Anna Elliott's "Dark Moon of Avalon"

Anna Elliott is the author of the Twilight of Avalon Trilogy from Simon & Schuster's Touchstone imprint. The trilogy comprises Twilight of Avalon, Dark Moon of Avalon, and the upcoming Sunrise of Avalon.

Here she lays out her actor preferences for the lead roles in an adaptation of Dark Moon of Avalon:

In Dark Moon of Avalon, the young former High Queen Isolde and her friend and protector Trystan are reunited in a new and dangerous quest to keep the usurper Lord Marche and his Saxon allies from the throne of Britain. Using Isolde's wit and talent for healing and Trystan's strength and bravery, they must act as diplomats, persuading the rulers of the smaller kingdoms, from Ireland to Cornwall, that their allegiance to the High King is needed to keep Britain from a despot's hands.

If I were casting the roles of Trystan and Isolde for a movie, one of my first choices for Trystan would be Matt Bomer, currently starring on the hit TV show White Collar. He's very similar in appearance to the way I've always pictured Trystan in my head with his intense blue eyes and lean, angular good looks. But more than that, the character he plays on White Collar is a man of mystery, a rogue with a conscience and a sense of honor, and that describes Trystan perfectly. Trystan is a mercenary warrior and a spy, adept at subterfuge and disguise. His sense of honor is not always in accordance with the law, yet he does have his own strict code of honor and loyalty that he will not violate under any terms. And like Matt Bomer's character in White Collar, Trystan's highest loyalty is to the woman he loves.

Isolde is harder for me to cast than Trystan, maybe because she's so close to my heart. But I loved the performances Eva Green gave in Kingdom of Heaven and Casino Royale. Like the character of Sibylla in Kingdom of Heaven, Isolde is a woman of courage fighting for the right to control her own destiny in a male-dominated world. She is strong, but wounded by trauma in her own past, and her journey in Dark Moon of Avalon is one of healing her heart and winning the right to chose her own love.

Read the prologue to Dark Moon of Avalon, and watch the video trailer.

Learn more about the book and author at Anna Elliott's website and blog.

The Page 69 Test: Dark Moon of Avalon.

Writers Read: Anna Elliott.

--Marshal Zeringue