How did you come up for the idea for
the series and how many books are there total?
Ah! The idea for the series . . . I
get asked that a lot. UNDERTOW is a combination of the war stories of my
grandfather (who was a WWII Marine and landed on Iwo Jima), my obsession with
Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of Peter Benchley’s novel, JAWS, and my love affair
with Cape Cod and its “everybody knows everybody” vibe. As for the number of
books, there are 4 main novels, and one novella. Only the first 2 novels are
out right now – UNDERTOW and STORMFRONT (as of August 13, 2014). UNDERTOW is
now on summer reading lists for high schools.
The local kids from Cape Cod are
saying the stuff in the books is REAL! They are messing with me, right?
The series is based on a REAL
version of Cape Cod. In fact, one
of the characters owns an ice cream shop named The Milk Way. While “The Milk
Way” is fictitious, it is 100% based on Four Seas Ice Cream in Centerville
(a REAL town, were fictional Eila lives). Four Seas knows they are in the book
and they host book signings. Other things in the book that are real to Cape Cod
(so you can basically visit here and do all the things that Eila and her crew
do) are:
Eila’s house – The home the main character
inherits, and thus sets off the chain of events for UNDERTOW, does exist in the
historic area of
Centerville, not far from Four Seas Ice Cream. It used to be owned by a
friend of mine and we hung out in it all the time when we were young. She now resides
in Hong Kong as a pilot, so we catch up on Facebook and she gives me more
secrets about how the house was built. FYI – don’t go knocking on the door,
because someone else owns the house now.
Barnstable High School – Totally
real and totally cool public high school that does some crazy thing. The students
and faculty know they are in the novels (and even decided to begin building
their own book trailer based on the series), so they allow me to come in and
walk the halls as needed to make sure I stay true to the story. And yes – it is
so huge that I need a GPS to find my way out. 2000+ students go there. Their award winning theater department became part of a major TV network series
known as High Drama a
few years ago. American Idol contestant Siobhan Magnus was a
student there.
The Jeep Subculture – Again, totally real. On Cape Cod,
Wranglers are the most beloved
vehicles of all. Most families have one, and if you drive one, other Wrangler
drivers will wave to you when you pass each other – like Harley riders do. And
yes – you can drive them out onto some of the beaches (MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHICH
ONES!)
Witch Balls, The Crimson Moon, and
Eila’s Bracelet – All real. Witch Balls are made at any one of our beautiful, glass-blowing shops (and yes –
you can watch them actually blow glass, which is so cool). The Crimson Moon was
based on The Lavender Moon, which is
no longer in business. It was owned by a real coven of witches and when you
would go in there, you could buy healing stones, herbs, crystals, oils, etc.
Don’t worry – Dalca didn’t work at the real version! Eila’s bracelet is a
staple of Cape Cod and there are several variations, though the original is
simply called a Cape
Cod Bracelet. They come in various sizes, so having a two-year-old with one
is not unusual. The ball screws the bangle together, which means that sucker
ain’t coming off, so don’t get it caught on anything or your arm may go with
it.
Town Neck, the Bonfire party, and
the infamous bridge –
All real, though I did take a few creative liberties. So, Town Neck beach is
part of the town of Sandwich. It has the boardwalk, just as
described, and the long beach at the end, AND, yes, the river. Kids can jump
from the bridge (yup, I’ve done it too, and IT IS FREEZING). However, you
cannot drive a car out on Town Neck and you are not supposed to bonfire there –
all those things can be done on SANDY NECK or NAUSET (where Raef hunts),
so I kinda sorta blended the two beaches.
Barnstable Harbor
and the Ferry
– Totally true and yes, you can sit and people watch. You can also catch a Cape
Cod Baseball League game in the nearby field. The Cape Cod League is famous
because so many players get called up to the Majors.
More of Cape
Cod appears in each new novel in the series and I do blog often about the Cape,
writing, and the series on my blog at http://capecodscribe.com
I saw Raef at the mall!!! Like –
REALLY HIM! I was totally fangirling!! How is that possible?
Because all
the cover models are real kids from Cape Cod and none were professional models.
We found them through Facebook (yes – I stalked teenagers on Facebook). They
needed to match the characters that were already written and their parents
needed to agree to let them become the faces of the characters. I have a
fabulous, young photographer named Alex, and a full television studio that we
use when we do photoshoots. Each shoot takes about seven hours. It is weird to
be there during the shoots as ALL the characters are hanging out, laughing and
sharing music. The kids also come to book signings and sign as their characters
and pose with fans. They have been on TV, in newspapers, and on blogs. Their complete profiles and who the real kids
are behind the faces can be found on my blog, CapeCodScribe.com.
How can I contact you? Enter to win
Swag? Find out when the next book will launch? Meet you in person?
My blog is a great place to start (CapeCodScribe.com), but I also have a Facebook
Page, Instagram (K_R_Conway), and Twitter.
On Amazon,
you can sign up to get an email when a new book releases. Fans who post
Facebook statuses about the book, tweet, Pinterest, Instagram and what not can
win swag from me.
Book & Author Details:
Stormfront by K.R. Conway
(Undertow #2)
Publication date: August 15th 2014
(Undertow #2)
Publication date: August 15th 2014
Synopsis:
Not long
ago Eila Walker’s choices were limited: death by a bullet to the head, or at
the hands of her beloved bodyguard, Raef. Now, five weeks after Raef triggered
her power and she nearly leveled a historic mansion, Eila is dealing with the
fall-out of her decisions. While she doesn’t remember dying in the arms of the
soul thief who loves her, she knows that Raef remembers everything about the
night he nearly killed her.
Now on the mend and attempting to
keep one step ahead of the FBI, Eila and her team of misfits are desperate for
a bit of normal. Eila is trying to navigate high school, while her BFF Ana is
cautiously hanging with past-boyfriend and soul thief, Kian. Shape-shifter, MJ,
is trying not to piss off his mother, while Raef is coping with his fears that
Eila will never be safe.
But just as “normal” seems within
their grasp, a powerfully built newcomer arrives. Raef knows the scarred man as
a Blacklist Dealer – a soul thief, who peddles the names of humans who deserve
to die. Eila, however, knows him as the protective hunter from the woods, who
she nicknames Thor. Before long, Raef and Eila realize they’ve met the same
killer, and he has one hell of a story to tell the five friends . . . if Raef
doesn’t murder him first.
STORMFRONT is the second book in the
Bestselling UNDERTOW series.
Purchase:
Will be found here come release day:
AUTHOR
BIO
K.R. Conway has been a professional writer for most of her
adult life. She has been a journalist since 1999, an editor, graphic
designer, critique partner for other writers, novelist, and book reviewer.
She teaches the devious art of telling lies for money to various
impressionable young people (i.e. she teaches fiction craft classes
for teens and adults). She is also on the Board of Directors for
the Cape Cod Writers Center, a PAL member of the SCBWI, and the
driver of a 16-ton school bus. She tweets her
random thoughts @sharkprose and is on Facebook, because
even her BFF’s dog is.
K.R. Conway is the author of the UNDERTOW series, which includes last year’s Amazon bestseller, UNDERTOW, and this August’s release, STORMFRONT.She lives on Cape Cod with her two children and husband, two weird dogs, and a cage-defiant lovebird that sleeps in a miniature tent.
Author links:
Blitz-wide giveaway
A signed copy of STORMFRONT + Swag
Open to US and Canada; ends August 19th
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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