Rachel Bach's "Fortune's Pawn"

Rachel Bach is the author of Fortune's Pawn, a fast paced, romantic adventure starring Devi Morris, a powered armor mercenary who signs on with the galaxy’s most trouble-prone space freighter in an attempt to jumpstart her career. But while Devi expected the firefights and aliens, this ship holds secrets she never could have imagined, and the greatest danger for this ship guard might just be the very people she was hired to protect.

Here the author dreamcasts an adaptation of Fortune's Pawn:

I'm sure all authors dream of seeing their books as movies, but I've been thinking about the casting for my new Science Fiction novel, Fortune's Pawn, since word one. So in case you were wondering, or you're a Hollywood type who thinks "man, that space opera would make a bad ass movie!" (Joss Whedon, call me!), here's how I would cast the film version.

For Devi Morris, our main character, powered armor mercenary, and all around awesomely violent lady, I can think of no one better than Gina Carano. As a former MMA fighter, she'd have Devi's animal aggression down pat, and as a bonus, I think she'd totally dig the role. She even looks like I imagined Devi! Clearly, a match made in heaven.

As for Rupert Charkov, Devi's love interest and unkillable man of mystery, I'm completely stumped. He's a subtle character with a lot to hide, so you'd need a good actor with a pretty face who also pull off some pretty intense combat scenes and who's at least 6'2" (or can be made to look 6'2" via movie magic). So yeah, I've got nothing, but I'm very open to suggestions!

Finally, I'd say the next most important character we meet in book 1 is the Glorious Fool's captain, Brian Caldswell. This might seem like a crazy suggestion, but I always thought that Nathan Fillion could do really well in the role. He looks the part, and it would be a great switch up for him since Brian Caldswell is a pretty dark roll. I bet he could pull if off amazingly, though. Nathan Fillion can do anything!

And one last note, for my darling space hippie Novascape Starchild, I think Jennifer Lawrence would knock it out of the park. It's really much too small a role for her, but she's amazing and I think she'd have a super great time acting like a total space case. Also, any chance of me getting to meet Jennifer Lawrence will always get my vote.

So there you have it! I hope you enjoy my casting choices, and if you don't (or if you have a cast of your own to suggest) let me know! I'd love to hear what you all think the characters look like!

Fortune’s Pawn is the first in the Paradox Trilogy from Orbit Books. Other books by Bach include The Legend of Eli Monpress fantasy series under the name Rachel Aaron. Learn more about the books and author at Rachel Bach's website.

--Marshal Zeringue