C. I. Jerez's "At the Island's Edge"

C. I. Jerez, who has a blend of Irish, Puerto Rican, and Cuban parentage, grew up near El Paso’s Mexican border experiencing a true cultural amalgamation. After graduating from the University of Texas at El Paso, she commissioned as a signal officer in the US Army and rose to the rank of major before transitioning out of the military. She holds an MBA from Webster University and a doctorate in international business from Liberty University. When not writing, she serves as cofounder and vice president for Ashire Technologies & Services Inc., a cybersecurity firm specializing in securing federal information systems. She lives in central Florida.

Here Jerez dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, At the Island's Edge:

I thought about the ideal producer and cast from the very beginning stages of pitching this novel and for good reason. The very first agent to get super excited about the idea for this book had recently sold another of her client’s novels to Benny Medina and Jennifer Lopez’s (JLO) production company Nuyorican Productions. And while I ended up being represented by a different agency, a seed was planted about the possibility for this story and how it would look on film.

I’m still convinced that if JLO or her team has an opportunity to read my book about a young, Puerto Rican single mother returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom as an American war hero grappling with PTSD, they will be interested in the film rights. Especially when they get to delve into the themes and cinematic depictions of family, culture, and daily life in Puerto Rico when Lina, my protagonist, finds herself returning home after twelve years away with her nine-year-old son, Teó who struggles with Tourette’s Syndrome, but is exceptional bright and precocious.

With this in mind I’ve cast the book’s main characters as follows:

Sergeant Lina LaSalle: Eiza Gonzalez, best known for the Michael Bay film, Ambulance.

Elijah “Eli” Montgomery: With the perfect look of a true Charleston, SC southern gentleman — Liam Hemsworth.

Leonardo (the ex): Would be perfect for Benito “Bad Bunny” Ocasio to make his film debut.

Cousin Dolores: Jenna Ortega from the Netflix series, Wednesday.

Lina’s Mom: Jennifer Lopez (JLO).

Lina’s Father: Carlos Ponce – those eyes make him a perfect fit.

Tia Lisandra: Roselyn Sanchez – beautiful and villainous.

Lina’s Grandma: Rita Moreno, of course!

Lina’s Grandpa: Jacobo Morales – a true Puerto Rican legend!

And there you have it! The entire cast!

Visit C. I. Jerez's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Nick Kolakowski's "Where the Bones Lie"

Nick Kolakowski is the author of several crime novels, including Where the Bones Lie and Payback is Forever. His work has been nominated for the Anthony and Derringer awards, and his short story “Scorpions” appeared in The Best Mystery and Suspense 2024. His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines, including Mystery Weekly, Shotgun Honey, Rock and a Hard Place Press, and more.

Here Kolakowski dreamcasts an adaptation of Where the Bones Lie:

When I sat down to write Where the Bones Lie, my mystery novel about a washed-up Hollywood fixer and a young hipster lady trying to solve a decades-old murder, I didn’t have actors in mind for a hypothetical movie or TV adaptation—which perhaps is ironic, considering how much of the book takes place amidst L.A.’s movie industry.

As time went on, though, I couldn’t help but consider a bit of “dreamcasting.” Natasha Lyonne, who I loved in Poker Face and Russian Doll, would make a perfect Madeline, the younger and more sarcastic of my amateur detective duo. Madeline is bitter about her past, a big fan of chain-smoking, and possesses an eccentric fashion sense—and Lyonne would nail all of that perfectly (her Russian Doll character is most of the way there, especially on the smoking front).

Casting for Dash, my burned-out fixer, is a lot tougher. Before he got into the sleuthing business, Dash spent years cleaning up the Hollywood studios’ biggest messes as quietly as possible. He’s haunted by many of the things he’s done, and he’s looking for some kind of redemption, even if he’s not quite sure what that looks like. If you’re adapting the book, it’s not the kind of role you fill with a young, smooth-skinned actor; you need someone with some real miles on their face. The more I think about it, the more I like someone like Walton Goggins, who proved so spectacular in crime fare like The Shield and Justified.

The cool thing about Goggins is that he’s masterful at playing someone who’s haunted and battle-scarred, but he’s also spectacularly funny when he needs to be. Dash is a witty protagonist, and much of the book is powered by his constant back-and-forth with Madeline as they hunt for clues and dodge death; Goggins can pull this off. Pair him with Lyonne? That would rock.

I don’t want to go too deeply into spoiler territory, but there’s another major character in the book, Manny, who’s something of a mentor to Dash. An early reader suggested that JK Simmons would be perfect here, as Manny (like Simmons) is funny and energetic, but also capable of turning quickly to real menace. If you’ve ever witnessed Simmons’ raging performance as the music instructor in Whiplash, you know he can be downright terrifying if the role calls for it.

For the rest of the characters, you could aim for interesting faces, as if you were casting an old noir movie. There are corrupt cops, decadent movie stars, shady PR types, and more—plenty of opportunities for any actors who want to go villainous. Once you get into California’s shady underbelly, things get scary quickly.

Visit Nick Kolakowski's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Nicole Galland's "Boy"

Nicole (N.D.) Galland’s novels span the spectrum from historical (The Fool’s Tale, Revenge of the Rose, Crossed, Godiva) to Shakespearean (I, Iago) to contemporary rom-com (Stepdog, On The Same Page) to speculative fiction (New York Times bestselling The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. co-written with Neal Stephenson). She has a MFA in Creative Writing from University College Dublin, and loves teaching workshops on world creation.

She has also worked as a stage director, dramaturg, and X-wing fighter pilot.

Here Galland dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Boy:

My two 19-year-old protagonists are largely described in contrast to each other. Alexander (Sander) is an actor: ethereally, delicately attractive, a bisexual man-boy desired by nearly everyone in London. A singer and dancer, he moves with androgynous grace. Black-haired, blue-eyed, marvelous bone structure that has been praised since childhood. In contrast, his best friend Joan is the living embodiment of nondescript. An unschooled intellectual, she pays little attention to her own appearance: blandly light brown hair, blandly hazel eyes, with an unremarkable physique, and a soft, forgettable face. Her sole distinctive feature: beautifully expressive lips, which live on her face without adding to its overall beauty. She spends a good chunk of the book disguised as a boy – a boy as nondescript as Joan herself.

In general, I never think about who would play my characters in a movie adaptation. I develop such specific mental images of them, an actor would strike me as a mere impersonator.

But…

…virtually every early reader of Boy cooed, “Ooo, based on your description, you’re obviously thinking of Sander as Timothée Chalamet.” Because I’m bad with names, I wasn’t sure who Timothée Chalamet was, so after the fifth time someone said it, I Googled him – and found myself staring at someone who looked remarkably like Sander! But once I’d been prompted to contemplate Sander portrayed by a not-Sander in the flesh, I realized a young Billy Crudup would suit better. By a sweet coincidence, Crudup played a Sander-like character, Ned Kynaston, in the movie Stage Beauty (2004).

Once a Sander impersonator was on my radar, I idly contemplated who might then play Joan. Joan is hard to cast, precisely because she is so nondescript. It’s wonderful that actresses no longer need to look conventionally beautiful to have careers, but they do need to look interesting - and Joan disappears in a crowd. As a thought-experiment, I turned again to Google, and spent an hour seeking young character actresses who reminded me of her. The ideal Joan-actress should make the audience feel “I like you” without also feeling “I like looking at you.” Nobody really fit the bill, but three of them came close: Florence Pugh (too conventionally pretty), Saoirse Ronan (too strikingly distinctive), and Sophia Lillis (too adorably tomboyish). While I’d be thrilled to see any of them in the role, some little part of me would secretly grouse, “Yeah, but she’s relying on her looks to make a good impression; Joan herself doesn’t need to do that.”

Visit Nicole Galland's website, Facebook page, and Threads page.

Coffee with a Canine: Nicole Galland & Leuco.

The Page 69 Test: Stepdog.

My Book, The Movie: Stepdog.

Writers Read: Nicole Galland (August 2015).

--Marshal Zeringue

Clea Simon's "The Butterfly Trap"

Before turning to a life of crime (fiction), Boston Globe-bestselling author Clea Simon was a journalist. A native of New York, she came to Massachusetts to attend Harvard University and never left. The author of three nonfiction books and 32 mysteries, most recently the psychological suspense The Butterfly Trap, her books alternate between cozies (usually featuring cats) and darker psychological suspense, like the Massachusetts Center for the Book “must reads” Hold Me Down and World Enough. She lives with her husband, the writer Jon S. Garelick (another Boston Globe alum), and their cat Thisbe in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Here Simon dreamcasts an adaptation of The Butterfly Trap:

If The Butterfly Trap is made into a movie, the main thing I’d be looking for is chemistry. On the surface, Greg and Anya are very different. He’s a science guy who ultimately decides to abandon research and go into surgery. She’s a painter, and her whole life revolves around the art world. Physically, he’s a nice-looking but somewhat beefy guy. Maybe a younger Ben Affleck, or even Chris Evans, if he put on a few pounds. Anya, on the other hand, is a stunner: a petite woman with arresting eyes. I wasn’t thinking of Anya Taylor Joy when I wrote her, but I am now.

But casting The Butterfly Trap should not about star power or who visually resembles the characters as I’ve written them. This is a pas de deux between two very different people who, against all odds, come together…at least for a while. Again, it’s all about chemistry. I was thinking about the Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie film, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, in which despite all their differences you could feel there was an attraction between the two. And, sure enough, the actors ended up married and are now dealing with a messy divorce. I’m not saying that’s what happens in the book – I don’t want to give anything away. But that tension? That “will they or won’t they fall in love? Will they or won’t they make it? That would be perfect for The Butterfly Trap!

Visit Clea Simon's website.

The Page 69 Test: To Conjure a Killer.

The Page 69 Test: Bad Boy Beat.

Writers Read: Clea Simon (May 2024).

Q&A with Clea Simon.

--Marshal Zeringue