Welcome to #FeatureFriday! Today we have the lovely Lex Chase talking cosplay! It’s a great way to bring your book to life, give it even more character, and interact with fans on a unique level. Have a look below and see what you think!
My dear friend Mae and I have a frequent discussion that goes like this:
Me: *finds an outfit on Zulily* *texts picture to Mae* “WILL YOU WEAR THIS?”
Her: “OKAY.”
Me: “OOPS. FELL IN MY CART.”
And really we do text in all caps. We’re those people.
You see, Mae is my official mascot and cosplayer. She and I bond over a mutual love of anime and comic fandom, and with it comes dressing up as your favorite characters. One day started talking about her cosplaying my boys and girls in an official mascot capacity. From Taylor and Gabrielle from the Fairy Tales of the Open Road series and Sevon of the upcoming Darkmore Saga, she’s more than happy for me to shove her in weird outfits and take her picture.
Despite me being an author, and deadlines constantly breathing down my neck, I still have responsibilities that involve promoting my brand.
And that means taking the days to get crafty or trek out to other towns and do a photoshoot. Mae and I are a two-person crew. There are no elaborate sets, I don’t have a team of assistants doing hair, makeup, and measuring the lighting. It all comes out of our pockets, and as cheaply as we possibly can, but still have it look good. Mae does her own make-up. I style her wigs, because when you have a hairdresser as a mother, you learn a thing or two!
We prefer as close to ready-made as possible with little alteration needed, because I have very limited sewing skills. I can follow a pattern, but winging something is outside my my area of expertise. I’m also scared of sewing machines. True story!
I have a degree in Graphic Design, and all the photo editing and touch up you see is by me, myself, and I. And stuff I don’t know how to do, I bury myself in hours of YouTube tutorials.
Then comes going out to the site in question, and asking permission to shoot and explaining the technical details to supervisors that don’t understand but let you in anyway.
Mae remains a huge sport about all of it. We’re in Florida, and some outdoor shoots have been so humid it’ll choke you, or so hot you’ll have sweat running down your back in seconds. Still, no matter how much water I shove at her, or make sure she eats, she just as a big smile and says “I’m thinking why don’t we do this kind of shoot!”
Mae is coming with me to GRL this year, and will be running around in official capacity as my mascot dressed as my boys and girls. She’ll be handing out swag to people, and representing me and my books. I hope people get a kick out of it. We’re already plotting new costumes we want to try out, and I can’t wait until you see what we have planned.
To see more of Mae in all of her costumed glory check our shoots out at my blog!
Lex Chase once heard Stephen King say in a commercial, “We’re all going to die, I’m just trying to make it a little more interesting.” Now, she’s on a mission to make the world a hell of a lot more interesting.
Weaving tales of cinematic, sweeping adventure—and depending on how she feels that day—Lex sprinkles in high-speed chases, shower scenes, and more explosions than a Hollywood blockbuster. Her pride is in telling stories of men who kiss as much as they kick ass. If you’re going to march into the depths of hell, it better be beside the one you love.
Lex is a pop culture diva, her DVR is constantly backlogged, and unapologetically loved the ending of Lost. She wouldn’t last five minutes without technology in the event of the apocalypse and has nightmares about refusing to leave her cats behind.
You can find in the Intarwebz here:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LXChase
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Lex_Chase
Tumblr: http://lexiconofkittens.tumblr.com
Instagram: http://instagram.com/lexachase
Tricia Kristufek 