Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway for Crimson Son by Russ Linton

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Book Tour, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions, for Crimson Son by Russ Linton.  Please leave a comment or question for Russ to let him know you stopped by.  You can enter his tour wide giveaway, where Russ will be awarding a $10 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner and another winner will receive a signed copy of Crimson Son (US ONLY), both prizes awarded via rafflecopter during the tour.  You can follow the rest of his tour by clicking on the banner above, the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.

Dream Cast for Movie of Crimson Son by Russ Linton

I’d love to see Crimson Son be made as a movie. Most authors want to see this happen – it’s a sign you’ve “made it” as an author I suppose. Plus there’s Hollywood money. That doesn’t hurt.

Many writers have casting lined-up as they write, giving them a solid fix on appearance and maybe even a bit of character influence. For me, this is the first time I’ve considered it and because of that, this is actually a tough question to answer.

What makes it even harder is that many of the characters in Crimson Son are young and often, the best way to cast that is to find a relatively unknown, fresh face.

Spencer: Barring a spunky newcomer, I’d say Asa Butterfield. It would be interesting to see him outside of the serious, introverted roles he’s best known for. There are plenty of deep scenes for him to sink his teeth into along with a chance to adopt a new, snarky persona.

Sean: (aka Crimson Mask): As an absentee father of sorts, Sean doesn’t appear much in the book. Daniel Craig comes to mind pretty quickly, and while he’s ripped and intense, I’m not quite sure he’s big enough. Maybe some camera tricks? Henry Cavil could work as well. Yeah, he’s already played Superman but the dark, broody version he brought to the screen would actually make more sense as Crimson Mask.

Black Beetle: This one is tough. I’m going to say Michael Emerson because he seems to creep people out, no matter the role. Shave his head and let him stare at people with that flat, alien sorta look he can do and his tiny mouth and even I’d be convinced.

Connie: The scene where Connie is kidnapped was so hard to write because I needed her to be terrified but holding back that fear for Spencer’s sake. Without getting too much into spoilers, Charlize Theron could pull off that complicated mix and carry Connie’s strong, emotional presence throughout the film.

Eric: I want to say Jonah Hill (Superbad era) but he’d need to put a bit of weight back on and might be a too old now for the part. Still fighting for newcomers, maybe Jacob Wysocki (Terry). He’s relatively new and I don’t know his full range as an actor, but I think he could pull it off and even add a bit more dimension to Eric’s character than perhaps came across on the page.

Emily: Olivia Wilde is perfect for the role. Looks are spot-on and I can see her pulling off the right amount of guilt-ridden, big sister sorta feel for her relationship with Spence. Plus I can see Spence being rendered speechless (well, nearly) when she’s the first person he sees after two years in a bunker.

Hound: Michael Douglas. He’s got that air of confidence and charisma. I could totally see him as an ex-marine staring down Spencer, trying to figure out just what to do with that mouthy “kid”.

Hurricane: Christopher Plummer has the right look, but I can’t think of a role where he’s played anything close to Hurricane (though he’s a great actor with more movies I’ve not seen than those that I have.) Gene Wilder has the right amount of crazy to do it though.

Charlotte: What’s sad here is I immediately thought of Game of Thrones Maisie Williams, but Charlotte is actually of Asian descent. Hollywood desperately needs some diversity in that department. I want to say Doona Bae (Cloud Atlas – one of the Asians they didn’t yellow face. That make-up trick might have been cool if it weren’t for the terrible representation of Asians overall…) but she’s not the right age.

Xamse: So, yeah, this is depressing. I resorted to Google searches. No, I don’t think Will Smith’s kid would work. Then I recalled Adrian Kali Turner from Walking Dead. About the right age and if he can pull off convincing drama amid the horror of a zombie apocalypse, then he’s got a bit of insight in Xamse’s level of pain. Xamse has a comparatively short but vital role in Crimson Son, and is one of my favorite characters.

Crimson Son

By Russ Linton

Publisher:  Fictional Work

Release Date:  June 13, 2014

Genre: Coming of Age/Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Length: 327 Pages

ISBN:  9780990316909

ASIN:  B00KZ87P2S

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Buy Links:  Amazon * Amazon UK * B&N * CreateSpace Paperback  * Smashwords  * Google Play * iTunes * Powell's Books * TXTR * Abe Books * Alibris  * Kobo 

About the book:  

His mother kidnapped, his superhero father absent, powerless Spencer Harrington faces a world of weaponized humans to prove himself and find the truth.

Nineteen-year-old Spencer is the son of the Crimson Mask, the world's most powerful Augment. Since witnessing his mother's abduction by a psychotic super villain two years ago, he's been confined to his father's arctic bunker. When the "Icehole" comes under attack from a rampaging robot, Spencer launches into his father's dangerous world of weaponized human beings known as Augments.

With no superpowers of his own save a multi-tool, a quick wit and a boatload of emotional trauma, Spencer seeks to uncover his mother's fate and confront his absentee superhero father. As he stumbles through a web of conspiracies and top secret facilities, he rallies a team of everyday people and cast-off Augments. But Spencer soon discovers that the Black Beetle isn't his only enemy, nor his worst.

EXCERPT

The sound of dry leaves cascading downhill gets louder. My forehead lies flat on the cool earth and stubbornly, my head refuses to turn when I try to get a better look. My eyeballs feel disconnected and keep spinning, no matter how hard I focus. I see running shoes and black, ankle-length stretchy pants approaching. Maybe an Augment?

Wiry arms encircle my chest and start to pull. My moon boots catch at an awkward angle along the frame. As much as I’d love to, I can’t get my limbs to cooperate. She lifts and shifts and twists, struggling with my dead weight until the boot comes free and we tumble backwards. Smooth, damp, cool skin envelops my face for an instant and despite the mental numbness, my thawing hormones recognize the source.

Real, honest to God, non-digitized breasts. Goodbye, iPod diva.

The mystery girl struggles to her feet and drags me away from the crash site. Gently, she lays me on my side and kneels. A highlighted strand of dark brown hair has escaped her ponytail, dangling down her cheek. Her eyes glow with green flecks in the woodland light. Her lips are parted as if she’s mid-sentence. No makeup, just sweat and a smudge of dirt, all forming a stunning image.

I feel violently ill. Stabilizing my spinning head and lurching stomach becomes a priority.

I roll over and clamber to my knees, palms flat on the ground. Standing would be a good start. Impressive, even. Heck, it would impress the hell out of me if I can manage to get vertical with the earth moving this much. I stagger to my feet while she keeps her hands poised to stop the impending face plant.

Figuring out some ingenious way of explaining how I crash landed in the woods that a) makes me sound badass, and b) convinces her I’m not an alien invader (unless she’s into that) isn’t working out at the moment. I could say something cool: “Me? I’ve seen worse.” Or go the funny guy route: “I meant to do that.”

Opening my mouth is a big mistake.

I really hope she didn’t like those shoes.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 In the fourth grade, Russ Linton wrote down the vague goal of becoming a “writer and an artist” when he grew up. After a journey that led him from philosopher to graphic designer to stay at home parent and even a stint as an Investigative Specialist with the FBI, he finally got around to that “writing” part which he now pursues full time.

Russ creates character-driven speculative fiction. His stories drip with blood, magic, and radioactive bugs. He writes for adults who are young at heart and youngsters who are old souls.

Local / Personal Bio

Russ lives in Denton, Texas where he writes beside an unnervingly quiet dog with the support of his history-obsessed son and his extremely patient wife. He regularly pursues community service and is currently scoutmaster for his son’s Boy Scout troop. He is a regular at the North Branch Writers’ Critique Group and has honed his craft through creative writing courses with Stanford University’s continuing studies program as well as writing workshops at local conventions.

Russ holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do which was marginally more useful in a former life not making his living from behind a desk. He enjoys the outdoors and when he isn’t leading his scouts on virtual campouts in Minecraft, he’s making them haul their gear across state parks in the North Texas area.

Social Media

Website - www.russlinton.com

Facebook - facebook.com/RussLinton

Twitter - twitter.com/Russ_Linton

Google Plus - https://plus.google.com/+RussLinton

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