Susan McBride is the USA Today bestselling author of the Debutante Dropout Mysteries and the River Road Mysteries. She has won a Lefty Award, been twice nominated for the Anthony Award, and received the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Amateur Sleuth.Here she shares some ideas for the lead actor in an adaptation of her latest novel, Walk Into Silence:
When I first wrote Walk Into Silence ten years ago, I envisioned Jennifer Beals as my female detective, Jo Larsen. She had the perfect look: the brown eyes, curly dark hair, and lean physique. She also had an air about her, of being set apart, not quite blending in, and that’s exactly who Jo Larsen is. Then I had to put the manuscript on hold for lack of time (I was simultaneously writing a mystery series for HarperCollins and a young adult series for Random House then I got breast cancer, got married, and got pregnant—yeah, kinda busy). Last year, I dug up Walk and revised in earnest. When Thomas & Mercer bought it, I started thinking about casting the character and who could fill Jo’s shoes. I still wouldn’t mind if Jennifer Beals took a shot, though Jo Larsen is described as mid-thirties in the book. I couldn’t think of any thirty-something actresses on the screen or on TV who had embodied Jo Larsen until I spotted the tabloid reports on Prince Harry and his girlfriend, Meghan Markle. Yep, I thought. Meghan has a lot of the physical attributes that fit Jo’s character: the dark eyes, the dark hair, and lean physique. She’d have to shuck the makeup and long locks, and I’d want to see if she could project the outer toughness and inner vulnerability of Jo Larsen. But there’s a lot about her that reminds me of Jo. Hmm. If the book is ever optioned and produced, maybe there could be a sort of casting Survivor, pitting Jennifer against Meghan, and the last one standing gets the role. I’m sure Prince Harry wouldn’t mind a bit.Learn more about the book and author at Susan McBride's website.
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