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Dreamcasting for Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down
New Anja book, so time for a new dream casting post. As you know, I ALWAYS cast these suckers in my head when I’m in the process of writing, so I thought I’d share my picks for how I see the characters in my head. I’ll include Jakob, Rob and Anja as a refresher, but you can see the rest of the cast from my last dreamcasting posts here:
Wake Me When the Sun Goes Down
Find Me When the Sun Goes Down
Anja Evans: Teresa Palmer – So I hadn’t cast a female lead as a blonde before, but since it went with the Viking ancestry link for this series, I decided to try something new. I like Teresa Palmer because she can play innocence well, but you get the feeling like she could seriously kick a little ass once she comes into her own. (see her with a shotgun in Warm Bodies)
Jakob: Alexander Skaarsgard – Okay, so I’m typecasting a little here, but who else can you picture as a Viking with flowing blonde hair? Well, maybe the guy from Thor, but he was the wrong type for this role, knowing what’s coming ahead. I couldn’t find a good picture of him with long hair that didn’t look kinda derpy though.
Rob: Jason Statham – Rob is a character I borrowed from my True Blood fanfic, and I pictured him as Handsome Rob from The Italian Job at the time and the name just stuck. He looks like he could hold his own against a vampire and I just love his voice with the accent.
Leila: Summer Glau – Okay, remember on Firefly in The Shindig when Badger held most of the crew of Serenity in the cargo hold while they waited for Mal to finish his business (duel) on Persephone and River came out and greeted him with a passable version of his own accent? That’s the voice I heard in my head when I wrote Rob’s sister, Leila.
Gunnar (left) and Isak (right) – When I started to think about two bodyguards who were close in height and size and physical characteristics, these two guys from Dude Where’s My Car popped into my head and sorta stuck there.
Terry Byrne: Jeremy Piven – Let me just start out by saying I love me some Jeremy Piven. I think he’s funny and he’s got a great smile. But when I needed a mental image for the slimy politician he just slid in there and embodied the role in my mind.
Jenessa: Rosamund Pike – She’s so classically beautiful, I can see why a vampire would turn her. Love her accent, and it’s easy to see her getting along with both Anja and Bishop, trying to become a peacemaker between them.
Marcus: Chris Pine – I started off with a completely different actor in mind to play the charismatic candidate for Elder of the West, but as soon as he started talking, Chris Pine edged him out.
Frost: Joe Flanigan – I wanted someone who could play the laid back type in tactical gear, a contrast to Bishop’s tightly wound devotion and Mason’s gung ho attitude to the Order
We’ll have a bunch of new characters in the next one (hopefully not so many it becomes confusing) so the dreamcasting for Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down should be fun.
I’m thinking of doing a Q&A for Anja’s world. So start thinking up any behind the scenes type questions you might have for me. I might even give up some spoilers.
Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down is available on Amazon!
My new book is out! Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down is now available for sale on Amazon and Barnes and Noble! It’s out as an e-book for $3.99 but you don’t have to have a Kindle or Nook to read it, they have free downloadable apps so you can read it on your PC, or even your phone. It’ll be available in print as well in a few weeks through Amazon. I’m super excited about this one, I can’t wait for you all to read about what Anja gets herself mixed up in now. Here is a little taste to whet your appetite starting with Anja, Ellie and Maggie while Anja’s getting ready for a date with Jakob:
“Your ex is mad sexy,” Ellie commented from her perch on the bathroom counter top, legs swinging as she pawed through my make-up case.
“I’ll be sure to tell him you thought so, that ought to make him happy,” I replied, trying and failing to get my hair to cooperate with the sophisticated updo I’d seen in a magazine ad.
“Here, let me help you,” Maggie offered, her nimble fingers combing through my blonde hair. “He is very dishy at that,” she ventured shyly. “Where did you meet him?”
“He um… sort of popped into my life unexpectedly, not long after I got to San Francisco.”
Maggie sighed, fingers twisting and pulling at my head so that I couldn’t see what she was doing. “And was it love at first sight?”
“Not even close. In fact, I think I remember yelling at him the first time we spoke.”
“Ooh, hot blooded.” Ellie waggled her brows at me, snapping her gum around a grin. “Lust at first sight then?”
“Maybe, a little.” It was definitely more of a lust connection with Jakob. Then again, I didn’t know him as well as I thought I’d known Bishop.
“You sure can pick ‘em,” Ellie continued, no boundary to her comments. “I thought Bishop was a right go’er, but I’d take a ride with this one m’self. Oh look, she’s gone scarlet!” she laughed, and I did my best not to let her get to me.
“Leave her be, Ellie,” Maggie chided her lightly. “Anja’s not one to kiss and tell.”
I caught Maggie’s eye in the mirror, giving her a short nod of thanks.
“What is he then?” Ellie asked, unrepentant.
I blinked, not understanding the question. “What do you mean?”
“He’s not a vampire, your beau.”
“No, not exactly.” It occurred to me that we’d talked about the origin of the Ellri back in England, and I hoped she hadn’t put two and two together.
“But he’s not human either.”
“No, definitely not a human,” I allowed, taking control of the conversation. “He’s… something else. Something dangerous, so watch what you say around him. In fact, maybe don’t talk to him a whole lot, okay?”
“Fine. I’ll lower my eyes and stand aside when he gets here then, shall I?” She hopped off the counter, bowing and scraping her way to the door.
“Good plan,” I teased, lobbing a foam curler in her direction, the motion making my head jot the other way.
We have a winner!
Thanks to everyone who voted, it was a really close race! Counting the four offline votes we got, the cover on the right narrowly edged out to become the winner. Random selection (don’t you just love online dice rollers?) picked Seleana as the winner for the free book and she’ll get to choose between an ebook copy and a signed print copy of Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down.
I am done with edits as of this morning, so it’ll be out very soon, just waiting on James to work his magic with some final tweaks on formatting for Kindle and Nook.
Stay tuned for a sneak peek.
Also, Nine Steps to Sara is a freebie today through Wednesday on Amazon here. This will be the last time you can snap this one up for free for the foreseeable future, so pick up a copy today, or if you’ve already read and enjoyed it, tell a friend!
Vote on cover art for Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down
Hey guys. James, in a stroke of geniosity, has proposed an alternate cover for Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down. Since we haven’t had a giveaway in a while, I thought we’d put it to a vote. Simply weigh in with your opinion in the comments section and it automatically enters you in a drawing for a free copy of the new book. I’ll leave it up to you whether you’d prefer to have the ebook copy (which will be ready a lot faster) or a signed print copy (which will be a lot prettier).
So, let’s hear it – which cover do you prefer? The one on the left or the one on the right?
My new Vampire Diaries Book is available on Amazon!
I’m very excited to be part of Amazon’s new venture, and have published my story The Vampire Diaries: Tabula Rasa through the Kindle Worlds program. This lets authors “borrow” the characters from specific shows they’ve obtained permission from and spin their own realities. The authors retain ownership of any new characters they bring to the table, but we can build on each other’s worlds and the show could even decide to use our ideas if they like it enough.
I’m giving it a shot to see how it pans out, mostly to try and reach new readers, and also just because I love, love, love writing Damon in The Vampire Diaries. It’s a fun change to play in their world every now and again instead of my own, and with Tabula Rasa in particular, I had a lot of fun winking at established canon through my own eyes since it’s an amnesia story, the name inspired by one of my favorite episodes of Buffy.
Here is the blurb:
Tabula Rasa means blank slate, hence a perfect name for a fic about amnesia. The premise is this: Elena, Katherine, Caroline, Bonnie, Damon, Stefan, & Mason all wake to find themselves trapped in an abandoned warehouse with complete amnesia. Stripped of their past histories and all the baggage that comes with it, how will they interact with each other? Who can be trusted? And who has betrayal in their heart? Will we end up with canon pairings? Or will other true feelings be revealed? This story takes place after episode 2.5 Kill or be Killed, going completely AU after that.
Tell me what you want, what you really, really want
Hey Guys,
I’m waiting on my editing team to polish up the latest book, Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down, and editing Tabula Rasa, my Vampire Diaries fic for Kindle Worlds. This leaves approximately 35% of my brain available for thinking about the next book to work on. I’d planned to write the sequel to Pretty Witches All in a Row, but it occurred to me, I might want to ask folks to weigh in, see what you guys are wanting to read next. Do you want more of Nick and Annaliese or would you rather I get back to Mercy and the Fallen? Or what about some sexy demons? Or secret option number four? And since I love polls…
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