Ronlyn Domingue's "The Mapmaker's War"

Ronlyn Domingue is the author of the newly released The Mapmaker’s War. Its sequel, The Chronicle of Secret Riven, is forthcoming in 2014. Her critically acclaimed debut novel, The Mercy of Thin Air, was published in ten languages. Her writing has appeared in The Beautiful Anthology (TNB Books), New England Review, The Independent (UK), and Shambhala Sun, as well as on mindful.org and The Nervous Breakdown. Born and raised in the Deep South, she lives there still with her partner, Todd Bourque, and their cats.

Here Domingue shares some suggestions for casting a big screen adaptation of her second book, The Mapmaker’s War:

At no point in the writing did I seriously think about a film adaptation for The Mapmaker’s War. This seems ridiculous considering how popular epic tales are right now, such as Game of Thrones. My book fits in that category because it takes place in an ancient time in a faraway land—think the Dark Ages. It’s about an exiled mapmaker who must come to terms with the home and children she was forced to leave behind.

Considering the story’s arc follows Aoife (pronounced ee-fah) from childhood to old age—maiden, mother, crone—this would be a difficult book to make into a movie. However, I did manage to gather a list of actors with some help from friends.

Aoife—The Mapmaker’s War is written in the spirit of old legends, but Aoife’s story isn't told by historians or bards. This tale is her autobiography. She’s intelligent, serious, and resilient. A person who knows her own will. Jennifer Lawrence of The Hunger Games fame could pull off a younger Aoife, and Nicole Kidman, who plays smart, intense women so well, would be a good fit for the older Aoife.

Wyl—He’s the prince Aoife has known since she was a girl, whom she describes as “more interested in pleasure than power” and “beautiful and virile.” Aoife and Wyl don’t escape their attraction to one another or the consequences of it. He’s a good-natured, decent fellow with a sensitive side. I’d pick Ryan Gosling for this role, although he’d have to dye his hair.

Raef—This is Wyl’s younger brother who likes to wield influence at any opportunity. He may not be truly evil, but he is malicious. The actor who portrays him must be able to manage a certain darkness. I’m torn between Jonathan Rhys Meyers, wonderfully strange in Gormenghast, and Rob James-Collier, the mercurial Thomas Barrow on Downton Abbey.

Leit (pronounced lite)—After Aoife is exiled, she finds refuge among the very people her kingdom provoked into war. In this community, she meets a great warrior who was scarred physically and emotionally in that war. Leit is a noble, wise man, profoundly good at his core. I struggled to cast this part until I saw Rufus Sewell in The Pillars of the Earth mini-series. Yes, him—please.

Learn more about the book and author at Ronlyn Domingue's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

The Page 69 Test: The Mapmaker's War.

Writers Read: Ronlyn Domingue.

--Marshal Zeringue