Leslie Karst’s "Waters of Destruction"

Originally from Southern California, Leslie Karst moved north to attend UC Santa Cruz (home of the Fighting Banana Slugs), and after graduation, parlayed her degree in English literature into employment waiting tables and singing in a new wave rock and roll band. Exciting though this life was, she eventually decided she was ready for a “real” job, and ended up at Stanford Law School.

For the next twenty years Karst worked as the research and appellate attorney for Santa Cruz’s largest civil law firm. During this time, she discovered a passion for food and cooking, and so once more returned to school—this time to earn a degree in Culinary Arts.

Now retired from the law, Karst spends her time cooking, singing alto in the local community chorus, gardening, cycling, and of course writing. She and her wife and their Jack Russell mix, Ziggy, split their time between Santa Cruz and Hilo, Hawai'i.

Here Karst dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Waters of Destruction:

Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen are a longtime couple in their early sixties who’ve recently retired to the Big Island of Hawai‘i from Los Angeles, where Valerie worked as a caterer for the film and TV industry and Kristen as a union carpenter.

Val and Kristen bicker some—as old married couples will do—but they have a loving and comfortable relationship. Until, that is, Valerie becomes obsessed with solving the murder of the bartender she’s recently replaced at the Speckled Gecko in Hilo, whose body has just been pulled from the treacherous Wailuku River (which translates as “waters of destruction”). Although Kristen is initially supportive of her wife’s efforts, she soon tires of her singular focus—and eventually begins to worry for Valerie’s safety as she digs deeper into the case.

My pick for who would play Valerie were Waters of Destruction to be made into a movie would be Annette Bening. In particular, the Annette Bening as she appeared in the marvelous film The American President (also starring her husband, Warren Beatty). She’s feisty and has a wry sense of humor, but also shows a vulnerability that’s necessary for Valerie’s character. Although at 5’ 7” Bening is a bit too tall for the shorter Valerie, her looks otherwise match those of my character, who has dark, now- graying hair and an olive complexion she’s inherited from her grandparents in Marseilles, France.

As for Kristen, I’d be thrilled to see Jody Foster in the role. Her tough demeanor and snarky sense of humor would fit Val’s wife to a T, and I could totally see her as the know-it-all (but generous and supportive) Kristen. Yes, Jody’s far too short to play the tall and lanky Kristen—too bad Jody and Annette’s heights aren’t reversed!—but hey, that could no doubt be fixed with CGI. Look what they did with the hobbits in The Lord of the Rings.

Oh, and speaking of generous-and-loving-meets-snarky-sense-of-humor, how fun would it to be to score Nancy Meyers as director and Aaron Sorkin as screenwriter for Waters of Destruction?

I can dream, right?

Visit Leslie Karst’s website.

Coffee with a Canine: Leslie Karst & Ziggy.

My Book, The Movie: The Fragrance of Death.

Q&A with Leslie Karst.

The Page 69 Test: Waters of Destruction.

--Marshal Zeringue

Bryan Gruley's "Bitterfrost"

Bryan Gruley is the Edgar-nominated author of six novels – Purgatory Bay, Bleak Harbor, the Starvation Lake Trilogy, and his most recent, Bitterfrost - and one award-winning work of nonfiction. A lifelong journalist, he shared in The Wall Street Journal's Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the September 11 terrorist attacks. He lives in northern lower Michigan with his wife, Pamela, where he can be found playing hockey, singing in his band, or spending time with his children and grandchildren.

Here Gruley dreamcasts an adaptation of Bitterfrost:

Wouldn’t it be great if Bitterfrost were made into a movie? I’d be famous and rich and everyone would want to buy my books. Alas, I might also be dead because of how long it typically takes to get a book made into a movie.

But, please, bring it on!

Bitterfrost tells the tale of Jimmy Baker, a former minor-league hockey player who quit the game on the spot after he almost killed an opponent during a fight. Thirteen years later, he is the Zamboni driver for an elite amateur hockey team in the little northern Michigan town of Bitterfrost—and the prime suspect in a brutal double murder.

I don’t imagine actors as my fictional characters when I’m writing. But when someone asks who I might have play so-and-so, ideas jump to mind. I actually think Bitterfrost would work as well if not better as an episodic television series along the lines of The Night Of, Fargo, Slow Horses, or Mare of Easttown. I love those shows, which have influenced my writing, particularly my efforts to make every written scene as cinematic as possible. So, for Bitterfrost …

The actors:

Timothy Olyphant as Jimmy Baker. My wife, Pam, and I both fell in love with Olyphant’s portrayal of Raylan Givens in the TV series Justified. He can play tough and he can play vulnerable, exactly what’s needed for Jimmy’s flawed but likeable character. (Pam wondered if maybe Olyphant is “too pretty” to play Jimmy Baker; I told her viewers like pretty.)

Aimee Ffion-Edwards as Jimmy’s defense attorney, Devyn Payne. I’ve admired Ffion-Edwards’s work as Shirley Dander in Slow Horses. But mainly, I think she looks as I imagine Devyn to look. Her character also is tough with an acerbic sense of humor, like Devyn as well.

Jeff Daniels as Garth Klimmek, the detective who investigates Jimmy’s case. I’ve always liked watching Daniels, especially in Purple Rose of Cairo, The Newsroom, and A Man in Full. He, too, looks like what I imagine Klimmek to look like, and his versatility is beyond question. He’s also a Michigan native and resident, and would probably understand Klimmek, the classic Upper Midwestern guy who wants to follow the rules but may find that he cannot. Daniels also directed a Michigan-based movie, Escanaba in Da Moonlight.

Director/Showrunner:

Simone Stock, a Canadian director/screenwriter, read Bitterfrost and loved it. She has directed award- winning films and could make my novel into a fine TV series or movie. It might have to be set in Canada, but that’s going to be our 51 st  state anyway, so perfect.

Noah Hawley, showrunner of the Fargo TV series, would be great. Fargo encapsulated the cold, bleak feel of the town of Bitterfrost, and I admire Hawley’s appreciation of complex characters.

Brad Ingelsby, showrunner of Mare of Easttown. I just plain loved this series for its grit and layered characters. It seems like Inglesby would appreciate the town and the inhabitants of Bitterfrost.

Where do I sign?

Learn more about the book and author at Bryan Gruley's website.

The Page 69 Test: Starvation Lake.

The Page 69 Test: The Hanging Tree.

The Page 69 Test: Bleak Harbor.

The Page 69 Test: Purgatory Bay.

The Page 69 Test: Bitterfrost.

Q&A with Bryan Gruley.

--Marshal Zeringue

Douglas Corleone's "Falls to Pieces"

Douglas Corleone is the international bestselling author of Gone Cold, Payoff, and Robert Ludlum’s The Janson Equation, as well as the acclaimed Kevin Corvelli novels, the Simon Fisk international thrillers, and the stand-alone courtroom drama The Rough Cut. Corleone’s debut novel, One Man’s Paradise, won the 2009 Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award and was a finalist for the 2011 Shamus Award for Best First Novel. A former New York City criminal defense attorney, Corleone now resides in Honolulu, where he is currently at work on his next novel.

Here Corleone dreamcasts an adaptation of his new novel, Falls to Pieces:

It’s hard to believe it’s been a decade since I wrote my last piece for “My Book, the Movie.” Of all the prompts on all the sites I’ve written for, this is my favorite. Why? Because we authors only write novels in the hopes that they’ll be adapted into screenplays, cast with megastars, and made into award-winning films. I’m kidding, of course. But the allure of Hollywood is undeniable. My storytelling skills come chiefly from movies and, let’s face it, not all of our friends read. (Even when we dedicate the book to them!)

Getting down to casting Falls to Pieces: For my main characters, Kati and Zoe, I needed a mother-daughter team, yet my mind went straight to sisters Vera and Taissa Farmiga (ca. 2014 in keeping with the character’s ages).

Kati’s lawyer Noah Walker was always Owen Wilson. But Matthew McConaughey is also acceptable!

My favorite character in the book is Mac, who’d be played by Jonathan Banks, famous for his role as Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

Graham, meanwhile, needs to be played by Woody Harrelson.

Learn more about the book and author at Douglas Corleone's website.

The Page 69 Test: Good as Gone.

My Book, The Movie: Payoff.

The Page 69 Test: Gone Cold.

My Book, The Movie: Gone Cold.

Writers Read: Douglas Corleone (August 2015).

The Page 69 Test: Falls to Pieces.

Writers Read: Douglas Corleone.

--Marshal Zeringue