Frankie Y. Bailey's "What the Fly Saw"

Frankie Y. Bailey, a professor in the School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany (SUNY), is the author of mysteries as well as non-fiction titles that explore the intersections of crime, history, and popular culture. She is a Macavity Award-winner and has been nominated for Edgar, Anthony, and Agatha awards.

Here Bailey shares some insights about an adaptation of What the Fly Saw, her second Detective Hannah McCabe mystery:

I have no one in mind for the role of my protagonist, Hannah McCabe. Even though we have been together for two books (The Red Queen Dies and What the Fly Saw), I have only a general idea of what she looks like. She is tall (around 5’8”), pale brown (biracial, black mother, white father) with brown eyes, curly, somewhat unruly, dark hair with a hint of red (her father had red hair in his youth). She is in excellent physical condition because she’s a cop and works out. But I tend to see her from the inside out. She doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about how she looks and that means I don’t either – unless I am seeing her through the eyes of another character and watching that character respond to her. But then it tends to be more about that other character than about Hannah.

I do know who I would cast as McCabe’s father. Angus McCabe is a retired journalist and newspaper editor. I imagined him before I imagined Hannah. I saw him as the late actor Darren McGavin, who I’ve always enjoyed watching.

As to who I might like to direct the movie, I think that would depend on the script. For example, if the emphasis were on suspense, I would have to go with my favorite director, Alfred Hitchcock. But I can imagine Kathryn Bigelow, who directed Strange Days, doing really interesting things with the near-future, urban setting. And since Hitchcock is dead....

Visit Frankie Y. Bailey's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

The Page 69 Test: What the Fly Saw.

--Marshal Zeringue

Jane Lindskold's "Artemis Invaded"

Jane Lindskold is the bestselling author of the Firekeeper series, which began with Through Wolf’s Eyes and concluded with Wolf’s Blood, as well as many other fantasy novels. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Here Lindskold shares some ideas for an adaptation of her new novel, Artemis Invaded, the second book in the Artemis Awakening series:

Several times in the past, I’ve cheerfully participated in the The Page 69 Test and discussed what I’m reading for Writers Read. However, I’ve always dodged the My Book, The Movie.

There’s a reason for this... I don’t know the names of very many actors. If I’ve liked an actor in a role, I fall for the role, not the actor…

So when people say “Who would you like to play…” I can never think of anyone. My characters look like themselves, not like Humphrey Bogart or Audrey Hepburn.

There’s an added complication to playing the casting game. Artemis Invaded, like many of my works, has animal characters. The two primary ones are Sand Shadow the puma and Honeychild the bear. Even with the increased use of CGI, the most effective non-human characters have been those who are more or less human-shaped and, therefore, are, in essence, still being played by a human.

Let me stress, these are animal characters not sidekicks, pets, or fashion accessories. So, after meditating if I were going to cast Artemis Invaded as a movie, I think I’d want it animated. That way animals and humans alike could be done in the same format and there wouldn’t be that jar-jar, uh… I mean jarring failure when a CGI character interacts (or fails to interact) with a character played by a live human actor.

I’m a fan of animation, especially Japanese anime. Despite the common misconception, anime encompasses a lot more than characters with big eyes, tiny mouths, brightly colored hair, and outrageous outfits. Those elements are certainly present but, as works like Hayao Miyazaki’s Whispers of the Heart demonstrate, more realistic portrayals exist, too.

(Don’t know Whispers of the Heart? It should be required viewing for anyone who wants to follow their heart into an impossible career choice – like being a writer or musician. I highly recommend.)

After mulling and musing, if I think that I’d choose either Miyazaki or Rumiko Takahashi (Inuyasha, Ranma ½) to be in charge of an anime Artemis movie, Both of them have shown sensitive handling of non-human characters. In Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki not only had giant wolves, but also a kudu-like elk as major secondary characters. Overall, he handled four-legged characters with a lot of grace.

Much as I like Miyazaki’s work, though, for Artemis Invaded I have a slight preference for Rumiko Takahashi. Her work almost always includes animals, so I suspect she likes them as much as I do. Inuyasha had a large cat character, Kirara. Kirara’s moods and “conversation” were handled almost entirely through body language. This would help with showing Adara and Sand Shadow’s non-verbal communication. As I’ve tried to get across in the books, even when they “talk” telepathically, it’s image-based, not chatting with words.

Takahashi is also very good with rendering oddball characters. I could see her doing a great job with the precognate Ring, or with some of Griffin’s odder brothers… And anime would be a great format to get across how Adara’s lithe grace is little more than human.

And Artemis herself, with her manifestations in various forms of fungi… I imagine that would animate with eerie beauty.

So, yeah… I can’t help with casting Artemis Invaded the movie in a conventional sense, but I think I’d have a lovely time working with character design for an animated version.

Any takers?

Visit Jane Lindskold's website and blog.

The Page 69 Test: Artemis Awakening.

Writers Read: Jane Lindskold.

The Page 69 Test: Artemis Invaded.

--Marshal Zeringue

Lee Robinson's "Lawyer for the Dog"

Lee Robinson practiced law for over 20 years in Charleston, South Carolina, and was the first female president of the Charleston County Bar. She teaches at the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

Here Robinson dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Lawyer for the Dog:

There was a movie playing in my head while I wrote this book. (I go to movies all the time. I’m a movie nut. I’ll watch almost anything. If the movie’s really good, I learn something about dialogue, pacing, scene-setting. If it’s really bad, I learn something about what not to do.) Sally Baynard, the main character and narrator of Lawyer for the Dog, is almost-fifty, single, a smart and spunky lawyer. Sandra Bullock has the right combination of emotional depth, tenderness and toughness for this role. And if not Sandra, Julianne Moore. Sally’s mother, Margaret, is near eighty, a southern-belle-wannabe who’s in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, but she’s still got plenty to teach her daughter. What about Ellen Burstyn, or Sissy Spacek? Margaret’s caregiver, Delores, is “a cross between a saint and a drill sergeant.” Please, could we lure Viola Davis? Sally’s ex-husband Joe, a family court judge who’s disappointed with his life, has a crush on Sally despite having been divorced for 18 years. For this role, Robert Downey, Jr., has the perfect kind of maddening charm. Joe appoints Sally to represent a dog in the middle of a bitter divorce case. Bill Murray would be great as the defendant, Rusty Hart (he even lives in Charleston!) and Sissy Spacek for his wife, Marianne. The dog’s vet, Tony, does his best not to take sides, but he can’t help falling for Sally. No doubt in my mind that George Clooney could be a perfect Tony. But what about the real star of the show, the miniature schnauzer, Sherman? I’m at a loss. This one might require some canine auditions.

Visit Lee Robinson's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Bridget Foley's "Hugo & Rose"

Bridget Foley has always loved storytelling. She's the author of several screenplays and is often featured on annual industry best-of lists.

Here she shares some insights about a big screen adaptation of Hugo & Rose, her first novel:

I lived in Hollywood for 13 years.

That means I know first hand that the correct answer to the question, “Who do you want to star in the movie of your book?” is “Whoever the hell gets it made.”

That sounds jaded.

And I guess it is… a little.

But here’s what’s likely to happen if you ask anyone who has had a front row seat to the making of a film if they still believe in the “magic” of movies.

They will tell you that the magic died the day they realized that all filmmaking is a series of devastating compromises, budget considerations and jurassic egos.

Watch enough movies get made and you stop believing in the magic of movies and you start believing in the miracle of movies.

Movies are gargantuan efforts put forth by hundreds of people. Even the tight ships are a mess.

And good movies? Movies like The Godfather or Alien? Movies where God kissed the director on the head and said, “Go forth and film, my child, for I have blessed you with the perfect cast, editor and composer.” These films are something more than miracles. We need a new word for what they are. Benefilms. Or Miraculcinema.

The Germans probably already have a word for it, though I doubt I can pronounce it.

Work (or try to work) in Hollywood long enough and you’ll notice all your main characters have a way of evolving into the AMORPHOUS 30 to 50 YEAR OLD MALE that encompasses anyone who can get financing. Chris Pratt and Liam Neeson aren’t anything alike, but I guarantee you both Darkman and Starlord are on dozens of lists as potential leads for the same role.

In fact, I’m working on a script starring Amorphous Male right now.

(This isn’t a joke.)

But I couldn’t do that to Hugo & Rose.

In fact, the reason my book is a book is because it’s a woman’s story. There were many reasons I didn’t write it as a screenplay, but way down on the list (#64) is the fact that I didn’t want to have to explain to executives who loved the idea of two people who dream of each other every night and then finally meet in real life that the story belonged to the person who had the most at stake.

Namely the happily married mother of three.

Oh, and did I mention that even though she looks like a super model in the fantastical portions of the book that most of the time Rose is thirty to fifty pounds overweight? And that even though the book features actions scenes with giant monsters, that the edge-of-your-seat stuff comes from scenes in our Rogaine scented reality?

I know there’s only one woman who can green light a movie.

And while I would love to see her gain thirty (okay, eighty) pounds to play Rose, she’s a little busy at the moment fighting hunger, directing movies and being married to Brad Pitt.

But a girl can dream… I mean, I haven’t completely died inside.

Sometimes I think I’d rather like to see Kate and Leo reunited to play Hugo & Rose… not just because they’re spectacular actors, but because there’s this adolescent part of me that just wants that old magic back.

But if I’m honest, the Hollywood survivor in me has a potential cast list that runs from Amy Adams to Melissa McCarthy to Beyonce. None of them is necessarily perfect… but they would be the instant they said yes.

Because that would be more than magic, that would be a miracle.

Visit Bridget Foley's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Taylor Stevens's "The Mask"

Taylor Stevens is the award-winning New York Times bestselling author of The Informationist, The Innocent, The Doll, The Catch, and the novella The Vessel. The series featuring Vanessa Michael Munroe has received critical acclaim and the books are published in twenty languages.

Here Stevens dreamcasts an adaptation of The Mask, the latest Vanessa Michael Munroe novel:

Vanessa Michael Munroe is a quasi-psychotic, knife-wielding, butt-kicking, mercenary information hunter cut from the same cloth as characters like Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher. She’s tall, lithe, and androgynous and, because she spends most of her time working in developing and despot run countries, she sometimes spends more time under the guise of a male than she does as a female. This makes her a difficult character to cast.

Also at issue is the way Hollywood typically presents female action heroes—not so much as characters or people who own their choices or bodies, but as fantasy objects sewn up in tight, pleasing and teasing outfits, put there for eye candy. A phrase I once heard that accurately summed up this type of character was “Fighting F_ck Toy.” And Vanessa Michael Munroe is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an FFT—unless, of course, you’re her mark and a fighting f_ck toy would get her into your head faster than any other guise. In that case she’ll be that FFT until she’s gotten everything she wants from you, and then she’ll vanish.

Readers do love to play the “who should be Munroe in the movies” game and often send me suggestions, all of them fun, all of them fantastic actresses. The closest representation to Munroe that I’ve ever personally seen on screen is Carrie-Anne Moss in her role as Trinity in The Matrix. If I had my druthers (to clarify: I have absolutely no say-so in casting decisions), I’d want an unknown actress to claim this role so that she could own the character completely in a way that a “star” just couldn’t.

James Cameron and Jon Landau, through their production company Lightstorm Entertainment, currently hold film option rights to Vanessa Michael Munroe. James Cameron has a long history of bringing strong women to film, and he’s never made a bad movie. If Vanessa Michael Munroe does hit the big screen, it will be as much of a surprise to me to watch her come to life as it will be to the many readers who love her, but the one thing I know for sure is that there’s no one else’s hands in which I’d prefer she be.

Visit Taylor Stevens's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ted Kosmatka's "The Flicker Men"

Ted Kosmatka was born and raised in Chesterton, Indiana, and spent more than a decade working in various laboratories where he sometimes used electron microscopes. He is the author of Prophet of Bones and The Games, a finalist for the Locus Award for Best First Novel and one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2012. His short fiction has been nominated for both the Nebula and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Awards and has appeared in numerous Year's Best anthologies. He now lives in the Pacific Northwest and works as a writer in the video-game industry.

Here Kosmatka dreamcasts an adaptation of his new novel, The Flicker Men:

I grew up going to the movies all the time, so for me, now that I’m a writer, picking out actors to play the movie in my head is always a lot of fun. The main character of The Flicker Men is Eric Argus, a troubled scientist who soon finds himself out of his depth. I’m a huge fan of what James McAvoy did in The Last King of Scottland, so I’d love to see what McAvoy could do as Eric. For Satvik, one actor leapt to mind—Irrfan Khan, most recently the park boss on Jurassic World. He'd bring exactly the solemn thoughtfulness that the role needs. For the part of Joy, I think Margot Robbie could be a great fit. For Point Machine, I can totally see Steven Yeun, from The Walking Dead. For Mercy, Sienna Miller would fit the bill nicely. For Vickers, I can see somebody with the quiet, understated authority of Robin Wright Penn. For Stuart, we could use the manic intelligence of Jesse Eisenberg. For Gillian, I’d love to see someone like Marcia Gay Harden, who you can't help but like on screen. On the flip side of things, I can see Neal McDonough’s piercing eyes glaring at you as the confident and powerful Brighton. For Boaz, the menace of Mads Mikkelsen would work well. There are a few other more characters, but I think this list covers most of the main speaking parts.

Writers Read: Ted Kosmatka.

The Page 69 Test: The Flicker Men.

--Marshal Zeringue

Siobhan Roberts's "Genius At Play"

Siobhan Roberts is a Toronto journalist and author whose work focuses on mathematics and science. Her new book is Genius at Play, The Curious Mind of John Horton Conway (Bloomsbury, 2015). While writing the Conway biography, she was a Director’s Visitor at the Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, and a Fellow at the Leon Levy Center for Biography, at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City.

Her previous books are Wind Wizard: Alan G. Davenport and the Art of Wind Engineering (Princeton University Press, 2012), and King of Infinite Space: Donald Coxeter, The Man Who Saved Geometry (Bloomsbury, 2006). King of Infinite Space won the Mathematical Association of America’s 2009 Euler Prize for expanding the public’s view of mathematics.

Roberts also wrote and produced a documentary film about Coxeter, The Man Who Saved Geometry, for TVOntario’s The View From Here (September 2009).

Here Roberts dreamcasts an adaptation of Genius at Play:

The movie script for Genius At Play, which is in fact quickly writing itself in my head, bears the working title Let It All Hang Out, since that is Conway’s policy toward life in general, and in a sense toward mathematics as well. For the lead role, for young John, we’d need someone who can play the rogue, as well as smart and funny and deep, and with Mick Jagger’s performative charisma and sex appeal. Tom Hardy would do the trick (most recently in Mad Max: Fury Road). I also consulted Conway’s wife Diana on this, and for the older Conway she said there was no question: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) — though I’m not sure Bridges can play a Brit (Hardy with makeup could play both). Ron Howard would be a natural for director (A Beautiful Mind). Or maybe Darren Aronofsky (π), who is known for his surreal films.

Learn more about the book and author at Siobhan Roberts' website.

Writers Read: Siobhan Roberts.

The Page 99 Test: Genius At Play.

--Marshal Zeringue

Catherine Linka's "A Girl Undone"

Catherine Linka explores what would really happen to society in the US if synthetic hormones in beef eliminated four generations of women in the YA duology, A Girl Called Fearless and A Girl Undone. The impact of the economical and social upheaval include the rise of a new political party, the Paternalists, and high ticket marriage Contracts for the most rare and valuable commodity in the country: teenage girls.

Here Linka deamcasts a big screen adaptation of the duology:

I’m violating the blog premise immediately, because A Girl Called Fearless and the sequel, A Girl Undone have been optioned for television by Universal Cable Productions.

That said, like a lot of writers, I work with concept boards, and grab pictures of actors and models as I develop the novel. Sometimes I begin with a feeling, possibly an attitude or facial expression that seems to capture the character. Then I often discover photo that captures that feeling/attitude/expression.

It can be very unexpected and weird when that happens. I was walking past an Abercrombie store when bam! There was a huge portrait of Yates. Canadian model Matt Aymar was the living incarnation of my protagonist’s sexy, wounded, social activist friend, and my breath was taken away. Literally.

Main character Avie Reveare? Avie’s will to survive was embodied in Hailee Steinfeld’s performance in True Grit. Like Avie, Hailee Steinfeld doesn’t try to look older or more sophisticated than she is...which makes her feel honest and real--both qualities of my protagonist.

And the handsome, enigmatic, woodsman that Avie goes on the run with, Luke Stanton? Chris Hemsworth, obviously. If a writer is going to fantasize about a character for months, why not indulge?

Learn more about the book and author at Catherine Linka’s website.

The Page 99 Test: A Girl Undone.

--Marshal Zeringue

Mary Anna King's "Bastards"

Mary King was born in southern New Jersey and grew up in Oklahoma City, OK, where she was adopted at the age of ten. After studying English Literature at Colgate University she moved to Los Angeles where she lives and writes.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of her debut memoir, Bastards:

Bastards is the story of how my six siblings and I were separated by adoption, grew up apart, and later reunited. The question of who would play whom in the hypothetical movie has been a favorite topic of sibling conversations over the past few years.

I have always loved Mary-Louise Parker's work and would love to see what she would bring to the role of my complicated, hopeful, birthmother Peggy.

Alongside her I would choose Greg Kinnear to play my hapless, spiritually searching disc-jockey/construction-worker birthfather.

Jake Gyllenhaal is ideal for my older brother Jacob; a gentle soul who spent his childhood being shuttled back and forth between homes until he enlisted in the Army. Mae Whitman would play my sister Becca—she has such a knack for articulating messy internal struggles. My next sister Lisa would be played by Emma Stone; they are doppelgangers for one another. Little Rebekah, the delicately boned pocket-sized sister would be played by Ellen Paige. The next in line, Meghan, is a gregarious nerd, a perfect role for Zooey Deschanel. And Miley Cyrus simply is my gender-fluid, fashion-forward, youngest sister Lesley.

As for my character in the book—the quiet cipher taking note every story and secret that passes her way—I'd choose Ruth Wilson.

Visit Mary Anna King's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Margaret Verble's "Maud's Line"

Margaret Verble is an enrolled and voting citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and a member of a large Cherokee family that has, through generations, made many contributions to the tribe’s history and survival.

Here Verble dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Maud's Line:

I feel lucky to have a book rolling toward publication, so thinking about who’d play the movie parts is like putting the cart before the horse. But who’s not guilty of that? For some of us, it’s a long established habit. And, anyway, people who think strictly sequentially often find themselves looking at buttocks, a dock, and a tail.

I confess I did daydream while writing Maud’s Line, particularly when I was stuck because the characters wouldn’t speak to me. You have to do something during those spats; so I imagined them on the big screen just to massage their egos -- and mine.

I came up with a hair-darkened Matt Czuchry playing Booker. I admire Czuchry’s work as Cary Agos on The Good Wife, and think he can do handsome, vulnerable, and angry, all three.

I can see Oprah Winfrey playing Lizzie. But I can also see any number of other wonderful, mature, female African American actresses doing the same, and I suspect Ms. Winfrey is a very busy woman.

As for Ryde Foxworth, definitely Taylor Kitsch. He was wonderful as Tim Riggins in Friday Night Lights, and has mastered the hard edge of Ryde.

The rest of my characters are Indians, and that presents a problem. Hollywood has been even worse for Native Americans than it has for African Americans. When I was younger, Indians were most often played by Italians, even though the U.S. Census repeatedly showed more Indians living in California than in any other state, even Oklahoma. Call me a racist, but I’d like my American Indian characters played by Native Americans. Fortunately, as far as I’m concerned, that category can include many Hispanics. Indians with roots in Central and South America are still Indians. And from the Native American point of view, these borders are rather newly invented.

I haven’t ever turned my imagination to who could play Maud. As a writer, I can’t risk letting anything between my main character and me. But I have imagined Viola as played by – you’re not going to buy this – Cher. There are two good reasons for that. One, Cher is a fine actress. Go back and watch Silkwood. And secondly, Cher is also an Indian. A Cherokee. Viola’s a Creek, but she married into the Cherokees and her grandfather was Cherokee. I don’t think she’d mind a bit.

The other Indian character I cast in my imagination was Mustard played by Adam Beech, a Saulteaux First Nations Indian. I did that simply because I like to imagine Adam Beech as often as possible. Check out Smoke Signals to see why.

As for the rest of them, well, frankly, I’d just like to have them played by Indians – First Nations People from Canada, Native Americans, Hispanic Indians. I don’t care which. And I don’t think that’s too much to ask. Or it shouldn’t be.

Visit Margaret Verble's website.

--Marshal Zeringue