A warm welcome to author E.J Russell joining us today to talk about new release “Tested in Fire”.
E.J talks to us about visually casting characters and there is a giveaway to participate in!
Welcome E.J 🙂
Because I’m not a visual person (and yet here I am, writing about visual artists), I like to “cast” my characters before I start writing a book. If I find a picture (usually of an actor or model) that “speaks” to me, it’s a lot easier for me to write their physical descriptions.
When I wrote Stumptown Spirits, for instance, I used Dylan O’Brien and Tyler Hoechlin (aka Stiles and Derek from Teen Wolf) as Riley and Logan. For Wolf’s Clothing, it was the X-Men theme—James MacAvoy and Lucas Till as Christophe and Trent. For Clickbait, I moved on to song and dance with tWitch Boss from So You Think You Can Dance and Pentatonix’s Mitch Grassi as Alex and Gideon.
With the Art Medium series, my character casting wasn’t quite so thematically linked. For Luke, it was an easy choice: I picked Matt Bomer, because of course. (And I think L.C. Chase did a terrific job finding a cover model who could actually be cast as…Matt Bomer!)
I had a harder time finding someone who said “Stefan” to me. Although in Tested in Fire, Stefan has gotten his act together and is actually eating regular meals, in The Artist’s Touch, he was a basket case. I was looking for a blond actor with cheekbones(!) and a haunted expression, and eventually found a picture of Alex Pettyfer that fit. Whew!
For Peg (aka Marguerite Windflower), I’d always had Dame Julie Walters (in the pre-dame Billy Elliott era) in mind. For Antoinette, I needed a dark-haired fragile-looking woman, and unexpectedly found a picture of Demi Moore that was perfect.
Then there was DiBartolo. I had no clue. However, since he was Italian, I searched for Italian actors and found the obvious choice: Marcello Mastroianni.
In addition to character casting, for this book I had to “cast” places and things as well, so I searched out art galleries, a couple of studio-with-living-space images, some kilns, and several Sarasota beachfront shots.
Oh…and let’s not forget the creepy-ass masks!
If you’d like to see the inspiration photos, here’s my Pinterest board for the book:
https://www.pinterest.com/ejrussell/art-medium/
About Tested in Fire
Six months ago, Stefan Cobbe was at rock bottom: grief-stricken, guilt ridden, debt laden, artistically blocked, and living on charity in an isolated mountain cabin. But after reconciling with his first love, Luke, and moving to Sarasota with him, Stefan is preparing for his first major show. Yes, he still has debts, and no, Luke doesn’t understand Stefan’s desire for independence. But compared to last year? No contest.
Luke Morganstern ought to be happy. After all, his art-investigation business has recovered and he’s got his boyfriend back. But Stefan stubbornly refuses to move in with him or accept Luke’s financial help, and it’s really starting to bug him. Who knew that the biggest test of their relationship wouldn’t be time or distance, but his own insecurities? After Luke’s next job—a trip to Italy to retrieve a mysterious artifact—he plans to convince Stefan that it’s time to totally commit.
But when Luke returns, he changes, and Stefan begins to suspect that the person in Luke’s skin isn’t Luke at all. He can hardly go to the police and claim his lover is the victim of a supernatural hijacking though. He needs alternative help to find Luke and get him back, because he refuses to let anyone—or anything—come between them again.
Amazon
About the Art Medium Series
Artists use all manner of materials to express their vision, to interpret the world around them, to affect the hearts and minds of their audience.
But what if the artist himself were the medium? And what if artistic inspiration weren’t the only force at work?
If painter Stefan Cobbe and art investigator Luke Morganstern don’t answer those questions fast, they stand to lose their reputations, their relationship—and their lives.
About E.J. Russell
E.J. Russell holds a BA and an MFA in theater, so naturally she’s spent the last three decades as a financial manager, database designer, and business-intelligence consultant. After her twin sons left for college and she no longer spent half her waking hours ferrying them to dance class, she returned to her childhood love of writing fiction. Now she wonders why she ever thought an empty nest meant leisure.
E.J. lives in rural Oregon with her curmudgeonly husband, the only man on the planet who cares less about sports than she does. She enjoys visits from her wonderful adult children, and indulges in good books, red wine, and the occasional hyperbole.
Connect with E.J.:
Website: ejrussell.com
Blog: ejrussell.com/bloggery/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/E.J.Russell.author
Twitter: twitter.com/ej_russell
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/ejrussell/
To celebrate the release of both books in the Art Medium series, one lucky winner will receive a $25 Amazon credit and an ebook copy of both titles in the Legend Tripping series! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Contest closes at midnight, Eastern time, on April 7, 2017 and is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Don’t forget to leave your contact info!
But the creepy-ass mask was what caught my attention when I saw the cover. It’s so cool! Congrats on the new release!
serena91291@gmail(dot)com
Thanks, Serena! I had to go easy on the creepy-ass masks, though, if I wanted to sleep at night!
I thought both of these stories were fun and creepy, lol! Congrats on such entertaining stories and good luck with the new release! elewkf1at yahoo dot com
Oh thank you so much! It’s always such a thrill when a reader the same thing out of my story that I put into it (and “fun” and “creepy” were top of the list!).
Thank you for sharing your characters’ inspiration and pinterest board. I’m not usually casting any specific person while reading but it’s always great to learn where/whom the author inspired from.
Congrats on the new release!
puspitorinid AT yahoo DOT com
Thanks, Didi! For some reason, I always have to have a picture in mind before I start writing–maybe because I struggle with descriptions (my characters run the risk of being nothing but “talking heads”), so I need something to look at to keep me on track!
Congrats on the release. Thanks for a view into how you write a character.
heath0043 at gmail dot com
Thank you!
Ooh, Alex Pettyfer…people made me feel like a weirdo because he was the ONLY thing I loved about MAGIC MIKE (well, sure, Matt B. would have been a highlight with a better role), and because I dug him instead of Channing. Good to know I’m not alone!
vitajex(At)Aol(Dot)com
Heehee! He just looked so…haunted…in that picture. Perfect for the character!
I don’t visually cast celebrities for characters but instead I think of the men I’ve seen on, say, Pinterest/Tumblr/Instagram. They just pop off my head & visually casting them definitely makes my reading experience more enjoyable. BTW, Luke in Tested in Fire cover was the guy I had in mind while I was reading it. I just…can really picture him there. Like somebody said, he got this ‘smoldering eyes’ thing going. So gorgeous. <3
mushyvince(at)gmail(dot)com
Oooh, excellent! I usually use actors because I stand a reasonable chance of coming up with one–although I watch TV and movies so infrequently now that all my references are starting to get out of date!
As a general rule, I have my own cast in mind when I read a book, but it is not always actors. Sometimes I imagine them like people I know and just change something… But it is good to know how you visualize your characters
Congrats on the release. I really enjoy you books
susanaperez7140(at)Gmail(dot)com
When I read other people’s books, I do the same, actually. But I have the luxury then that somebody else has to describe them!
Thanks for sharing your interesting pick of cast and I think it’s great that L.C. Chase managed to find cover models with a likeness to what you imagined.
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
L.C. is amazing. She’s done the majority of my book covers, and the process is always wonderful. She really wants authors to be happy with the final designs.
I wish descriptions and/or inspiration pics were included at the beginning of every book!
jlshannon74 at gmail.com
I’ve become very fond of Pinterest for that. Linking to online images is free, for one thing–plus it gives me something to post about in the blog tour. 🙂
Thanks so much for hosting me today, Dani, and thanks to everyone who stopped by and left such great comments!
ha! half the time I don’t even know the people that have been cast….guess it’s fun to go check google though
leetee2007(at)hotmail(dot)com
Sounds like a great book, looking forward to reading it!
nikolina1812 @ yahoo .com
I’m so glad you spend the time to make sure the covers reflect your vision of characters. I’ve read so many books where the cover doesn’t match at all. I know it’s crazy, in my mind, but I can’t get beyond it and it really detracts from the story.
I love this cover and the synopsis!
Whoops…
dfair1951@gmail.com
Congrats, Kim, and thanks for the post. This sounds great. – Purple Reader,
TheWrote [at] aol [dot] com