Interview with Ryan Ray, Hunky Cover Model from HER WILD HERO (X-OPS 3)!

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Interview with Ryan Ray, Hunky Cover Model from HER WILD HERO (X-OPS 3)!

To celebrate the release of HER WILD HERO, Book 3 in my X-OPS Series, on May 5th, I've been posting weekly interviews with each of the handsome cover models from the first three books in the series. This week I'm interviewing Ryan Ray, hunky cover model from HER WILD HERO!

I'm so excited to have you on my blog today! When my editor sent me the cover for HER WILD HERO, I was absolutely thrilled. I couldn't have asked them to pick a better model for the hero, bear shifter, Declan MacBride! Do the photographer or publisher (Sourcebooks) tell you anything about the book you're posing for? Like what type of hero you're playing? Do they talk about your character's "motivation?"

Ryan: The photographer was very adamant on me expressing the intensity and sexiness through my eyes, like a more serious but still sexy version of Ben Stiller's patented "blue steel"! I hope I was able to deliver!

Love it! And yes, you certainly did! :) Can you walk me through the photo shoot? How many photos do they take? How long does the shoot take? Inquiring minds want to know!

Ryan: The photographer took hundreds of photos from different angles and poses. He had an industrial fan blowing on us for most of the shots to get the wind effect. All in all, the shoot took less than an hour.

And I'm sure they all looked amazing! I don't how the art department at Sourcebooks picked! Have you ever worked with the female model playing the kickbutt heroine Kendra Carlsen to your hero before the cover shoot for HER WILD HERO? Feel free to give her a shout out here if you want because like you, she's perfect for the heroine!

Ryan: I have not worked with her before, but she looks amazing in the shot! I can see why she was chosen to portray Kendra Carlsen, hope she is doing well!

Yes, she's perfect for Kendra! Did you see the cover before I showed it to you? What did you think of the finished version?

Ryan: No, I didn't see the cover until it was finalized. I was very pleased with how the cover turned out! I showed my mom the cover right away and she thought it was amazing! In fact, she has already reserved about 10 copies to give out to friends and family.

Awesome! I've talked to your mom on FB, and she's a sweetheart! Have you done a lot of romance book covers?

Ryan: No, this is only my third romance book cover.

Well, I'm sure you'll be getting a lot more after this! What other kind of modeling do you do?

I was featured as Atlas in The Lonely Island's most recent music video "Hugs" featuring Pharrell, the latest Jockey underwear TV commercial and several YouTube Videos, also a couple swimwear catalog shoots. I also made an appearance on ABC'S Mistresses.

Hear that, girls! The Jockey underwear commercial! :) As someone who loves football, I was excited to read that you played linebacker in school. Are you still a huge football fan? Favorite team?

Ryan: I still enjoy watching football, and my favorite NFL team is the Dallas Cowboys, but I'm not a die hard fan like my brother, (who still lives in Texas), I only like them when they are doing good!

LOL! That's too funny! We're also cowboy fans, but not fanatics! They're too much of an up and down team for that! :) I see that you play the guitar. Did you ever want to be a career musician?

Ryan: I was pretty convinced during high school that my brother and I were going to be successful rock stars but things didn't turn out quite the way I thought they would, but I still play guitar from time to time!

Secretly (well, not so secretly now, I guess) I'm glad you didn't start a band because then you wouldn't have been on the cover of my book! :) You have two dogs-Ninja and Star (cute names, BTW!)-any fun tidbits about them you'd like to share?

Ryan: Ninja is a 5 year old Yorkie and Star is a 2 year old Min Pin. We named Ninja because of my fascination with ninjas. I named Star after the character Jamie Gerts plays in the movie Lost Boys. And of course if you put the two of them together you get a "Ninja-Star"! The two of them are like children. Star is my baby, we rescued her from the shelter about a year ago and she has brought a lot of love and chaos to the house! Ninja is more of a loner, but has quite the feisty attitude at times!

I've seen pics on your and FB page, and they're cuties! Our fur baby is part min pin! :) Speaking of animals, some of the heroes and heroines in my X-Ops Series are shifters. They don't actually turn into animals, but instead have certain traits. For example, as a bear shifter, Declan MacBride, the hero of HER WILD HERO and the character you portray on the cover, can see better at night, has a keen sense of smell, has claws and fangs that come out when she needs them, and is super strong. If you could be a shifter in the X-OPS world, would you want to be a bear shifter like Declan, or another kind of shifter, and why?

Ryan: I would choose to be a Panther shifter. Panthers are known to be strong and fierce, with an almost ghostly quality. All traits that I see in myself.

A panther is a great choice! What's your workout routine like?

Ryan: I always do at least 30 minutes of cardio on the treadmill, first thing in the morning upon waking up, usually a walk/run combo with high intensity intervals using speed and incline. Sometimes when I need a break from the treadmill I will default to the stairmaster. I don't do much heavy weight lifting these days but always try to incorporate a push/pull combo such as curls and presses. And then of course, I always fit in some core/ab work, usually the ab wheel with variations of crunches!

Sounds fun! What are you up to now and where can people find you on the net?

Since the new year I was featured in a music video (not yet released), a new health product infomercial and most recently a popular workout video series!