Catherine McKenzie's "Spin"

Catherine McKenzie was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. A graduate of McGill University and McGill Law School, McKenzie practices law in Montreal. Her novels Spin and Arranged are International Bestsellers. They, along with her third novel, Forgotten, will all be published in the US by William Morrow in 2012.

Here are her thoughts on her part in casting an adaptation of Spin:

Spin has recently been optioned for film so this question comes up a lot. The funny thing is – and maybe this is antithetical to your question – I have a hard time imagining who should play the roles in the book. I don’t write that way – I am not a visual reader or writer. In fact, my books often come out in first draft as mostly dialogue and I then have to go back and fill in the descriptive parts. What I’ve also noticed is that whenever someone says – oh, so-and-so would be perfect for the part of Katie (the main character) etc. my usual reaction is “No, not her!” even if it’s an actress I like. Which I guess means that I have a definite idea of what Katie doesn’t look like. If I’m being perfectly honest, I believe my preference would be for all the roles to be filled by virtual unknowns. I know this makes no sense commercially, but for me I think I’d have an easier time seeing someone I didn’t know in the role. But when it comes right down to it, I know that these issues are completely out of my control. When you sign an option you are inherently letting go (unless you’re JK Rowling or something), just like you are when you make your last edit & let your book out into the world.

Learn more about the book and author at Catherine McKenzie's website.

The Page 69 Test: Spin.

Writers Read: Catherine McKenzie.

--Marshal Zeringue