K.R. Conway's Blog, page 23

Meet the Undertow Cast – Raef Paris

When I was searching for faces of the UNDERTOW characters, I found it exceedingly difficult to match a real face to a fictional character. A character who had lived in my head for YEARS. Raef O’Reilly (Paris) was a HUGE player in UNDERTOW. He is an immortal killer who decides to protect Eila against his own family. I started pouring through hundreds of faces on Facebook, using friends of friends who went to Barnstable High School. It was time-consuming and I nearly lost hope . . . until I stumbled across Colby McWilliams. To this day, I cannot picture any other kid who could be as perfect a match for Raef.

Here is the 4-1-1 on  Colby McWilliams, aka Raef O’Reilly (Paris)

Age: 17

Hometown: Hyannis, MA

High School: Barnstable (BHS)

Favorite Bands / Musical Groups: Dave Matthews Band, The Foo Fighters, Barefoot Truth

Hobbies: Playing guitar and Wrestling

Favorite quote (from anywhere): ”Dream as you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.” – James Dean

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 Leslie or someone else? Leslie had messaged me through Facebook and had told me someone wanted to know if I’d be willing to be a cover model and told me I should contact you.

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 I thought it would be an interesting opportunity and was flattered that someone thought I should be a cover model. When we talked on the phone I didn’t think you were crazy, but you were very passionate and I admired that. Lol

What was it like to be the physical embodiment of a fictional character? It’s very interesting to know I’m a fictional character! It feels great to know that there are people out there who really admire Raef as a character, and I feel like he’s really a part of myself.

What did you think of the shoot when you were there? Did you have any worries? At the shoot, I thought it was very cool. Green screens and cameras are always fun, and it was a great chance to make some new friends, as well as get to know some of my own friends a little better! I was actually a little worried about the shoot. I was just really hoping it would work out well and thankfully, we got a lot of great shots!

What has your family and friends thought about the whole thing? My friends and family thought it was really cool that I was doing the shoot, and they all couldn’t wait to read the book when it came out!

There are a whole bunch of women who think Raef is . . . uh . . . a smokin’ hot killer! Is it weird to be the face of a character that so many adult women adore? It can be a little awkward to think of adult women liking Raef that way, but I mean in the book he’s just so cool, it’s hard not to picture him that way! But just the thought brings a smile to my face. Lol  - I think it’s very flattering!

Would you be willing to be shot again for the UNDERTOW series in the future if need be? Maybe sign books as the character, Raef Paris? I would definitely be willing to do another shoot! I thought it was a great experience and it’s awesome to know I’m the face of a character that so many people love! I would love to do book signings and anything any the fans needed!

Incredibly, one of the songs I listed to constantly while writing for Raef was the Foo Fighter’s “These Days.” I had no clue Colby liked them. Ironic, no?

Filed under: stories, Uncategorized, undertow Tagged: authors, Barnstable, Barnstable High, blog, bodyguard, book blog, book reviews, cape cod, Eila Walker, fiction, goodreads, killer, literary agent, literature, lunaterra, net galley, netgalley, new adult fiction, novels, opinion, Raef Paris, Red Raiders, school, self-publishing, soul their, soul thieves, star crossed lovers, stories, supernatural, teens, Undertow, writing, YA, ya blog, ya books, young adult

Meet The UNDERTOW Cast – Eila Walker

When I was writing UNDERTOW, I had a huge desire to find local Cape Cod kids to be the models for the story. Finding them, however, wasn’t so easy. But when Kim Rocha, a Cotuit resident and UNDERTOW Beta reader, said she believed “Eila Walker” was the girl who lived next to her, I had to check her out.

Hands down, neighbor Leslie McKinnon was a dead-ringer for main character, Eila Walker.

From Leslie’s Facebook page, we also located Ana Lane (Christa Mullaly), Raef Paris (Colby McWilliams), and Nikki Shea (Megan Jones). Quohog Corner creator and past BHS Drama Director, John Sullivan, managed to locate Kian O’Reilly (Justin Blaze), and MJ Williams (Sean Potter). Additionally, we also photographed Rilin West (Chris Houghton), Christian Raines (Jeremy Peacock) and Eve (Sara Dever). The last three people have characters that will appear in the other books in the series.

So, without further ado, here is the 4-1-1 on Leslie McKinnon – aka, EILA WALKER:

High School? Barnstable HS

Favorite Bands / Musical Groups? Mumford & Sons, Bon Iver, Pearl Jam, and Weezer

Hobbies? Singing, Acting, Guitar-playing, Working at Burger King

Favorite quote (from anywhere)? “You must not forget that a monster is only a variation, and that to a monster the norm is monstrous.” – John Steinbeck

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 first found out about the Undertow cover shoot when Kate messaged my mom on Facebook to ask her permission to ask me to be on the cover.”

What made you say “yes” and did you think I was insane when we talked on the phone before the shoot?

“I’ve actually always had this dorky dream of being a model ever since I was little, so I wasn’t hesitant to say “yes”! I also knew I probably wouldn’t have another opportunity like this, especially with people I already knew from my school. I have to admit, when I first talked to Kate on the phone I did think she was a bit… eccentric (haha) but I could tell she was definitely very friendly and passionate about her novel.”

What was it like to be the physical embodiment of a fictional character? 

“As someone who acts, the shoot just reminded me of being in another drama production. I always had to be in character and remember who Eila is, not who I am. At times it was definitely tricky, but I relate to Eila quite a bit which made it easier. It was really fun and comfortable state of mind since I’ve had experience with theater before.”

What did you think of the shoot when you were there? Did you have any worries?

“I had no idea what to expect walking into the shoot, but I actually had a really awesome time there. My only worry was actually getting all snuggly with Colby! I was afraid it would be awkward, since I know him from school, but it ended up being just fine (he’s cute, which didn’t hurt at all..). It was really great to have Christa there as Ana because she is my best friend in real life! All of us who were modeling got to bond and just had fun with it, which I loved.”

What has your family and friends thought about the whole thing?

“When I tell people about the book cover, the most common response I get is, “What?! That’s insane!” Most of my friends are really excited to buy the book, and now that some posters are up in my school’s library, there’s definitely a buzz about Undertow. My family can’t wait to buy the book and display it in our living room!”

Eila has been called the ultimate heroine and been put in the same league as Katniss Everdeen. Is it weird to be the face of a character that so many readers and reviewers seem to adore?

“Honestly, I’m very proud to be the face of Eila. She’s a strong character who wants to protect everyone that she cares about. I admire her and can relate to her a lot in many ways. It’s awesome to think that when people think of Eila, they might think of my face!”

Would you be willing to be shot again for the UNDERTOW series in the future if need be? Maybe sign books as the character, Eila Walker?

“Yes yes yes! I’d love to be able to be shot again for Undertow, as well as sign books as Eila. This whole experience has been great; I’ve really appreciated the opportunity. Thank you Kate!”

Filed under: Uncategorized, undertow, Writing Tagged: authors, Barnsatble, Barnstable High, blog, bodyguard, book blog, book reviews, cape cod, Eila Walker, fiction, goodreads, literary agent, literature, lunaterra, net galley, netgalley, new adult fiction, novels, opinion, Raef Paris, Red Raiders, school, self-publishing, soul their, soul thieves, star crossed lovers, stories, supernatural, teens, Undertow, writing, YA, ya blog, ya books, young adult

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Filed under: Writing Tagged: authors, blog, books, cape cod, cape cod writers conference, fiction, goodreads, K.R. Conway, KR Conway, literary agent, literature, opinion, reviews, self-publishing, stories, Undertow, writers, writing, ya lit

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