THE WINDFIRE SERIES

Friday, October 29, 2010

The Hybrid kids from Moon Over Manhattan

L to R: Connor Trevlin (Model: Garret West), Justin Banner (Model: John Jeffords), Tyler MacManus (Model: Robert Skadal), Shannon Yoder (Model: Michelle Medoff), Gabe Cotswald (Model: Tyler Gattoni), Ken "Keebler" Willis (Model: Ben Broad), Riley Trevlin (Model: Allyson Morgan), Kade Warner (Model: Rachel Ghilardi), and Mandy Sue Blume (Model: Anna Wallace-Deering).

In the 2nd book of Living Dead Girl Saga, called Shattered, we meet nine hybrid kids in their teens. By the time we reach Moon Over Manhattan they're young adults in their 20's. When we did the Moon Over Manhattan Photo-shoot I wasn't finished writing the book so I didn't know how big of a role they'd end up playing. But, seeing as they do end up in all the books I added them to the LDG shoot we did the summer of 2011 and I have back-dated the posting to show them here by the other MOM pics.

Note: We also did pics of them younger, for the LDG books. So you'll see pics of them in the LDG section up in October of 2011 as well as here, where they're depicted as being in their early 20's.

Gabe Cotswald (Model: Tyler Gattoni)
Gabe is a hybrid of Vampire and Water Witch. His talent revolves around storms, specifically rain/thunder/lightning...lightning being the key here. Electrical power. Personality wise Gabe would be a cross between Vinny Barbarino (from the TV show Welcome Back Cotter) and James Dean. Raised from the age of 9 by Phoenix Keziah, in MOM he is working for The Order at their NYC office as an intern...which he hates. Though not one of the original eight of the Knights of Cydonia, he's easily the leader and is the first to have ideas for battle. He has a crush on Denika.

Tyler MacManus (Model: Robert Skadal)
When we meet Tyler in LDG he's young, has a stutter, and he is how the readers first get a taste of what hybrids can do. Tyler is a hybrid of Vampire and Fire Witch. As an adult he's gotten rid of the majority of his stutter and has complete control of his gifts. He's the only vampire who can be fully engulfed in flames and be fine. He also can throw fire balls. Yeah, he'd have made a GREAT pitcher for the Yankees. :) He and Gabe are usually at each other's throats bickering like old women. This stems from the fact that Tyler works at the NYC office for The Order also and is higher up than Gabe.

Shannon Yoder (Model: Michelle Medoff)
Shannon is a hybrid of Vampire and Water Witch, like Gabe, but her powers are different. She has control over moisture in the air. Her more impressive skill is using the moisture to create tornados (small and large). And because she's got some skill with a storms she's a fantastic pilot. In MOM she's their helicopter pilot. Liam thinks that's hot. But this loverly lady is taken. Who's the BF? You'll have to read to find out.

Ken "Keebler" Willis (Model: Ben Broad) and his sister Kade Warner (Model: Rachel Ghilardi)
These two have different father's but the same mother, who is a Snow Leopard Shape Shifter. Keeb's father was a Water Witch and Kade's father was a Fire Witch. They control of the seasons/weather. Kade heats up Summer and drys out the Fall while Keeb brings the rain of Spring and the ice of Winter. The other kids call them the Bobbsey Twins or the Wonder Twins in jest. Keebler is the computer wiz kid of the group and enjoys playing the guitar and Kade is the actress of the group. She likes to sing, dance and act.

Connor & Riley Trevlin (Models: Garret West & Allyson Morgan)
These siblings are the only ones that share both their mother and their father. Mom was a Earth Witch and dad was a Werewolf. In LDG these two are very different. Connor is a skateboarding dude with long bangs and the typical "skater" attititude and dress (very laid back). He's megga protective of his sister but mainly because Riley is a tom-boy who is unsure of herself (more so than normal teenage girls) and has a crush on Tyler (who has a crush on someone else, of course). Now, though they are the same make-up, genetically speaking, their gifts with the Earth vary. When younger, Riley can reshape the earth. Need a chair? She can make it from dirt and rocks. Connor can move the earth, as in rocks and boulders. Plus, it speaks to him. He can touch the ground and it'll tell him where something is. As they get older these talents grow. Riley, who feels she's pretty useless, discovers her ability also allows her to open the earth. She could easily make another Grand Canyon if she put her mind to it. She could also create an earthquake. Connor, as he gets older, is able to hurl large rocks and boulders through the air and just by walking barefoot on the earth, can track anyone, anywhere they've gone, as long as it's not been more than a week since they stepped on that ground.

Mandy Sue Blume (Model: Anna Wallace-Deering)
Mandy is a mix of Fire Witch and shape shifter. It's the type of shape shifter that's unique though. She's a phoenix with an easy 6 foot wing span. She can fly totally consumed by fire and breathe it too, like a dragon. Personality wise, she is the leader of the group, especially when the group is younger. She's the organizer, the one who makes sure everyone knows where they need to be and when, the one who sets up the Circle meetings, etc. She's in a relationship with Justin Banner.

Justin Banner (Model: John Jeffords)
Justin is a mix of Cheetah Shape Shifter and a Water Witch. His power with water is different than Shannon's or Gabe's. He's similar to the X-man character IceMan. As he gets older, he can become moveable ice himself, becoming completely see through. *No refrigerator/freezer required* When younger, he's also the "jock" of the group. Plays most sports but of course, prefers Hockey. He loves the NY Rangers. He and Mandy have been a "thing" since they were fifteen.
















For pics of them as kids...head to the October, 2011 postings!

xo

Tamsin :)

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo-Shoot for Moon Over Manhattan: Behind the Scenes - PART II



No Fantasy novel is complete without swords...or...well...maybe that's just in my opinion? :)

Again I open with a great pic of my leading lady with both her swords and the rest of her pack. In the book she is ambidextrous with her sword fighting skills, a family trait, which is why all pics of her character, Denika, and her brother, Demyan, have double swords. For example...







WELCOME TO PART II OF MY "BEHIND THE SCENES" BLOG...

So, where were we? Oh yes...we had changed location! We walked down West Drive from the castle to Umpire Rocks...loosing Jerome and Richard on the way in the mass of "Walk for the Cure" folks walking for Breast Cancer Awareness. While we waiting on them we decided on war paint for the rest of the primary cast and started getting them all done up.

We were on a time table. You see, two days before the shoot I find out one of my main pack members has to be at work at 2pm in SoHo. And I was like..."Crap! I can still make this work! (You see, when its an ensemble cast you miss one you really just can't do any group shots at all). Then, the night before the shoot another model emails me that he has to be gone by 12:30pm. Well...now I'm in a HUGE bind cause I can get group stuff done by 1pm but there is no way in hell I can do by 12:30pm. Luckily I called and spoke to him and he was able to move his leave time till 1pm and we got both gentlemen out and on their way in time but...it was mighty stressful, I won't lie.


Here are a few pics that Robbie took. First one is of Lauren done up as Denika down by the rocks at Umpire Rocks and then Orion (Cash) and Mark (Phin).



As soon as Richard and Jerome found us and we were done up in make-up we started with a few "boys only" pics (see below)...and then group photos by the rocks (see first pic of this blog entry).



My time was running out to have Phin and Liam there so I knew that one of the things for the website will be solo shots to go with character descriptions so I set up solo shots for Phin and then, because his character and Lexie are slowly becoming an item in the book we got a few pics with them as well.





After we did those we had to get one of Liam...and we decided to do an action shot of sorts...something to fit the character. We had him get set to attack someone coming around the corner. I think it fits him well. :)

Once we let the man playing Liam go it was around 1:30pm so I paid everyone to go take lunch, sending Lauren to fetch MY food whilst I went to fetch the secondary cast members...namely one of my "maybe or maybe not a bad guy" Shade. His pictures, along with those of Demyan will need to be altered in photo-shop due to eye color. We tried the colored contacts but they were not saturated enough ($30 each too...ouch) to show up in person let alone on camera so I will save all the pics of our "bad guys" or I suppose "could be bad guys" until those pictures are fixed up.

After our lunch break we were fighting the "light battle" as our daylight was dying fast...so we began to move with purpose. We did no only solo shots of the "bad guys" but a few with our heroine with her lover, Shade, and her brother, Demyan.


Now, do understand that the book is written in third person, but from two perspectives only...which was different for me since my first series (not saying Moon Over Manhattan will be a series, but it might, we'll see) comes from multiple perspectives. I wanted to challenge myself...see if I could do a whole story just from two. I'd planned on just one but you really can't "see" a character without seeing her from someone elses eyes--a woman never sees herself honestly, we're too hard on ourselves. So, in order to do that, I also write the book from Cash's perspective---how he sees her. They're partnership in this book is vital to the story and so was finding the right guy to portray him...and believe it or not, I found him working a wedding. LOL! Here is one of my favorite shots of Cash (aka Orion Talley). Look at that great tat work on his arms that Niki did! Just wonderful stuff!



While Vince was working with our fight choreographer and swordsman, Mark Rosenthal, I took a few snapshots of my cast sitting around...thought you'd like to see them. We have one of Amanda (Inari), one of my loverly make-up goddess Niki, Amanda (Inari) laying out with Tomer (Marlen), and of course, one of Lauren on break:









We finished up the day with solo shots of Denika with her swords (one of which opened Part I of this Behind the Scenes blog) and showing her wolf tat on her low back...



And finally pics of our Alpha and Beta together.

I leave you (for now) with one last group shot. Tune in next time for PART III of "Behind the Scenes of Moon Over Manhattan Photo Shoot" where I'll have my photos of the "bad guys" and my fantastic secondary cast of characters such as Rachel, Brush, Dmitri, Shade and more Demyan!

xo

Tamsin :)

Monday, October 25, 2010

Photo-Shoot for Moon Over Manhattan: Behind the Scenes - PART I


CAST LIST

Primary Cast:
Denika - Lauren Steinmeyer
Cash - Orion Talley
Lexie - Angela Scherrah
Phin - Mark Knight
Liam - Richard Mark Jordan
Inari - Amanda Arma
Marlen - Tomer Versano
Zane - Robbie Skadal

Secondary Cast:
Demyan - Jerome Champigny
Shade - Mateo MacDermant
Dmitri - Kevin Jones
Rachel - Rachel Grundy
Brush - Cedric Jones

Make-up by Niki Quinn
Photography by Vince Lingner
Sword Choreography by Mark Rosenthal



WHAT AN AMAZING DAY! I couldn't have asked for much better of weather for this time of year in NYC so, thank you God! It was sunnier than my photographer would've liked but, alas, all in all...it was quite lovely out; sunny and 65 degrees with only a little wind.

Here's how the day went...

I was up at 5:30am on Oct. 17th and let me tell you...I'm used to getting home at 5:30am and going to bed after going to the club...not getting UP at 5:30am so it was a wee bit rough on me. I'm sure I'm not the only one who felt that way though.

Lauren and Robbie showed up at my place at 6:15am and by 6:30am we were off to Dunkin Doughnuts to buy 2 "Box of Joe" and some doughnuts for the cast and we hailed a car and off we went to Central Park.

We arrived at 81st and Central Park West by 7:09am and as we started into the park we got a text from Niki (Make-up Artist) and we collected her and off we went up the hill to Belvedere Castle. We commandeered a corner near the look out point so we'd not be in tourist's way and were set up and doing make-up by 7:30am! Here's a pic of Niki doing Angela's make-up:



As we began to do work on Lauren I hear Niki say "O.M.G." and I'm like, "What?" and then I turn around and say, "O.M.G." I'm so sorry I don't have pics of what I'm about to tell you but we didn't want to encourage them...so to speak.

I turned around to see two men, possibly in their early 40's, both dressed in normal attire but...they each had on a orange and black striped witch hat that had wild looking orange hair sticking out from under them (same orange as the stripes and obviously part of the hat). They were obviously wasted...and it didn't take long for them to spot us (as we were the only other people there at that hour) and they offered us beer. That's right, 8am and they had a mini-keg with them of Heiniken I believe and they were basically still up from the night before...enjoying the sun rise in Central Park...with us. LOL! Oh dear...they were a sight! We were lucky they decided not to "hang" out with us and went on there way to sit on the steps and sing and yell out drunken think like, "Oooh myyyy Gahhhd...I lost my iPod!" over and over...but usually it was just the "Oooh myyyy Gahhhd"...repeated. :)

They left by the time 9am rolled around so it wasn't a problem for the last half of the cast who showed up, but it was funny for those of us who watched the sun rise over the trees at Central Park. :)



Slowly but surely the group started to arrive. I'd scheduled them in broken up intervals so as to not cause actors to sit around with nothing to do as best I could...but know this, there is always downtime for the actors and models for something like this. Why? Because we can only do make-up on one or two people at a time. But I think we did pretty good and getting folks done quickly. We started with wigs, moved to make-up, then tattoos.

Yes, tattoos! Because the characters are supposed to be covered in a lot of urban tribal tats and my actors obviously were not, our Make-up goddess air brushed them from stencils she made prior to the day. Here she is putting some on Lauren:



While getting ready my behind the scenes photo guru, Robbie Skadal, was doing video and photos...as was I...I'll put them on the left or right as I continue to tell about the shoot. A HUGE plug for my friend Jet Berelson's store, VAMPIRE FREAKS for loaning us some of the clothes you see in these pictures! Most are from the store, either bought or lent. So if you like what you see you should visit the site! http://vampirefreaks.com/


Originally I'd not thought about make-up, like a fool, until Vince mentioned it and then I realized that he was right. Niki's work, as you will see from the final pics, is amazing work and I hightly recommend her. Great to work with, on time, professional, great with the actors/models, takes initiative, and comes through 100%. Her site is http://www.wix.com/nikiquinn/niki2 . She's just lovely to work with!

And for those of you who don't believe in make-up making something amazingly different, let me share these photos with you...this is Robbie, who plays Zane. We did a before and after Pics of him.

Also should mention our amazing photographer, Vince Lingner. Vince is a man of many talents; from acting to photography to set design/construction and the man can sew!
I should also state, that since my Stage Manager for the project ended up getting ill and her replacement bailed on me I had to really focus on timeline and technical things so my "creative side" was having a lot of trouble coming to the surface. Vince would ask "What do you want?" and my mind would go blank. It was wildly frustrating and upsetting to say the least, but Vince was my hero...as he often has been...and when I said "help" he jumped in with both feet and was just fantastic with getting shots we'd discussed before. Many thanks and hugs to that man are due in abundance! :) xoxo

So, on to the shoot itself, yes?

We started with group photos at the castle and it took everyone a bit to feel comfortable and fall into the groove but by the time we were done with the second pose they started to really get into it and have fun. We did pictures of not only the group but also of some singular shots so that the website can have a photo for each character description.

Here's a great one of Phin and then Cash:



Here is a candid of Jerome and Mark (Rosenthal)...enjoying the sun as they wait to be needed as well as pics of Tomer, Cash & Denika at the top of the castle, Richard getting his war paint on, a close of of Lauren (Denika), Angela as Lexie and Amanda as Inari!







When the shoot started we really were some of the only people at the Castle but once we hit around 10am, when the Castle opened, tourists started to flood in and it didn't take long for them to start asking what we were doing. I forsaw this so I brought some of my business cards and told the cast if they were asked just to tell them the truth and give them a card. A few people asked to have their picture taken with some of the girls (no big suprise there, they looked hot!) and by the time we were doing the tattoos for the 2nd half of the shoot and the actors/models were getting changed and ready to move to our other location we had a group of really wonderful ladies talking to us and taking some great photos. In fact, one lady got an amazing shot of Lauren I secretly hope she emails me. :) I asked her but alas, if she lost my card I'll never see it. *sigh* Oh well.

We changed clothes and up and moved to our second location...which will be PART II of my Behind the Scenes blog...but before I go I shall give you one of my fave group shots from Belvedere Castle: