Today I'm pleased to welcome author Megan Squires to the blog as part of the promotional tour for her new adult release, Demanding Ransom. Megan is giving us a behind the scenes look at not only how the photoshoot for the cover came together, but she's also sharing some of the stills she didn't end up using as well, so I hope you guys enjoy. Be sure and check out the bottom of the post too as Megan and the amazing ladies at Kismet Book Touring have put together a fantastic giveaway!
THE MAKINGS OF A PHOTOSHOOT
While I love writing, photography is another creative outlet of mine. I own a studio in my town, and have been a photographer here for over five years. So it makes sense to marry my love of pictures, with my love of words. For each book that I’ve written, I’ve done a photoshoot to accompany it. I knew as I was writing Demanding Ransom that there was so much I wanted to capture about this story with my camera.
First came the models. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect Maggie and Ran. On their own Greta and Cameron were fantastic, but together… it was just magic. Both have acting backgrounds, which made actually believing them as Maggie and Ran that much easier.
Then came the wardrobe. This was one of my favorite parts—bringing Maggie and Ran to life through their clothing and style. Maggie isn’t extravagant; she’s a kind of jeans and t-shirt kind of gal. And Ran is this unassuming, gorgeous, reformed bad boy. We needed grays and dark colors and tattoos and messy hair. Our makeup artist did a great job with their look and my assistant and I got the hair just perfect.
We shot at two locations: the headshots at my studio, and the motorcycle, outdoor shots at a nearby field. While I had backlit dreams and gorgeous sunsets in mind, Mother Nature had a different idea. But I actually love the moody skies she gave us. I think it definitely reflects the tone of the book.
I love so much about these images and how you can really feel the connection between Maggie and Ran. For just meeting a few hours earlier, Greta and Cameron rocked it in the chemistry department and completely brought the story to life. I loved every minute of this shoot and hope to do another for Ransom’s Note (available early 2014).
And the winning shot:
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DEMANDING RANSOM
Sometimes life takes things away from you. In nineteen-year-old Maggie Carson’s case, it’s taken more than its fair share.
Determined to move forward, Maggie embarks on her first year of college, hoping to finally put her past behind her, exactly where it belongs.
But that’s hard to do when the present is just as difficult. And even harder when someone like Ran, the gorgeous paramedic that keeps crossing Maggie’s path, challenges her to face things head on, rather than bury them like she always does.
Ran hasn’t had a perfect life either. But there’s something different about him, and something different about the way he makes Maggie feel. Maybe meeting Ran is life’s little gift for Maggie—a sort of consolation prize for enduring everything she's had to go through.
But things don’t come easy for Maggie. Why should love be the exception? And just when everything starts to settle, it’s all turned on its head once again.
If there is one thing Ran has taught Maggie, it’s that you can’t sit on the sidelines of your own existence. When life takes something that’s yours, you have every right to demand it back.
Only for Maggie, that is easier said than done.
Note: Demanding Ransom is a New Adult Romance with non-explicit sexual content.
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MEGAN SQUIRES
Megan Squires lives with her husband and two children just outside of Sacramento, California. A graduate from the University of California, Davis, Megan is now a full-time mother, wife, and dreamer – though her characters don’t often give her much opportunity to sleep.
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BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY
Megan is offering up 5 eCopies of Demanding Ransom as a tour-wide giveaway! This giveaway is open internationally as long as you can receive gifts via amazon.com, just enter via the Rafflecopter below.
BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY
Megan is offering up 5 eCopies of Demanding Ransom as a tour-wide giveaway! This giveaway is open internationally as long as you can receive gifts via amazon.com, just enter via the Rafflecopter below.
Don't forget to check out all the other participating blogs for more Demanding Ransom fun!
Monday, June 24th - Just Reading For Fun
Tuesday, June 25th - Nose Graze
Wednesday, June 26th - The Irish Banana
Thursday, June 27th - Proserpine Graving Books
Friday, June 28th - The Bookswarm
Monday, July 1st - Bewitched Bookworms
Tuesday, July 2nd Supernatural Snark
Wednesday, July 3rd - Krista's Dusk Jacket
Thursday, July 4th - Basia's Book Shelf
Friday, July 5th - Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Monday, July 8th - Rose's Book Corner
Tuesday, July 9th - Confessions From Romaholics
Wednesday, July 10th - Xpresso Reads
Thursday, July 11th - The Book Cellar
Friday, July 12th - Selkie Reads Stories
I love all the photos! The cover is perfect although I can see why she would have a hard time picking just one picture, they are all fabulous!
ReplyDeleteAren't they gorgeous? I love all of them:)
DeleteI cannot express my love for these Photos! They are phenomenal and both Maggie and Ran look so pretty, and beautiful and *sigh*
ReplyDeleteThe new cover is most definitely made of win!
YES. Love the new cover. These photos are just so pretty all on their own, they don't need any extra manipulation.
DeleteSo many cute pics, I like the one were they are resting on the field
ReplyDeleteThey're an adorable couple, and I always like having a picture of the characters in my head when reading:)
DeleteI love the anatomy of photoshoots. Once upon a time, I modeled, for God knows what reason, so it's interesting to see how these things work for books. Plus, Greta and Cameron have a ton of chemistry! Great feature, Jenny! :)
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time I did photoshoots myself, so we're a pair aren't we? Model and photographer. Win.
DeleteHow fantastic that you did your own photoshoot and didn't have to rely on stock photos. Definitely makes the cover both unique and beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHer photos are amazing, I can't wait to see what she does for her next book!
DeleteThese photos are beautiful!<3 I love the pic of Cameron/Ran on the motorcycle and also all the photos of them together<3333 I'm really interested in this book now...must stalk all other tour stops! Thanks for sharing these gorgeous photos :))
ReplyDeleteYes. That motorcycle shot is hot:) Hope you give Demanding Ransom a try Shirley!
DeleteThat is so cool that the author shot her own cover! And it's stunning! You can totally see that the 2 models share a lot of chemistry.
ReplyDeleteAnd they are both so gorgeous! Love it!
Thanks for sharing, Jenny! :)
You're welcome Nick, so glad you enjoyed the guest post. I definitely want to see more of her work, both writing and photography:)
DeleteVery fun post, I love the models....they look all modelie....;D
ReplyDeleteVery cool to see exactly how the cover came together for this one! Also, great to see that the author was so involved in the process. Love it!
ReplyDeleteLove the shots, I read and loved this book. I have a tour stop Friday and will share my review in August
ReplyDeleteYAY! I found a new book that I love to read. Thanks for sharing. I'm adding it.
ReplyDeleteOh boy! These two are so cuttttteeee *stares* Ah that guy ;-) I really, really want to read this one. I didn't really know what it took in order to make a book cover, it's not exactly an ordinary modelling job you see on ANTM or something lol, so it's awesome to see how it came together. Wow! The pics are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteOoh, that's so cool! I haven't heard of authors doing their own photoshoots before, so this was new. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYay! Sacramento girl! I miss living in Sacramento. We're trying to see if we can move back there...maybe. And UC Davis! I wish I'd gone to school there. Davis is the coolest town. Fab post.
ReplyDeleteI like seeing all the outtakes... or the ones they don't use for the cover. Just my curiosity. These are such cute characters!
ReplyDeleteOoh I love getting this behind the scenes peek at how these romantic covers get made. I can imagine it would be awkward for two models to meet and then start gazing intently into each other's eyes and kissing, but these two really did have amazing instant chemistry. This looks like a romantic read, and I'm always on the lookout for new ones. Thanks for sharing! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh I really like that she does her own covers! It turned out great too :)
ReplyDeletelooks and sounds fun!!! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteAhm Jenny do you by any chance have a number of this guy? :D You know where you can find me ;) Kidding I really like the pics and I have never seen more this photoshooting for any cover :) Thanks for sharing Jenny and for opportunity to win the book ;)
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! Those pics are beautiful! You are multitalented. Can you take my family pic?LOL
ReplyDeleteI absolutely adore these! They make me want to read the book just to attach names and stories to these gorgeous pics, to put them into context, which I guess is sort of the point, so good job!
ReplyDeleteI'll be back to stare once I read it. :)