Character profiles, survivor contest (yup. a contest.) and visual cerebral stimulation…

Hello all!

It’s been a bit between this post and the last, so I thought I’d do something special.

So many of you were interested and enjoyed the images I see when I think of the characters from my novel (first of the trilogy, coming at you from the  one and only KnightWatch Press, entitled  “KEEP YOUR CROWBAR HANDY…” ) that I’m going to bow to the requests and give you a little more!

Now, quite a few people have asked me, “Who’s your favorite of the group?”.
To be totally honest? I couldn’t tell you if you put a pistol to my head… Every single character was extremely enjoyable to write and absolutely necessary in the first novel to kick the story off. Without any one of them, be it the good, the bad, the gorgeous, the grungy, the funny, the flaky, the caring  or the just plain crazy? It would’ve been incomplete, inhibited and no more entertaining or engaging than a badly reproduced, weather beaten, hopelessly faded copy of the Kama Sutra (or a knock-off AR-15, sans scope, large capacity magazine or any of the bells and whistles).

But! Without further ramblings (and in no particular order ), here are the images that traipse behind my eyes for some (not all ) of our survivors!

For Nichole, Jake’s obnoxious, self centered but still darned hot, stripper ( sorry.. .exotic dancer ) ex-girlfriend, I’d have to pick Katherine Heigl. Hubba-hubba. Nuff said.

Gloria Stuart (of Titanic fame) would be the one I’d chose to play Gertie (my editor Cassandra’s favorite) Not your typical zombie apocalypse survivor, I’ll admit. However, the gutsy, good natured, highly intelligent and worldly character needs to be part of the group. She’s the “grandmother”/confidant figure that rounds them all out.

Next? Let’s hit Jake’s first-person-shooter-lovin’, fast-drivin’, skydiving, quip-slingin’ best friend, Allen. I gotta tell you,  Dominic Monaghan (from Lost and  the LoTR movies) would be perfect.

Let’s cover the beautiful (and buff!), axe-toting EMT, Maggie. This was tough. I’m a fan of the fairer (not weaker! it’s all equal here. nobody screws around…) sex. It’s a fine line between being a well muscled woman and looking like a poster child against the evils of steroid abuse however. Noemi Olah has no problem being both in top shape and quite lovely.

 

Stephen Lang (who was in Avatar, Terra Nova and villain in the new Conan movie) would be my personal choice for George, the aging (but still able to kick ass. lots of ass), hard hitting, ex-Cold War operative turned apartment sup. He’s got the grey, the guts and the guns to pull it off with ease.

Now ( in my opinion), every post apocalyptic/horror/urban fantasy novel needs a rough and tumble, give-you-a-pop-in-the-teeth-and-look-damn-good-doing-it, “bad-ass, sex kitten” character.  They’re just really fun to write. Either Erica Cerra (one of the regular cast of  Eureka) or  Elodie Yung (from the upcoming, second, G.I.Joe movie ) fit the bill perfectly and would be outstanding in the role of Laurel’s best friend, Kat. Both portray characters that are tough, smoking hot and possess hidden depths, along with much needed martial talents/skills. 

I’m not much of a believer in the you can’t scratch your own back or touch your toes, but can obliterate aliens with a minigun one-handed, “Get to de choppa-a-a-a!!!”  type characters. Nobody’s perfect, so heroes wouldn’t be either. Jared Leto (lead vocalist for the band 30 Seconds to Mars and actor) has the right type of cabled physique,  boyish features ( no block-chinned, behemoths in this novel ) and enough grit to portray KyCH’s Jake, without trying to be the “over the top” action hero.

 Finally. With the enormous number of red-haired, knock-outs today, it was almost impossible to whittle such a large ( appealing ) group down and find the one woman who resembles the final member of KyCH’s survivor group. At least when it comes to being  the visual image of our pistol packing, guitar playing, health food store owner, Laurel. That’s simply because the character has both a fire and potent femininity, that are second to none. While I have no doubt the woman exists (somewhere, in the infinite Zombie-verse), Tara Perry along with Rachel Nichols and a few others, are the nearest I’ve been able to locate that even come close to the image in my back-brain. 

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**Once again, these are just the people I see  when I picture the characters. I’m sure many of your mental images may be different and I look forward to seeing them!**

I mention this because with the release of KyCH, there’s going to be a contest. Well… a couple  of contests, but I’ll give you the heads up on the first one now!

———THE KyCH SURVIVORS PIC CONTEST———

1- You’re going to have to READ the novel! (print version or e-reader, either one!)

2-Like the Fan Page on a certain, social media site. That way you’ll be privy to updates/ announcements/additional contests/news and no, there will NOT be any charge to enter the contests. (NOTE- Fan Page is not up yet but will be shortly and I will announce it!)

3-Find pics of people you think best resemble one (or more!)  of your favorite character/characters.

4-Post them on the aforementioned fan site. (NO porn please. It with just be deleted and not counted as an entry!)

That’s it. That’s all. Those are the only rules!

I’ll stick all the names in a hat (literally!) and draw two. One male, one female.
I think, so everyone knows it’s on the up and up, I’ll have it recorded and post up a video.
Those two winners will receive personalized, inscribed copies of KEEP YOUR CROWBAR HANDY, that I will purchase at full price (not trying to peeve off my publisher, ya know. you guys  at KnightWatch Press rock!) and send to you myself.

That’s it for today, so until next time: Hold your redhead close, drink your Guinness daily and keep your crowbar handy…!