with some people I didn’t know worried me a little. We all had so much fun though, I wasn’t worried for long.

You are the face of Ana Lane – a tough, take-no-shit blonde who had a prior relationship with bad boy, Kian O’Reilly. In the book, Kian is still trying to gain your trust, but you go toe to toe with him. The relationship between your two characters gets a lot of comments and cheers. Do you enjoy being the face of such a tough character? I already like Ana the best, so being her was awesome :)

You knew Justin Blaze (Kian O’Reilly) before the shoot, and you two seemed to easily flow into the characters. It was fabulous! How were you able to do it? Well I knew Justin a little bit before the shoot, so it wasn’t too bad. We got along really well and had a lot of fun it was no problem at all!

Would you be willing to be shot again for the UNDERTOW series in the future if need be? Maybe sign books as the character, Ana Lane? I would absolutely shoot again! It was so fun and I’d love to be a part of it in the future.