Anita Hughes's "Island in the Sea"

Anita Hughes was born in Sydney, Australia and had a charmed childhood that included petting koala bears, riding the waves on Bondi Beach, and putting an occasional shrimp on the barbie. Her writing career began at the age of eight, when she won a national writing contest in The Australian newspaper, and was named "One of Australia's Next Best Writers." (She still has the newspaper clipping.)

Hughes received a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing from Bard College, and attended UC Berkeley's Masters in Creative Writing program.

Her debut novel Monarch Beach was released in June 2012, followed by Market Street in March 2013, Lake Como in August 2013, and Rome in Love and French Coast in 2015.

Here Hughes dreamcasts an adaptation of her latest novel, Island in the Sea:

One of the most enjoyable questions an author can be asked is: who do you see cast in your book, the movie. Imagining your characters on the big screen is every author's dream and casting it before Hollywood comes calling is a common preoccupation.

Casting Island in the Sea: A Majorca Love Story is easy, because I cast one of the main characters, Lionel, in my head, before I wrote his first dialogue. Pierce Brosnan is witty, handsome, British, and can play disgruntled and slightly depressed while remaining incredibly charming.

Juliet is also quite easy to cast. There are so many strong, beautiful twenty-something actresses in Hollywood. I could see Emma Stone or Lily Collins or even Mila Kunis at Juliet.

Henry, the tennis heartthrob from New Zealand, could be played by Chris Helmsworth (he is hard to look away from anytime he appears on the screen) and Vanessa Hudgens or Selena Gomez would be wonderful as Gabriella. (Gabriella has a wonderful voice so it would be great to cast an actress who is also a singer).

A lot of readers have enjoyed Lydia, Gabriella's grandmother. Lydia has a lot of life experience and wisdom to pass on to Gabriella and Juliet. I could see Jane Seymour or Helen Mirren as Lydia.

Thank you for the opportunity to let me daydream! And I always love to hear others' thoughts on their favorite actors and actresses for the parts.

Learn more about the book and author at Anita Hughes's website.

My Book, The Movie: Market Street.

My Book, The Movie: Lake Como.

My Book, The Movie: French Coast.

--Marshal Zeringue