25 Independent Presses That Prove This Is the Golden Age of Indie Publishing
Posted on March 18, 2014 Leave a Comment
Looking for a good small press? Check out FlavorWire’s top 25
Book Review – THE TRUTH ABOUT ALICE by Jennifer Mathieu
Posted on March 16, 2014 Leave a Comment
I was given the book via NetGalley for review – thank you to Roaring Brook Press for the opportunity to read it.
THE TRUTH ABOUT ALICE by debut author and English teacher, Jennifer Mathieu, is an intriguing read. It is a story of gossip, cruelty, lies, and the unfailing desire to put oneself above others. It is about small town mentalities and the social stoning of one person to assuage all the sins of the group.
ALICE is told through the eyes of four characters, who relay what they know about Alice – though we learn nothing from Alice until the last chapter (I actually found that a stroke of brilliance on the part of Mathieu). Alice is accused of sleeping with quarterback and beloved small-town son, Brandon (who she is also blamed for killing) and college kid Tommy, during popular girl Elaine’s party. The novel shows the evolution of gossip, betrayal, and the pack mentality of socially isolating one girl.
As for the characters – there is Elaine (the ultra-popular babe and superior, self-obssesed twit), Kelsie (former BFF and wallflower to Alice, who turns on her on a dime), Josh (the football player with is sexually conflicted and BFF to Brandon), and Kurt (the ultra smart loner who is considered a general dweeb, but befriends Alice).
All in all this was a really interesting read – especially the WAY it is written and how the reader slowly builds a full picture of Alice and the mind-set of her accusers. All the characters slowly evolve from self-centered and shallow to more emotionally complex and conflicted. There are some tougher topics in the book, so I’d say beware for the under-15 crowd, but by and large I liked this book. It is, however, a one-time read for me. Books I adore, I read over and over, but books I just “like” get read only once. This falls to the later category, mainly because of how it portraits teenagers.
You see, I drive a school bus. I hear what my students say, and they actually talk to me quite a bit. They relay their day, sometimes gossip, sometimes their hopes and fears. I am a CDL licensed, freaky sort of therapist in some ways. Yes – I’ve seen bullying, but I have also seen equal moments of compassion and students standing up for one another. Kids DO gang up on one another, but they also will come to one another’s defense. For this girl, Alice, to be ENTIRELY isolated by the whole school AND PARENTS, with the exception of one kid named Kurt, seems far-fetched for me.
How Mathieu, an English teacher, sees teenagers is probably very different than how I see them, as a driver. On my bus, they shed their “school” skin, become their own person, and I get a glimpse of who they truly are for two hours, five days a week.
And because I have driven them for two hours a day, for nearly three years, I have gotten to know them and I can say, without question, that ALICE would have had many friends on my bus.
Bookstores and Book Signings
Posted on March 15, 2014 Leave a Comment
I’ve had many Indie authors ask me how I landed book signings for UNDERTOW at various bookstores. The questions were the same: How did I ask them? What did I say? Who did I beg?
Want the truth? I didn’t ask any of them. Instead, they asked me.
Now, don’t get me wrong – I could have asked. But a book signing isn’t a simple task for a bookstore, and to ask for such an event without proving that UNDERTOW would sell, seemed . . . arrogant.
So I didn’t ask. Instead I focused on the task of building buzz – and it worked.
UNDERTOW sold like mad, even drawing the attention of Barnes and Noble, who wanted in on the action. And while I loved the UNDERTOW story, I knew that books, no matter what, are a business. They are about money, pure and simple, and bookstores want a book that sells, not one that sits on the shelves festering for years.
They want it priced right, looking good, bringing in buzz via reviews and word of mouth, and they want to see a marketing plan. They want to see it in the papers, on TV, and on blogs. They want to be able to take 20-30 books at a time and sell-out in a couple of weeks, if not days.
They want to see it hit the bestseller lists on Amazon and NOT because it was a freebie (folks – it’s called the bestSELLER list, not the bestFREEBIE list). Ideally they want to see it climb onto the bestseller list and stay there – for a while.
A real Golden Goose for the stores? When they find out it is on Bookclub lists and is being added to the summer reading list for schools.
UNDERTOW did all that for me. I am forever grateful for whatever brain cramp I had that led to the story, and my team of Beta readers who tirelessly re-read it for flow.
But I also know that giving back to those who have cheered for the story is critical, for without the stores, librarians, schools, and reviewers, I would have never found the success I have in this one, crazy novel.
So I give back, offering a free book to libraries, English teachers, etc. I teach fiction classes, try to help other authors, and lend my graphics work to libraries and bookstores. While these acts of gratitude really have had no impact on UNDERTOW climbing the bestseller ranks, it does mean that I give a damn as an author and writer. I’m passionate about the success of bookstores, libraries, and the creativity of writers, new and old. At the end of the day, my “writer’s code” is quite simple: Give back to the fans and strive to give them one hell of a story.
I will be at Barnes and Noble in Hyannis for a second book signing on
April 4th, 2014 at 6pm. Come find me :)
Book Review – Second Star by Alyssa Sheinmel (YA)
Posted on March 12, 2014 Leave a Comment
I was given the book via NetGalley for review – thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publishing for the opportunity to give it a whirl.
Second Star by Alyssa Sheinmel is pitched as a twist on Peter Pan, and touted as a “radical reinvention of a classic” which would be great . . . except it really wasn’t. And I could get past the fact that it wasn’t really Peter Pan, though there were vague references to the beloved children’s classic, because the concept still seemed cool . . . for a while.
In Second Star, Wendy Darling is searching for her lost, surfer brothers who the entire world has written off as dead. She meets the charismatic surfer, Pete, whose love of flying on the waves, captivates Wendy. There is fiesty Belle, who is a side-kick to Pete, but also his ex-girlfriend (she dislikes Wendy from the get-go). And then there is Jas (a shadow-version of Hook), a young drug-dealing surfer whose best-selling hallucinogen is known as “dust.” Jas and Pete used to be friends, seeking the perfect wave like POINT BREAK, but Jas starts dealing to fund their dreams of chasing the ultimate curl. That’s when Pete kicks Jas to the other side of their beachy paradise known as Kensington, and the line in the sand is drawn.
And yup – I could get down with all those crazy twists . . . even when Wendy ditches her love for Pete for that of Jas, (yes – Wendy has the hots for Hook). I could get down with all those twists, because I realized this wasn’t Peter Pan AT ALL. This was a story about a girl searching for her brothers, but gets mixed up in a band of surfing-obsessed misfits and runaways.
The writing was well done, the setting realistic (I live a mile from the Atlantic – Sheinmel nailed the beach stuff), and the story line interesting. Unfortunately, I really wanted to leave Second Star back in the Milky Way by the time I hit the half-way mark. I finished it, I did, but for me this story just didn’t have the spark and passion that I needed it to have.
I was hoping for an un-put-downable read. Instead I got a story that felt like homework, because of one missing piece: the characters had no depth.
None of the characters had any voice – any dimension – save for Belle. Wendy sounded like Pete and Jas. She falls for BOTH of them, one right after the other. And I can do the insta-love thing, but for me, it didn’t make SENSE. I didn’t see the spark between the characters, I didn’t see the passion or desperation for the truth, and I didn’t FEEL Wendy at all. She could have been eaten by a great white, and I wouldn’t have spared a tear . . . I’m not sure Pete would have either.
I do give the author credit however – for trying to be bold and rewrite a major, childhood classic. I LOVE the idea of it and I loved her twisted view of the story. But there wasn’t enough similarity to Peter Pan to make it a remake, and there wasn’t any voice or depth to the characters to make me cheer them on. It is absolutely well written, but I know my 13-year-old will be bored inside of the first 10 chapters.
This story has some really strong moments – great vivid scenes that I loved. And if used by schools, it will make for interesting discussions on the similarities and contrasts with the real Peter Pan.
But for me, the story fell flat . . . kind of like the waves at low tide.
Book Review – THESE BROKEN STARS
Posted on February 4, 2014 4 Comments
Only once in a while, does a book shave a few decades off my aged brain and cause me to run around screaming like a teenager, out of my mind obsessed. I tell everyone about it, down to the random lady counting her coupons in front of me at Market Basket. Really – I did, though she eyed me warily, debating whether to taser my weird butt.
I tell the kids on the bus, the bookstore I bought it from, other story-freaks like myself, but most of all, I tell other novelists. Because, quite frankly, this blew me away as a writer. I understood what Spooner and Kaufman did in THESE BROKEN STARS, and it left me awed. It was like being at a concert, listening to a band that people rarely listen to, but everyone is screaming at their greatness because you know, KNOW, this crazy band is about to skyrocket.
To me, Spooner and Kaufman broke the rules of most YA tales out there, writing the book almost like a film, and I ADORED it. More importantly, they didn’t put angst in there for the sake of angst. The leads, Lilac and Traver, had reactions and emotions that FIT – not overblown, not excessive, just 100% real. Plus, the authors scared the crap out of me with the whispering voices-in-the-night thing. Jeeze, I’m a wimp I know, but stuff like that FREAKS ME OUT. Loved it – pure, skin crawling torture, like JAWS – show just a little, nothing crazy, but how it is presented sends chills through your body.
Brilliant – BRILLIANT – was the idea to interlace the lead boy’s interrogation (a jump forward) with the storyline of what had happened. Dear god almighty – it was a stroke of genius. It is how the entire story kicks off – seven lines, between an unknown interrogator and a young, decorated war hero named Traver and his mention of lead girl, Lilac LaRoux:
“When did you first meet Miss LaRoux?”
“Three days before the accident.”
“And how did that come about?”
“The accident?”
“Meeting Miss LaRoux.”
“How could it possibly matter?”
“Major, everything matters.”
I read those lines and knew, KNEW I was about to enter one hell of a story. As a writer, the killer way THESE BROKEN STARS opens with just seven lines that say so much, literally made me hold my breath. I read the page several times, and thought to myself, “This, THIS is how storytellers find greatness.”
Maybe it’s because I am a novelist and professional writer, but that single page caused a devious grin to spread on my face, and I tuned out the world until I hit the last line of the book.
The story was insane – loved every unique little plot point, every sway of the tall grass in the plains, every smoking detail of a space liner as it plummets to its death on an unknown planet. I lived inside the world that Spooner and Kaufman created, tearing through the book in a day – yes, A DAY and it was a work day, so I read like a druggie needing a hit. It’s a world that haunts me still . . .
I can’t even describe the entire story, but someone called it “Titanic in Space,” but that’s not accurate. No this story is a brand new world – a new vision of greed and sacrifice and what it is to really exist. If anything, it is the TV show LOST, but set on an abandoned planet with only two people who make it off the “jet” alive.
The silence that encompasses the two survivors of the space liner, Icarus, is chilling. Haunting. The characters themselves are opposites on the social spectrum – there is Lilac, heiress to empire of wealth and controlled by her powerful father. She is a bit of a rebel herself, but is surrounded all the time by those who seek to bend her life the way her father demands.
Then there is Traver, a young and decorated war hero. He is also aboard the Icarus, dragged there by a media-frenzie surrounding his story – a boy from nothing who becomes the pinnacle of heroism. He hates it and just wanted to go back to his simple life.
But then something terrible happens to the Icarus, and it plummets with all 50,000 souls aboard. Traver and Lilac, thrown together among the chaos of stampeding passengers, find their way to a mechanic’s escape pod and manage to crash on a planet, surviving the impact.
I love how Kaufman and Spooner paint the world they land on and the desolation of apparently being the ONLY people on the planet. I love how the authors portray the bits and pieces of violence that had rained from the sky when the Icarus fell, and how Traver tries to hide it all from Lilac . . . though she is no fool.
But it is the apparent descent into madness by Lilac, and how Traver tries to handle it, that is fabulous. And Lilac evolves into who she truly is on the inside as that spark that was so completely snuffed by her father, begins to ignite.
But the ending . . . Oh man.
While unmissable by readers, THESE BROKEN STARS will be unforgettable if you are a writer. Do yourself a favor and tune out the world for a day and just become LOST with Traver and Lilac.
Simply unforgettable . . .
The Knight Bus
Posted on January 25, 2014 2 Comments
I have a confession to make: I am a feminist.
I know, I know . . . you’d never guess (ya right . . .). I’d say what makes me a feminist is a stalwart belief that I can do anything a dude can do (or another woman, alien, robot from Mars, etc). And even if I fail, I went down swinging, guns blazing . . . you get the gist.
I don’t need flowers, candle-lit dinners, or jewelry. I like to educate myself, never settle for just one line of thought, weigh my options without guilt, and jump in the ocean when the guide tries to spook me, declaring, “Those are Mexican piranhas!” Just for the record I did jump, and the fish DID have huge teeth, and nope – no one else, man or woman, joined me. It’s probably a miracle I’m alive.
As a feminist, I also don’t expect for a man to step aside and let me go first (though I will admit they often hold doors open for me, whereas women let the same doors slam in my face). I do appreciate the kindness, don’t get me wrong! I just don’t think because I sport a bra and ovaries, that they HAVE TO open the door for me.
So, when I first added a stop to the school bus I drive for two middle school students (a boy and a girl), I wasn’t really paying attention when the girl got on the bus first. You see, they are the only two kids at this one particular stop and they are neighbors, separated by five houses. It was a 50/50 shot who got on the bus first . . . or so I thought.
It took me a week to notice the pattern – the girl always got on first, even if the boy was at the stop first. In addition, she always got off first, even if the boy was seated ahead of her. He would stand and wait for her to pass him, then he would follow.
It could be five-degrees out or pouring rain, and this young boy would stand aside to let 
his female neighbor always, ALWAYS go first.
Then one afternoon, on the way home, he didn’t realize she was on the bus. She was seated five seats behind him, chatting with her friends. He was in his own seat, enjoying his friends, when their stop arrived. He got up, gathered his things, and stepped into the aisle. At some point he saw her, behind him, and he STEPPED BACK into someone else’s seat, apologized, and gave her a nod as she walked PAST him.
Understand, this young girl isn’t some queen bee. In fact, I don’t think she expects the act of chivalry at all. But this boy does it, every time, without fail. EVERY TIME.
After they get off the bus, she goes to one side of the road and he goes to the other where his house is. As I drive away, he stands and waits for the bus to move to reveal the girl again. I watch in my rearview mirror as they wave to one another and smile. Then they go their separate ways.
One bitter-cold day, as I left them on their opposite sides of the street, the girl realized the sidewalk was 10″ deep with snow, and she had a distance to walk. The boy, however, was standing in his plowed driveway. When he saw her looking down at the snow, he walked back across the street and said something to her. As I rounded the corner, leaving them out of my sight, I saw them walking together, in the near zero temperature, to her house. He was escorting her home as they walked in the street, even though his own house, so warm and toasty, was just feet away.
And that is what I, a feminist, calls a true knight in shinning armor. No sword, no testosterone-ridden, “I can do it, ye’ shall step aside!” crap.
A true knight is quiet, steadfast, respectful.
Because of one young boy, I can now dub my bus The Knight Bus.
Fiction Craft Class for Teens!
Posted on January 24, 2014 Leave a Comment
I will be teaching another Fiction Craft Class for Teens on Saturday, January 25th at the Sandwich Library, thanks to the tireless efforts of YA librarian Kathy Johnson – THANK YOU KATHY! There may still be slots open, so please head over to the Sandwich Library website – on the right-hand side you will see the class listed under UPCOMING EVENTS.
If you are not a teen (I know – such a bummer), have no fear! There are plans being hatched for an ADULT (and Teen) class at the Marstons Mills library thanks to librarian Lindsey Hughes.
WRITE LIKE A MANIAC!
Book Marketing 101
Posted on January 24, 2014 1 Comment
Below is the article I wrote for Cape Women Online.
It appears in their Winter 2014 issue.
On January 23, 2014 UNDERTOW hit #2 on the
Teens Bestseller list for Myths and Legends on AMAZON!
Book Marketing 101by K.R. ConwayYou’ve finally finished your novel. A beast that has been edited no less than ten times and torn apart at least twice that number. It has gone through the hands of a fabulous team of Beta readers who give you the brutal truth. You bawl over their feedback and then suck it up, heading back to reshuffle and edit once again. You edit and rewrite, over and over, until you are rooting for the bad guys to simply hurry up and kill your main character before you do. Finally, when it is flawless in plot, characters, world-building, and basic line-editing, you are done. And then you think, “Woo hoo! I’ll just slap it on Amazon and people will be knocking down my door!” Think again, because if you are really in it to win it, you need to be a marketing maniac. I can say, without question, I nearly committed myself to the nuthouse when it came to marketing. Thankfully it paid off. REALLY paid off. Care to know what devious plan I developed? Thought you might . . . #1 Have an ACTIVE blog. Post weekly (if not more) about all things related to writing, books, literature, agents and your own book. This needs to be established well before the book launches. It is a connecting point for you and other bloggers, reviewers, and media. I prefer to work in WordPress.com and yes, I pay $100 year to upgrade it to professional status. Your blog is the center of your media hive. #2 Build buzz BEFORE you put the book up for sale. This is one of those, “Well DUH?” steps, but amazingly it is often overlooked. Facebook helps if you have a bunch of friends and connect with the numerous writer and reader groups. Agent Query Connect can help as well (post your query letter, your synopsis, and pay it forward by helping other writers as well). Use Twitter, Wattpad, and FictionPress to build a fan-base too. At the end of the day though, what really counts are reviews from bloggers, book reviewers, other writers, avid readers, etc. Your ten family members and a handful of friends won’t cut it. You need to be visible in cyberspace on other blogs, because each blogger comes with hundreds of followers. Get on one blog and be seen by many. Get on many blogs and be seen BY THOUSANDS. Blog hopping can create the ultimate domino effect of virtual visibility. The best way to get there is to post your e-book for free on NetGalley.com. I used Patchwork Press and their NetGalley co-op. I paid $45 a month and the book was requested by bloggers, teachers, librarians and reviewers all over the world. By the time I launched UNDERTOW, I had 100+ reviews on GoodReads, which brings us to #3 . . . #3 Build a Goodreads page and link it to your blog.Goodreads allows you to “add” your book BEFORE it is published. Once you add it, you must email Goodreads and have them link your profile to the book as the author. If you do use Goodreads, for goodness sake, have a thick skin and don’t reply directly to reviewers. #4 Don’t rely only on e-books. The worst idea you could have as an indie author is to only distribute e-books. Care to guess why? Come on – guess! Sigh . . . fine, don’t guess. E-books, while great, cannot be given from one reader to another. They cannot pass from one fan to another. But a printed book can be physically handed off, again and again. A reader who loves the book can tell their friend about it excitedly and say, “Here! You MUST read this!” As a journalist, I knew the importance of selling the story by having it physically available to the reader. I used Country Press in Lakeville MA to print the first 60 ARC copies (Advanced Reader Copies). These look like the final run, but had a different cover that also was marked with the following: ADVANCE COPY, UNCORRECTED PROOF, NO RESALE. These copies did not have an ISBN, because they would never be for sale. |
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I posted on multiple reviewer sites that I had physical copies up for grabs and I would ship to anywhere in the USA in return for an honest Goodreads review – they were all gone in four days. Each book went with a letter that gave details about what an ARC copy was, what I asked of the reader, and what they should do if they wished to hand it off to someone else (the letter stayed with the book). This is not cheap to do, but worth it. #5 Schedule Blog Tours. I used YA Bound, which I have been very pleased with. For about $250, I had a bunch of bloggers and Twitter writers “tweet” about the launch of the book, and 40 bloggers sign up to post my book and a review on their site over a 5-day period. If you decide to use the Kindle Select program, I highly recommend offering the book for free during the blog tour. #6 Brand your book. When I was writing UNDERTOW, I knew that I wanted full creative control of the cover, even if some magical agent-fairy fell on me. I wanted to use REAL high schoolers from Cape Cod to be the faces of my characters. The logic was simple – if I used real kids from the Cape to become my characters, then what newspaper would ever pass on such a crazy story? Even if they didn’t review my book, the book went with the kids. And each kid, had friends, family members, etc. who all became followers of the book because of their pal’s involvement. In addition, by having my own cast of models, I had hundreds of photos in different poses of them, allowing me to use them on blog headers, badges, and posters (I learned Photoshop just for this reason). They became REAL characters and an outrageous, supernatural crew. Basically, I branded the book, like a movie. Launching a book correctly is a time-consuming task. Even worse, if your book isn’t quite polished enough, spending all that time and money marketing can really backfire (you go from positive press to negative in a heartbeat). Which brings me back to my opening statement: Have a Beta team that cuts you no slack. People who read your genre frequently and know your characters. Listen to them, because you can’t defend what you have written to the world or reviewers. Once it is out for the public, it’s out. If your team tells you something is wrong in the book, listen to them. Take a hard look at what you have written and where the holes are. Why would it sell? What makes it unputdownable? And, above all, be a reader of your genre and read all the time. Writers who are not readers fail to study the craft of writing and storytelling. Such a lack of “studying” can ultimately cause them, as writers, to fail their own readers in the process.
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COVER REVEAL FOR CREED by Leaver and Currie
Posted on January 22, 2014 2 Comments
I am thrilled to be one of the selected blogs to reveal the cover for Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie’s upcoming young adult horror thriller, CREED!! Make sure you grab a copy in November . . . before you lose your nerve. Pre-order it by clicking HERE!
CREED – November, 2014 from Flux
Three days.
Three of us went in.
Three of us came out.
None of us even a shadow of who we once were.
About the Authors:
Trisha Leaver resides on Cape Cod with her husband, three children and one rather excitable black lab. She spent most of her childhood living inside her own mind, creating characters and stories that only a child’s imagination could dream up. She now spends her days breathing life into those characters, writing realistic fiction for young adults. Today, Trisha is a free-lance editor and a proud member of the SCBWI, YA Scream Queens, The Horror Writers Association, TheBookYards, and OneFourKidLit, a community of authors with debuts upcoming in 2014. More information about her solo and co-authored projects can be found at the links below.
Lindsay Currie lives in Chicago, Illinois with one incredibly patient hubby, three amazing kids and one adorable, but irreverent Bullmastiff named Sam. She graduated from Knox College in the heart of the Midwest and has been writing for as long as she can remember. She is a freelance editor for young adult, new adult and middle grade fiction, and is a proud member of SCBWI, The Horror Writers Association, The YA Scream Queens, The BookYard and OneFourKidLit, a community of authors with debuts upcoming in 2014.
BLURB:
Dee Langley is seventeen and mere months away from total freedom and a life where state social workers, counselors, and foster parents don’t dictate her every move. She has spent years trying to eke out a normal existence, hiding from her past and walking the tenuous line between denial and self-preservation. A weekend away with her boyfriend, Luke, and his brother, Mike, seems like the perfect opportunity to forget and start over. Little does Dee know that she’s just trading one hell for another.
When an unexpected storm and a lack of gas force their car off the road, Dee, Luke, and Mike find themselves with no other choice but to wander into the nearby town of Purity Springs for help. But it’s not good Samaritans they find, but rather complete and utter silence, every store and every house abandoned. Forced to seek shelter in one of the deserted homes, they uncover a disturbing book with explicit instructions on how to correctly rear a child, complete with a hand written record of its use. It’s not until the next morning, however, that they discover the alarming truth – the town isn’t abandoned; it is populated by a deadly cult, and the leader, Elijah Hawkins, has plans for the three of them. The group’s only hope for survival lies in the hands of Elijah’s son, Joseph. But is Joseph really their ticket to freedom or is his game just as deadly as his father’s?
Mark it to read on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17720829-creed
Vote for it on the 2014 Debut Authors Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/47089.2014_Debut_Author_Challenge_YA_MG_NA_
Meet the UNDERTOW cast (STORMFRONT) – Rillin Blackwood
Posted on January 17, 2014 Leave a Comment
“Are you alright? I saw you fall,” he said. His voice was deep, velvet, but with a rugged quality. It held an aged, slightly gritty undertone that spoke to the life he had lived. He looked to be in his late 20s and he reminded me of a warrior – rough, confident, and a bit worn through. He was Thor . . . if Thor came from the worst part of L.A. and hung with the Hell’s Angels. — Eila Walker’s first impression of Rillin from STORMFRONT
When I was in the very first stages of writing UNDERTOW, I knew I needed to draft the entire series if I wanted to write a very different paranormal story. I wanted a tale about soldiers – young soldier, not unlike my grandfather who was 17 when he landed on Iwo Jima.
The entire series (with the exception of CRUEL SUMMER) is about the fall-out from a history of violence between two warring races. So not only did I need the current story line, set in the present around Eila and Raef (two genetic enemies), I needed all the back history regarding Eila’s 4th great grandmother, Elizabeth, and what she did in her time.
I believe we are who we are because of WHAT we have experienced, never living in a 
vacuum where only a couple of people impact our lives. Rather, we live in a wider timeline within an intricate web of multiple lives. Who we are is a direct result of how those lives before and with us, intersect.
I took that same view of the world, and set my characters into the web. One of the most critical characters in the web is Rillin Blackwood. For me, as an author, I believe he will be the biggest shocker in STORMFRONT. If I do my job, people will both love him and hate him . . . and they will be desperate to read more about him in the novella, REBEL.
Rillin, physically, is very different from the other boys of the UNDERTOW series (MJ, Raef, Kian and Christian). Originally cast using a firefighter from a local house, Rillin was recast with the help of Christa Mullaly, who is the face of Ana Lane. Christa’s friend, Phil Gardner, embodies the rugged fighter that is Rillin, and I can’t wait to put him back in the studio with stunning Emily Penn who is the face of Elizabeth, and Jeremy Peacock, who is the face of Christian.
Without further ado, here is the 4-1-1 on Phil Gardner, aka Rillin Blackwood:
Age: 28
Hometown: born in Newburyport, MA. But lived most of my life in Londonderry, NH
Favorite bands: Authority Zero, All That Remains, The Beatles, Parkway Drive, Led Zeppelin, Tool. My music fits my mood so however I’m feeling I can listen to whatever.
Hobbies: reading, writing really bad poetry, going to the gym…though I could more easily classify that as a job.
Favorite quote: “You can fool all the people some of the time. And some of the people all the time. But you cannot fool all the people all the time.” AL
How did you first find out about the fact that some random author (me – lol) wanted to use you as a cover model? I heard about this from Christa. She was already a part of this and it sounded like an amazing experience.
What made you say “yes” and what did you think of the studio space? The way we shot characters? I said yes because who wouldn’t want to add something like this to their life experiences? Plus I’ve always dreamed about being famous! The studio was the first I’ve ever been in. The artwork everywhere was amazing. I thought the shoot itself was easy and a lot of fun. Being nervous in front of the camera melted away instantly.
Your character is a crazy twist in the UNDERTOW series and only my Beta editors really know about him. Not knowing much about this character (except what I tell you) must make modeling for Rillin a challenge – when you come back into the studio, will you bring with you a bunch of ideas from movies and tv in channeling the character? I immediately started thinking of who my character was even while shooting. I would love to add my ideas and help develop the character for the next shoot.
What did you think of the shoot when you were there? Did you have any worries?Like I said before, I was very nervous to start. I’m that way with most things. But I said to myself just do it. It turned out to be something I actually really enjoyed. Who wouldn’t enjoy taking a break from who they are?
What has your family and friends thought about the whole thing? What does your daughter think . . . especially since some day she will probably read this series! My family has been a riot. Already asking for signed copies and contracts to be my official makeup artist (my daughter’s mother is a special effects makeup artist). My daughter just says, “Daddy, you’re weird” I think she will gloat about it later thought…hopefully!
There are a whole bunch of women who think the current “boys” of the series are . . . uh . . . smokin’ hot! I suspect Rillin will quickly gain adoring female fans as well – especially with his physicality and history. If I am right about Rillin, will it be weird to be the face of a character that so many adult women adore? Will it be weird? No it will be pretty normal. Ha! Sorry, Christa told me to add that. Since I’ve been a server I have the senior citizens down. Not sure why they love me so much? If it never happens that a woman comes up to me to ask me if I’m Rillin I will be taken back a bit. Definitely an adjustment.
Would you be willing to be shot again for the UNDERTOW series in the future if need be? Maybe sign books as the character, Rillin? I am absolutely more than willing to shoot again. And really hope I do. I’ll have to work on a cool signature, but I am definitely willing to sign books.
Cape Cod Scribe 