Molly Cochran's "Legacy"

Molly Cochran has written and ghostwritten over 25 novels and nonfiction books, including the Edgar-winning bestseller Grandmaster and The Forever King, recipient of the New York Public Library award for Books of the Teen Age, both co-written with Warren Murphy, and the nonfiction bestseller Dressing Thin.

Cochran's most recent novels are the YA titles, Legacy and Poison.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of Legacy:

I think every novelist sees the story in her head as a movie and its characters as actors she's familiar with although, since the visualization is entirely mental, sometimes the actors are too old/retired/dead to serve as realistic candidates for a real movie. But since this is all fantasy, I'd choose Zooey Deschanel to play the lead character, Katy Ainsworth, in the movie version of my novel Legacy. Katy is a quirky character, a nerdy beauty whose curiosity and balls-to-the-wall courage always land her in hot water... and sometimes near death.

Her long-suffering boyfriend, Peter, ought to be played by the guy who plays Finn on Glee, just because they're both nice guys who are basically clueless.

Katy's great-grandmother, a good-natured witch with a distinct prejudice against cowen (non-magical persons) should be portrayed by Maggie Smith, although Betty White would add a nice dimension, too.

And Hattie Scott, the High Priestess of the New England village where Katy attends boarding school, would be a terrific vehicle for Whoopi Goldberg.

These characters, by the way, look nothing like the people on the cover of the book. I had no say in that, alas, so please don't hold me accountable for "Katy's" grumpy expression. The sequel to Legacy, titled Poison, just came out a couple of weeks ago. Same cranky people on the cover, so use your imagination.

Learn more about the book and author at Molly Cochran's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue