Maya Sloan's "High Before Homeroom"

Maya Sloan has an MFA in Creative Writing from Boston University, as well as a MFA in Fiction Writing from the University of Arkansas. This year her short story about Christian rock groupies was featured in the 25th Anniversary Issue of Boulevard. She has also had stories published in Passages North and Driftwood.

Here she shares some ideas about the cast of an adaptation of her first novel, High Before Homeroom, newly published by Simon & Schuster:

High Before Homeroom is about a sixteen year-old boy in Oklahoma named Doug. He is in love with a girl named Laurilee, but he’s not cool enough for her. She likes bad boys. So he decides to become a crystal meth addict, get sent to rehab, come back with street cred and win her affection.

It’s a weird book.

I’ve been told my writing is cinematic, which doesn’t surprise me. I’ve always loved movies. Small indies, foreign films, big-budget crapfests (especially the kind that involve a hurricane/crater/nuclear catastrophe destroying the world as we know it), Sci-Fi epics especially the post-apocalyptic kind), and, of course, totally unrealistic, weepy chick flicks (especially the kind that feature endearingly neurotic female leads, highlight couture gowns, and end with romantic kissing scenes in the rain/with a historical landmark as a backdrop/in some exotic tropical locale). Not to mention, I’ve been known to see the occasional highly acclaimed Academy Award-approved saga (especially if they require some gorgeous actress to put on forty pounds/some heartthrob A-list movie star to play a character that is mentally-challenged or handicapped/ornate period costumes).

I like all kinds of movies, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Well...there is one genre I adore that causes me a bit of embarrassment. No, not porn. Even more humiliating than that...

I love movie musicals.

So, with that in mind, here is the cast:

Doug, the lead: John Savage as Claude Bukowski in Hair (1979). He’s from Oklahoma. He’s all sweet, corn-fed innocence until he meets a bunch of hippies in Central Park and learns the merits of kinky sex and LSD.

Laurilee, the bad-girl he adores: Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face (1957). For the dance sequence alone.

Dingo, the nerdy best friend: Rick Moranis in Little Shop of Horrors (1986).

Mitch, the trouble-making drug addict: Jack Wild as The Artful Dodger in Oliver (1968).

Trevor, the All-American brother: Richard Beymer as Tony in West Side Story (1961).

Pops, the unstable, slightly insane meth “cook”: Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins (1964).

Angela, the seemingly innocent Christian youth group devotee with a dark side: Suzanne Cupito as Baby June in Gypsy (1959).

Visit the official High Before Homeroom website and view the video trailer, which has been nominated for Best Big Budget/Big House Trailer by The Moby Awards. There is currently an independent movie in the works.

--Marshal Zeringue

Lucy Balch's "Love Trumps Logic"

Lucy Balch loves everything Regency, particularly when it applies to men. From their shining Hessians to their noticeably absent powdered wigs, they are the epitome of style. The ladies’ dresses aren’t bad either.

Here she shares some insights about casting an adaptation of her first novel, Love Trumps Logic:

The casting game can bring a book to life, sometimes in unintended ways. Imagining this, that or the other actor as my various characters renders giggles, frowns or—finally—a sigh that acknowledges rightness.

An interesting thing about favorite actors: They can inspire whole books. Johnny Depp, my pick for sexiest actor of all time, kept my fingers flying over the keyboard as I wrote Love Trumps Logic—particularly during certain spicy scenes that are key to a romance novel. And the twelve or so year’s difference between him and my hero, Beau? It didn’t matter a whit. Beau’s sultry eyes and kissable lips—taken straight from Johnny’s face—give believability to his legendary status in the gossip rags of his day. He’s a man women want to read about, to spy on, nay, to bed.

Who better to catch charismatic Beau than Scarlett Johansson as Fiona, my heroine, a beautiful, bluestocking debutante? Fiona has limited patience with most of her suitors, and is not easily swayed by a good-looking man. A red-haired Charlize Theron would be a more typical smart-chick pick, but I cannot resist the pairing of Johnny and Scarlett.

Fiona thinks she’s found good husband material in Henry, a scientific-minded man who doesn’t slather her with compliments and drool. I wish Henry could be played by William Hurt, the perfect man to play a stuffy, sometimes grouchy, eccentric. But he’s simply too old now. If anyone can think of a younger version of Hurt, I’d love to hear about it.

Despite his shortcomings, Henry, too, has a love interest by the end of the book. The gossipy coquette who claims Henry’s heart is played by Helena Bonham Carter. She has just enough quirkiness and just the right mixture of pathos and kittenish appeal to pull off this lady.

The main villain in the story is Daphne Tarkington. She’s beautiful and heartless to the point of being cruel, and Nicole Kidman is the no-brainer choice. Her impeccable beauty makes her believable as someone who lured Beau into her bed, only showing her undercurrent of evil insanity after he was reeled in.

The secondary villains’ roles, a Cockney brother and sister, I gave to Bob Hoskins and Julie Walters. Hoskins was almost too easy to cast; the decision to cast Walters came about only after I remembered her independent, sexy older woman in Mama Mia! Speaking of which, Meryl Streep as Beau’s mother, Lady Margaret, feels right as rain.

This movie will be a blockbuster, I can feel it! Are there any screenwriters out there who want to take on the adaptation? Let me know!

Balch's Love Trumps Logic is available on Amazon.com or through Second Wind Publishing.

Visit Lucy Balch's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue

Aaron Michael Morales' "Drowning Tucson"

Aaron Michael Morales is an Assistant Professor of English at Indiana State University where he teaches Creative Writing and Contemporary Literature. His fiction has appeared in Another Chicago Magazine, Passages North, and MAKE Magazine, among other places. His first short collection of fiction, titled From Here You Can Almost See the End of the Desert, was published in 2008.

Here he shares some ideas for casting a cinematic adaptation of his new novel, Drowning Tucson:

Drowning Tucson is set in inner-city Tucson during the late 1980s, which was a turning point for violence and gangs in this particular part of the country. To put it simply: it got much worse around this time. Not that Tucson is a bad place today. But the part of the city I explore in my novel is its underworld, the gritty underbelly of what is now widely perceived as a tourist destination for its spas, Old West theme parks, posh golf course retirement communities (in the middle of the desert!), and Native American arts and crafts. There are no cowboys in Drowning Tucson, but there are still scenes of violence that might make the Old West depictions of Tucson and its surroundings seem quaint. While there are certainly a number of Latinos who are characters in the novel, there are also some intriguing non-Latino characters as well, so it’s here that I want to start.

For the role of seedy, rapist cop, Officer Loudermilk, I eagerly invite Gary Busey to come do a reading. Though I didn’t write this character with him in mind, I think he would fill the role of crooked, waste-of-space cop quite well. If he wouldn’t come read, I’d then ask Mickey Rourke to try out for the role, though he’s slightly younger than I’d prefer. Still, he looks rough enough around the edges, which is a good thing for Officer Loudermilk. He’s what I have always envisioned when I hear the word “grizzled.”

For the wheelchair-bound preacher who preys on the less fortunate with his annual park revivals, I think Jeffrey Tambor would be a perfect fit. He would easily be able to channel his inner evangelical preacher. I see it as a logical reprise to his role as George Bluth, Sr. on the wonderful TV series, Arrested Development. Tambor treads the line of solemnity and sarcasm perfectly.

There are a few Latin Kings gangsters in the book, and the most complicated of them is the character Davíd Nuñez. The perfect fit for this role would be Gael García Bernal. He has a great range of emotion and depth. He’s Mexico’s answer to Brad Pitt, in my humble opinion. And the ladies apparently adore him. Drowning Tucson could use a heartthrob.

Benicio Del Toro, who broke my heart in 21 Grams, would be excellent as Alejandro Santiago, the man who murders his daughter’s accused rapist/murderer live on television during the accused’s arraignment. He’s a complicated character, and I could easily see Del Toro bringing him to life on the screen in the heartrending, yet believable manner necessary to pull off this role.

I realize, suddenly, that this list is heavy on the men. And, I hear that Ugly Betty is going off the air. So, who better to fill the role of abandoned-teenaged-girl-turned-prostitute than America Ferrera, the star of the now-defunct show? I think this role would finally get her the indie cred she needs to have Hollywood staying power.

There are far too many characters to go into much more detail, but suffice it to say that if this book were actually made into a film, everyone from Edward James Olmos to Selena Gomez would be able to play one role or another. It would be a horrifically beautiful cast. And it would probably be a Focus Feature, maybe even directed by Darren Aronofsky. Hey, a writer can dream too.

Learn more about the book and author at Aaron Michael Morales' website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Barbara Levenson's "Justice In June"

Barbara Levenson is the author of Fatal February, the first novel in the Mary Magruder Katz mystery series.

Here she sketches out some choices for director and cast for a television adaptation of her new novel, Justice in June:

I really see these books as a TV series, or a movie of the week on Lifetime.

Either way, the producer director must be Tony Sears, who has directed numerous plays and musicals and has that inate sense of humor and timing to set the pace for these fun mysteries.

The female lead, Mary Magruder Katz, is a fearless criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida. Joelle Carter is perfect for this part. She is appearing now as Ava in the new FX television series, Justified, and I am convinced she can play almost any young, pretty, smart protagonist.

Carlos, the hot Latin boyfriend who all women readers are in love with must be cast perfectly and Raul Esparza, star of several Broadway plays, could fill the bill. He is Cuban, handsome, and a great actor with four Tony nominations. Best of all he was raised in Miami, so he personifies the spirit of the book.

Sally Field is just annoying enough to play Mary’s mother in the same way she plays the mother on Brothers and Sisters. As for Mary’s father, Bradley Whitford now looks old enough to play the role of this curmudgeon, golf nut.

Casting Carlos’s parents is more difficult. A younger looking Rita Moreno could play ditzy enough for the mother (think good makeup). As for the father, I would have to hold a “reality show” contest in Miami for this part, or perhaps comb through the latest tela-novellas on Univision.

Mark Epstien, Mary’s old college boyfriend who deserted her in order to play baseball in the major leagues, makes an appearance in Justice In June. Joseph Fiennes would be a good fit for the role. FlashForward is about to be canceled anyway, so he’ll be looking for work.

That only leaves Sam, the German Shepherd , the last major role to cast. This is where nepotism rears its head and my own dog, Mac, short for Mr. Magruder, wins the part paws down.

So all you TV development gurus, get busy and start bidding for this series now that I’ve done all the hard work.

Learn more about the book and author at Barbara Levenson's website.

My Book, The Movie: Fatal February.

The Page 69 Test: Justice in June.

--Marshal Zeringue

Tara Hyland's "Daughters of Fortune"

Tara Hyland was born in Surrey in 1976. She studied History at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, and then worked in the City for several years before leaving to write full time. She currently lives in London with her husband.

Here she shares some casting ideas should Daughters of Fortune, her debut novel, be adapted for the big screen:

There's quite a big cast of characters in my book, so I'll just go with the three daughters of the title:

Elizabeth - I always imagine Katherine Heigl's body, as Elizabeth is meant to be statuesque, with Sarah Michelle Gellar's head (the way she is in Cruel Intentions, quite bitchy and sharp!)

Caitlin - A shorter Liv Tyler (I always imagine Caitlin is about 5'6, whereas Liv Tyler is 5'10). I always imagine Caitlin to be sexy in an earthy, natural way, just like Liv Tyler playing Arwen in The Lord of the Rings.

Amber - if she ever turned to acting, Avril Lavinge! Amber's meant to be a bit of a wild child, so I think Lavinge's rock princess looks would suit her perfectly.

Read an excerpt from Daughters of Fortune, and learn more about the book and author at Tara Hyland's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Dani and Eytan Kollin's "The Unincorporated War"

Dani Kollin is co-author (with his brother Eytan) of The Unincorporated Man and the recently released The Unincorporated War.

Here he shares some ideas for casting the lead in a big screen adaptation of the series:

The protagonist of The Unincorporated Man and The Unincorporated War, Justin Cord, must be the living embodiment of a value (freedom) and as such is not granted a wide birth for real pathos (the bad guy on the other hand is wonderfully evil). Who could pull that off and still be captivating? A few actors come to mind: Ulrich Mühe whose work in The Lives of Others was subtle, yet mesmerizing or perhaps Clive Owen, whose Children of Men performance was also understated but outstanding.

Learn more about the book and authors at Dani Kollin's blog and The Unincorporated Man website.

The Page 69 Test: The Unincorporated War.

--Marshal Zeringue

Emily St. John Mandel's "The Singer’s Gun"

Emily St. John Mandel's new novel The Singer’s Gun concerns a man named Anton Waker, who’s trying to lead a more honorable life. Everyone he grew up with is corrupt—his parents are dealers in stolen goods, and his first career was a partnership venture with his cousin Aria, selling social security cards and forged passports to illegal aliens in New York.

As the novel opens, the tenuous life he’s built for himself in the legitimate world is beginning to come undone. The process begins on the day his secretary Elena disappears. Elena is Canadian by birth, but has lived and worked in the United States for a number of years; she has secrets of her own, and she’s being pressed into service by a State Department agent named Alexandra Broden.

Here she shares some insights about casting an adaptation of the novel:

I’ve just started touring with this book, and at several events I’ve been asked about movie rights. Which haven’t sold yet. But if they do, I’ve often thought that Joseph Gordon-Levitt would make an excellent Anton.

When I was imagining what the character of Sophie looked like, I pictured Ginnifer Goodwin, whom you may know as the youngest wife on Big Love. (Which I haven’t seen, but I thought she was wonderful in both Walk the Line and Mona Lisa Smile.) I imagined Alexandra Broden as looking something like Cate Blanchett, but a Cate Blanchett with very close-cropped dark hair. If I were casting for Elena, my first choice would be Michelle Williams. She’s a remarkable talent.

Learn more about the book and author at Emily St. John Mandel's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Singer's Gun.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ilie Ruby's "The Language of Trees"

Ilie Ruby won the Phi Kappa Phi Award for Fiction, the Eden L. Moses Award, a Kerr Foundation Fiction Scholarship, the Wesleyan Writer’s Conference Scholarship in NonFiction, and the Barbara Kemp Award for Outstanding Teaching and Scholarship. She has published poems and short stories in literary and online magazines, and is the former fiction editor of The Southern California Anthology. A graduate of the Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California, she has worked on PBS documentaries in Honduras, as well as taught elementary school in Los Angeles.

Here is the story of her new novel, The Language of Trees, and her thoughts on casting a big screen adaptation of it:

The Language of Trees is a mystery-love story filled with restless spirits, both living and not. Woven with magical realism and Seneca Indian folklore, the story takes place in the sprawling lake region of Canandaigua, NY, once the site of battles that were fought there, now the site of battles of a different kind—those of love, forgiveness, and addiction. As the story goes, a little boy, Luke Ellis, disappears in the lake on a rainy night, and neither of his sisters, Melanie or Maya, can explain it though they were with him. The mystery is never solved. Over a decade later, Melanie, now a teenager, goes missing, leaving her infant son. Townspeople isolated by years of secrets and old lovers separated by guilt and grief come together in the frantic search to save her, only to discover a world where nature and the spiritual realm intertwine, nothing is as it seems, and the past refuses to stay where it belongs.

Frantic that the past is repeating itself, Grant Shongo, a Seneca healer, who has turned his back on his legacy, and the woman who left him years ago, his childhood love, Echo O’Connell, find themselves drawn into the search with the help of a restless spirit. Echo has returned after all this time to put the past to rest with a secret of her own.

My characters are ordinary folks who have fallen prey to tragedy and adversity, but who are capable of extraordinary things when put to the test. They are rarely beautiful, uncommonly wise, though this doesn’t stop anyone from falling in love with them, nor does it stop them from making very human choices—some that could wreck a life. They have let true loves slip away, they have let themselves become isolated by fear, they have made excuses for themselves—until this moment when everyone is called to action to prevent the past from repeating itself and bring Melanie Ellis home. I like the idea that one of my main characters, Leila Ellis, forgoes her usual raggedy attire and in a definitive act of dignity and self-preservation dons her once-worn suit and high heels before getting in the car to drive the streets of Canandaigua all night looking for her runaway teenage daughter. I love the idea that Melanie, her daughter, has just gotten herself clean for a cause: her infant son, and though she has not lost her edge or her temptation, she will do anything she can to be strong for him, even it means doing the hardest thing of all: forgiving herself for what happened to her brother all those years ago.

Here’s the cast of characters, and those I imagine would play them:

Joseph O’Connell: a former priest, wisdom keeper of the story, who maintains his belief in the goodness of the human spirit though he’s been given every reason not to. Let Morgan Freeman play him. What with those watery tender eyes, and that face full of wisdom. He is grand with depth enough to hold all the human tribulations in the story.

Leila Ellis: the mother of three, whose children have suffered at the hands of her mistakes. The big guns, Sally Field or Meryl Streep. They can play strong, broken, vulnerable, creatures that have made treacherous mistakes and yet somehow remain worthy of vindication and admiration.

Grant Shongo: the Seneca faith healer who can’t accept his legacy. I choose actor Eric Bana, from The Time Traveler’s Wife. He has just the right amount of humility and obsession. Tobey Maguire can also be humble while still being extraordinary. Grant Shongo is a far cry from Spiderman but it doesn’t hurt that Maguire knows how to use superpowers.

Echo O’Connell: the woman who broke Grant’s heart years ago, Joseph’s daughter, she has not let her heart settle into womanhood, remarkably vulnerable yet unshakably strong. This is a hard one. A young Deborah Winger would be perfect. Someone completely natural, who is beautiful mostly because of who she is.

Melanie Ellis: 19, a teenage mother, beautiful but hates the idea of beauty, edgy yet vulnerable, an ex-addict bent on changing her life. I am a huge fan of Brie Larson, who plays Kate Gregson on The United States of Tara. Kristin Stewart would be good here, too. It’s that irresistible quality of self-possession, with an incredible, if not rarely seen, warmth, that is unmistakably forgiving.

Visit Ilie Ruby's website, blog, and Facebook page.

Writers Read: Ilie Ruby.

The Page 69 Test: The Language of Trees.

--Marshal Zeringue

Jeremy Robinson's "Instinct"

Jeremy Robinson is a bestselling novelist whose books include The Didymus Contingency, Raising the Past, and Antarktos Rising.

Here is his take on casting adaptations of his first two Chess Team novels, which have been praised by Stephen Coonts, David Lynn Golemon, and Thomas Greanias:

Pulse and Instinct are both part of the Chess Team series which would make a blockbuster movie franchise similar to G.I. Joe meets Clash of the Titans — lots of action, guns, cool tech and mythical monsters. Here’s who I would cast to play the six man Chess Team:

King: Hugh Jackman —I’ve always had Jackman in mind for King. He’s got the right build, the right hair and can pull off the personality without any trouble.

Queen: Charlize Theron – Not only is she a blond hottie, but she can act and do the serious/angry roles that Queen would demand. She’s not always a light character!

Rook - Jason Statham – He’s awesome in action roles, can play the funny man and with a slight tweak to his accent would make a convincing New Englander.

Bishop – I have no idea. Despite all my searching I cannot come up with a large, super-strong actor of Arab decent that fits the bill. Would have to be somebody new.

Knight – Rain (Ninja Assassin) – Knight is a pretty boy Korean that can kick some butt. Rain was born to play Knight.

Deep Blue – Bruce Willis – Deep Blue, then ex-Army Ranger of the team can still open a can of whup-ass if need be, but his tough, smart and balding character is a perfect match for Willis.

And there you have it. With the exception of Bishop, the cast alone would sell movie tickets ... and take up about fifty million of the budget.

Watch the Instinct trailer, and learn more about the book and author at Jeremy Robinson's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Grace Coopersmith’s "Nancy’s Theory of Style"

Grace Coopersmith is a San Francisco Bay Area native and still lives there. She went to Stanford, where she studied creative writing, literature, and theatre.

Here she shares some insights about casting an adaptation of her new novel, Nancy’s Theory of Style:

Some characters come to me whole: I can see them in my mind, hear their voices, and know exactly what they’d say and do. Nancy Carrington-Chambers is one of those characters. She’s the girl you love to hate: she’s richer than you, went to better schools than you, and is invited to swankier parties and clubs than you. As a friend, she’s a guilty pleasure. The more you know her, the more you enjoy the appalling things she says and does.

She’s blond, blue-eyed, petite and more cute than beautiful, “a grown-up version of the cutest kid in kindergarten.” She’s formulating an all-encompassing theory of style that she believes will be more useful than Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.

Her playful attitude and sense of entitlement are her most important qualities. I’d like to see someone like Mila Kunis (from Forgetting Sarah Marshall and That ‘70s Show) cast as Nancy. Although Kunis is dark-haired, she has a marvelous sense of comic timing and could deliver Nancy’s lines with aplomb.

Nancy hires the perfect assistant, Derek Cathcart, for her event planning company. “The tall, dark-haired man walked into the room wearing a windowpane suit in charcoal with a chalk line in the subtlest lavender, and a lavender shirt. She’d dreamed of meeting a man who could wear a windowpane pattern with élan…he had deep blue eyes… He wore his straight, espresso-dark hair and sideburns long, but beautifully cut -– too beautifully for a straight man.”

Derek is English and he has a smirk more than a smile. So I’d have to say Richard Armitage, who smirks like nobody’s business.

I’d love to see snarky, hilarious Betty White as Miss Binky Winkles, a local character, and America Ferrera as Milagro, Nancy’s smart, sexy, and eccentric friend.

One of the biggest characters in the book is the city of San Francisco. It photographs beautifully and ideally should be cast as itself.

A few producers are now looking at Nancy’s Theory of Style, and I hope one will decide to option it as a movie.

Read an excerpt from Nancy’s Theory of Style, and learn more about the book and author at Grace Coopersmith's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue