"Sisterhood Above All" by Kathleen Barber with Amayah Shaienne

Kathleen Barber is the author of Truth Be Told, which was adapted by Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine as a series on AppleTV+, Follow Me, and Both Things Are True. A certified book coach and former attorney, she lives in Washington, DC, with her family.

Amayah Shaienne is a lifestyle content creator and student at the University of Alabama who quickly grew a following during Bama Rush. To date, she has garnered a following of nearly 200K across TikTok and Instagram and has her audience obsessed with all parts of her college life. She is excited to continue bringing her loyal followers along as she attends key college moments such as sorority rush, football games, and more.

Here Barber dreamcasts an adaptation of their new novel, Sisterhood Above All:

Like many authors, I love to imagine my work translated for the screen—but I always struggle with dreamcasting because I have such specific ideas of what my characters look like and how they behave. I’ve done my best, though, to dreamcast the three point-of-view characters in Sisterhood Above All:

Ava Nichols is a potential new member going through sorority rush who is desperate to join the Gammas. She’s blonde and conventionally pretty, but she’s anxious and unsure of herself. I’d cast Grace Van Patten as Ava based on appearance, but there’s a longing to fit in that reminds me of Maude Apatow’s performance as Lexi in Euphoria.

Madison Archer is the president of the Gammas. She’s intimidatingly beautiful—and intimidating, full stop. She’s cruel and calculating but knows how to put on a smile to get what she wants. If Madelaine Petsch were blonde, she’d be perfect—I loved her as Cheryl Blossom on Riverdale. I also see hints of Emma Roberts in her iconic roles as Chanel Oberlin in Scream Queens and Madison Montgomery in American Horror Story: Coven.

Shay Wright is the president of the Thetas. Smart, successful, and pretty, Shay is Type-A and driven to a fault. Her ambition threatens to push her beyond her physical limits, but she doesn’t know how to slow down. I’d cast Lovie Simone as Shay for her appearance, but there’s an anxious quality in Shay that reminds of Shay Mitchell’s Emily on Pretty Little Liars. (The character name is pure coincidence!)

While I’m at it, I’m going to dreamcast Christian Drake, Madison’s degenerate not-boyfriend. I definitely named him after Christian Slater for his role as Jason Dean in Heathers, but current Christian Slater is too old to play my Christian. My collaborator Amayah said she sees Christian as having Nate-from-Euphoria vibes, and I totally agree with her (seasons 1 and 2 Nate, of course, not whatever happened to Nate in season 3), so let’s cast Jacob Elordi.

Visit Kathleen Barber's website.

The Page 69 Test: Follow Me.

Writers Read: Kathleen Barber (March 2020).

12 Yoga Questions with Kathleen Barber.

The Page 69 Test: Both Things Are True.

My Book, The Movie: Both Things Are True.

Q&A with Kathleen Barber.

Writers Read: Kathleen Barber (September 2025).

--Marshal Zeringue

Bryan Gruley's "River Deep"

Bryan Gruley is the Edgar-nominated author of seven novels 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. A longtime Chicago resident, he now lives in northern lower Michigan with his wife, Pamela.

Here Gruley dreamcasts an adaptation of his new novel, River Deep:

If River Deep was a movie or, my preference, a streamed series, I would hope for Vince Gilligan, creator of my favorite series ever, Breaking Bad, to direct this cast:

Isa Briones, the prickly young doctor in TV’s The Pitt, as our courtroom hero, Devyn Payne. She’s attractive enough, tough enough, saucy enough. Different from my pick in Bitterfrost (the young agent from hit TV series Slow Horses), but I’d never seen Briones before.

Fiona Dourif, also from The Pitt, as the accused murderer Catriona Dulaney (OK, my wife and I love that series, but so does everybody else). Dourif's character in The Pitt wears an ankle monitor—just like Catriona. And she’s a tough redhead.

Jeff Daniels, Michigan guy, as Detective Garth Klimmek. This was my pick for Bitterfrost and I’m sticking with it. Like Klimmek, Daniels is great at playing a semi-grumpy but honest character.

Billy Bob Thornton—hell, yeah—as Hooper. He looks like I imagine Hooper would look, and could easily adopt Hooper’s near-cynical view of humanity—minus the southern accent.

Kyle Chandler as Jimmy Baker. Jimmy doesn’t have a point-of-view role in River Deep, but he’s still an important character. Last time I chose Timothy Olyphant, which would work too, but Chandler has the rugged looks of a good guy like Jimmy.

Jodie Foster as Circuit Judge Darlene Esper. Foster would be great at delivering the judge’s comic skepticism and dominance of her little world. Kate Winslet would work just fine, too.

Jack Lowden as Sammy Hardt. The Slow Horses heartthrob would draw viewers into Sammy’s character and then—sorry, no spoilers. Jesse Plemons of Breaking Bad or even Daniel Radcliffe could step into Sammy’s shoes.

Visit Bryan Gruley's website.

The Page 69 Test: Starvation Lake.

The Page 69 Test: The Hanging Tree.

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The Page 69 Test: Bitterfrost.

Q&A with Bryan Gruley.

My Book, The Movie: Bitterfrost.

--Marshal Zeringue

Peter Colt's "The Driftwood Bones"

Peter Colt is the author of Cold Island in the Detective Tommy Kelly series and the Andy Roark Mysteries. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1973 and is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island. Colt spent twenty-four years in the army reserve, with deployments to Kosovo in 2000 and Iraq in 2003 and 2008. He is currently a police officer in Providence, Rhode Island, where he lives with his family and two perpetually feuding cats. Colt’s hobbies include cooking, camping, and kayaking.

Here Colt dreamcasts an adaptation of his new novel, The Driftwood Bones, the second title featuring Detective Tommy Kelly:

If my book were a movie there are several characters I would like to see cast.

The protagonist Tommy Kelly is State Police Detective, who is a hot mess. His marriage is over, his love life is a mess, his career is on the ropes and he's been exiled to Nantucket Island by the State Police. I want an actor who can portray Kelly and his problems without turning it into the cliched "divorced, alcoholic" cop performance. I can see two potential leading men playing Kelly, Alexander Skarsgård, who gives outstanding performances in Generation Kill and Murderbot. Or Milo Ventimiglia whose performance in the series This Is Us shows the range he is capable of. Both actors could convincingly play a troubled police detective without turning it into a cliche.

The second character I want to see cast is Detective Jo Harris. Jo is neither a sidekick nor a typical film love interest. She is smart, tough and where Kelly is a hot mess Jo is the one who keeps the investigation on track. In many ways she's the real hero of the story. In my mind she looks like Florence Pugh. I think that Pugh has the chops to deliver a performance that would avoid all the stereotypes and tropes that the film industry often falls back on when portraying female cops. Pugh has shown us through a range of film roles that she can be tough, vulnerable, alluring and most importantly deliver a captivating performance.

Visit Peter Colt's website.

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Q&A with Peter Colt.

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My Book, The Movie: Death at Fort Devens.

Writers Read: Peter Colt (June 2022).

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My Book, The Movie: The Judge.

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Writers Read: Peter Colt (March 2025).

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The Page 69 Test: The Banker.

The Page 69 Test: Cold Island.

Writers Read: Peter Colt (September 2025).

My Book, The Movie: Cold Island.

--Marshal Zeringue

Kerri Hakoda's "Too Deep to Cross"

Kerri Hakoda has worked in and out of Alaska in advertising and marketing, marine transportation, cable television and trade magazine ad sales. She was born and raised in Hawaii, but now calls northwest Washington her home, where she lives with her husband (himself a veteran of the Alaska fishing industry) and writes mystery, historical, and young adult science fiction.

Here Hakoda dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Too Deep to Cross: A Thriller:

Too Deep to Cross would be challenging to cast as a movie. In it, multi-racial Anchorage Homicide Detective DeHavilland Beans returns to his Yukon River hometown after a battered prosthetic leg from a local man washes up – and turns a long-cold missing person case into a homicide investigation. In the San Francisco Bay Area cleaning out the family home, Beans’ mother Mari makes unsettling discoveries of her own.

I envision a very specific look, a distinctive combination of ethnicities for DeHavilland Beans – he is half Japanese, a quarter Irish and a quarter Native Alaskan – a difficult casting combination. Maybe a younger Daniel Henney type, or Lewis Tan? It’s hard to find reasonably pleasant-looking Eurasian actors who aren’t martial artists, not that that’s a bad thing – I just don’t see Beans as being a blackbelt in anything. I like Henry Golding as well, but he may be too handsome and urbane.

For Beans’ mother Mari, who is Japanese American – I see Tamlyn Tomita, Joan Chen, or similarly attractive older Asian American woman.

Oddly enough, the antagonists are easier to cast, I think. I clearly see Vincent D’Onofrio as Victor Paul, the town’s overbearing shopkeeper, and Barry Keoghan as his over-indulged son Lloyd (and owner of the prosthetic leg).

Visit Kerri Hakoda's website.

Writers Read: Kerri Hakoda.

Q&A with Kerri Hakoda.

The Page 69 Test: Too Deep to Cross.

--Marshal Zeringue

Christine Gunderson's "Behind White Picket Fences"

Christine Gunderson is a former television anchor, reporter, and Capitol Hill press secretary, a suburban mother of three, and the author of Friends with Secrets.

She currently lives just outside Washington D.C. but grew up on a fourth-generation family farm in rural North Dakota. She loves Jane Austen, sailing, and Star Wars, and she can drive a tractor, a skill yet to be useful in her daily life.

Here Gunderson dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Behind White Picket Fences:

One of the questions I am most often asked at book club meetings is this: Who would play the characters if my book were made into a movie?

I never know how to answer this question because inside my head, the people in my book are people, not characters, and I have a really hard time imagining them as anyone else, even famous actors.

But as release day approaches, I finally sat down and gave this question some serious thought.

Behind White Picket Fences is a book about three mothers who decide to take a break from modern motherhood. In the process, they try to re-create the kind of childhood they experienced as kids. Astute readers will notice subtle references to Leave It To Beaver, a TV show representing an idealized, bygone America.

Therefore, the character of Dottie in Behind White Picket Fences would be played by Barbara Billingsley, best known for her iconic role as June Cleaver, the perfect 1950’s era housewife and mother in Leave it to Beaver.

And yes, I realize this talented actress passed away in 2010 at the age of 94, but since we’re dream casting this movie, we can pretend she is still with us, lovely and gracious and in her prime.

The three modern moms in Behind White Picket Fences are easier to cast. Piper, the no-nonsense former diplomatic security agent would be played by Rebecca Ferguson. This actress is perhaps best known as Lady Jessica in the Dune franchise, but I came to love her as Juliette Nichols in Silo, a fantastic sort of dystopian/sci fi mash up tv series available on Apple TV.

Jennifer Garner’s wholesome goodness and comedic timing make her perfect for Kiersten, a big-hearted mom from the Midwest who sees the good in everyone, even when she shouldn’t.

Finally, Kristen Wiig would play Rosamund, the third mom on Beaverbrook Lane. She completes the trio of moms who discover something sinister on their seemingly perfect cull de sac.

I chose Kristen Wiig because she made me laugh until I cried in Bridesmaids, and this book and the subsequent movie adaptation should be equal parts suspense and humor, and I know she could balance both beautifully.

So that’s the dream team should Behind White Picket Fences ever get the call from Hollywood. Until then, they will continue to live inside my head, and, I hope, inside the hearts of readers. Which is probably best, because as every reader knows, the book is always better than the movie.

Visit Christine Gunderson's website.

Q&A with Christine Gunderson.

--Marshal Zeringue

DeAndra Davis's "The Lovers, the Liars, and Me"

DeAndra Davis is New York–born and Florida-bred. She’s a hopeless musical theater nerd (Wicked is definitely her favorite), a perpetual student and teacher, and always trailed by a kid or a dog because she has way too many of both. She has an opinion for everything, an argument ready, and a hug for everyone, and she thinks you should, too. She is the author of All the Noise at Once, winner of the William C. Morris Award for best young adult debut book, and The Lovers, the Liars, and Me.

Here Davis dreamcasts an adaptation of The Lovers, the Liars, and Me:

If it’s one thing I love, it’s a good face cast, and with this book, it was no different. I feel like The Lovers, the Liars, and Me is inherently visual with the descriptions of the island and locations. I tried to be lush and descriptive, and that also applies to characters in this love triangle romance meets contemporary drama. I definitely have a primary person in mind with my main character and her supporting cast of friends that I believe would bring the story to life.

Marsai Martin is my immediate choice for Jaliya. Marsai is a brilliant and gorgeous actress, and I know she could bring both the character to life aesthetically, and tap into that growth from hesitant, unsure teen to self-assured and confident. Marsai is also so funny, and I think she could get into the quippy banter the friend group has going in The Lovers, the Liars, and Me.

Jahi Winston would be my pick for Shevaughn, Jaliya’s cousin. I think his personality fits, and he could really bring the character to life in many ways. His acting catalogue is so varied and Shevaughn is a difficult character to play because he’s going through so much that he would need an actor who could approach his role with care.

For the two love interests, it was hard to choose but for India I would pick Storm Reid who has acted in many projects I’ve loved and who, after being in so many dramatic projects, can tackle those more difficult parts of India’s character while still bringing forth the charm she exudes every time she’s in a scene.

For Andre, I have to go with Caleb McLaughlin. I think he plays such an endearing love interest in Stranger Things (despite the horror backdrop) that I believe in a more relaxed setting, that could (and would) get played up even more, enhancing the interesting love triangle moment.

Last, for Deon, Jaliya’s best friend and the absolute funniest person in the book hands down, I pictured JD McCrary who has a background in some comedy and who would really do the character justice for all his clever, sarcastic humor throughout the book.

Visit DeAndra Davis's website. She can be found on most socials @DeAndraWrites.

--Marshal Zeringue

Samantha Silva's "Sometime This Century"

Samantha Silva is an author and screenwriter based in Idaho. Over her career, she’s sold film projects to Paramount, Universal, and New Line Cinema.

Sometime This Century is her third novel, following Love and Fury: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mr. Dickens and His Carol, her debut.

Here Silva dreamcasts an adaptation of Sometime This Century:

Sometime This Century is a swoon-worthy love story wrapped in a time-travel rom-com that finds my bookish, Jane-Austen loving, wannabe writer heroine, Annabel Blake, transported to the Regency era where she might just have everything she’s ever wished for, including the attentions of the dashing Henry Leighton D’Evercy. But when she and her companions—her party-girl-slash-influencer sister Cassie and ex-boyfriend Billy—find themselves trapped in the year 1815 and have to figure out how to make a life there, the stakes couldn't be higher.

Funnily, the novel began life as a screenplay 25 years ago, so I’ve had lots of time to think about who might play these roles. Having cut my teeth as a screenwriter, I tend to cast as I go, usually with someone in mind, at least as a type. That said, most of the actors on my dream list have aged out of the roles! The conversations with my twenty-something daughter (resident casting director) start with, “Who’s the young Rachel McAdams. The next Elle Fanning? Is there a Colin Firth I should know about?”

The heroine of Sometime This Century is Annabel Blake, a 22-year-old lit-nerd who’s always felt she was born in the wrong century. Her skin is untouched by sun or ink and she might just be wearing vintage Laura Ashley with a pair of ballet flats. Fina Strazza, the Tony-nominated star of John Proctor is the Villain, would be right at home in the Regency world of Annabel's beloved Jane Austen. And she looks like a young Jennifer Ehle, star of the beloved BBC Pride & Prejudice, to boot!

I like Kiernan Shipka for Annabel’s older sister, Cassie Blake, who’s more of a mean girl grown up in a crop-top and cargo pants. She lives life on her own terms, no apologies: think Charlie XCX’s “brat girl summer.” Shipka definitely has Annabel Blake energy too, but I think she could go both ways.

Both Nolan White and Corbin Drew Ross from The Outsiders musical have loads of Billy Bronson energy. He’s Cassie’s ex-boyfriend and loyal sidekick for her travel vlog. A skater dude who hasn’t had to grow up, he’s secure enough in his own masculinity to get Cassie’s matcha and hold her purse, and deep down quite a gentle soul.

For Annabel’s brooding Darcy-like love interest in the Regency world—Henry Leighton D’Evercy—I like Harris Dickinson, who looks just the right amount of noble and aloof while being achingly handsome. And then there’s Leo Woodall who can do no wrong. I’d love to see him brood and be slightly thrown off his game by Annabel, while being an utterly English gentleman who yearns to escape the constraints of his own life, while he’s sworn to uphold them.

Everyone in my dream cast can handle the comedy (sometimes on the broad side) and bring heart to the roles when things take a serious turn. I see the three time-travelers at ease in the modern world but becoming more vivid and self-aware as they try to make their way in the world of Regency England.

Visit Samantha Silva's website.

Q&A with Samantha Silva.

The Page 69 Test: Sometime This Century.

Writers Read: Samantha Silva.

--Marshal Zeringue

J.P. Lacrampe's "Valet"

J.P. Lacrampe received his MFA in creative writing from Saint Mary’s College. His short fiction has been published by Glimmer Train, McSweeney's, Instant City, and in Howl: A Collection of the Best Contemporary Dog Wit. He is a professor at Santa Clara University & SJSU, where he teaches courses in composition, fiction, and screenwriting.

Here Lacrampe dreamcasts an adaptation of new novel, Valet:

Charles Grodin! To me, he was the funniest actor ever. He could weather the absurdity of the world (and even participate within it) in such a good-natured, witty, and ultimately insightful way. I would love him to play Cy, the android who narrates Valet, who must likewise good-naturedly weather the absurdities of the humans who surround him. Peter Sellers or Keegan Michael-Key would be awesome choices as well. Both are so great at telegraphing what they're really thinking about the crazy world around them. Much of the comedy in Valet comes from the gap between what Cy says and what he actually thinks.

In terms of Grayson, Cy's wayward human charge, someone like Owen Wilson or Chris Pratt. Childlike wonder that can give way to emotional growth. For Mrs. St. Claire, I always envisioned Jessica Walter (Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development). So unbelievably sharp and funny. Maybe Anya Taylor-Joy for Livi and Cate Blanchett for Charlotte. Ana de Armas as Elsa, formidable and competitive.

We'd get Terry Gilliam to direct, of course. I'm ready to start crowd-funding!

Visit J.P. Lacrampe's website.

The Page 69 Test: Valet.

Q&A with J.P. Lacrampe.

--Marshal Zeringue

Katie Holt's "The Last Page"

Katie Holt is a New York City resident but a Tennessee native. She studied English with a concentration in creative writing at NYU and fought with every professor to prove that romance novels were worthy of their time. She’s a Nora Ephron fanatic, Swiftie, and warm chocolate chip cookie enthusiast.

Holt is also the author of her highly-acclaimed debut Not in My Book.

Here she shares some ideas for the above-of-the-line talent for an adaptation of her new novel, The Last Page:

I never dreamcast before I write. I know lots of writers love to make boards on Pinterest for what their characters look like, but they come fully formed in my head. I have to get to learn their personalities, but I see what their hair or nose or eyes look like in my mind and I feel as if I were to be inspired by actors, I’d be too literal with it.

Whenever I try to think about it, though, I have difficulty naming someone for my heroines—probably because I’m so protective of them. If any of my books were to be turned into movies, though, I’d insist that a Peruvian woman be cast. I’d love to find someone who’s not already famous just to bring more Peruvian women to the forefront.

A reader recently tagged me in a fancast that had Leo Woodall as Henry and I totally see the vision. He’s got the kind of broadness that I envision with Henry and in glasses … it’d totally work.

I think Greta Gerwig would be a great director for this. She does such a great job at capturing the female gaze, which is pivotal for romance novels! It’s all about the lingering, small touches or the secret shared glances. I’d want someone who intimately understands that aspect of the genre.

Visit Katie Holt's website.

Writers Read: Katie Holt.

Q&A with Katie Holt.

--Marshal Zeringue

James L. Cambias's "The Ishtar Deception"

James L. Cambias is a writer, a game designer, and the cofounder of Zygote Games. He has been nominated for the James Tiptree Jr. Award and the 2001 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

Here Cambias dreamcasts an adaptation of his new novel, The Ishtar Deception:

From the start I wanted The Ishtar Deception to be a James Bond adventure in the Tenth Millennium. So of course I daydreamed about the movie version.

The Cast: The main role is Sabbath Okada, the greatest secret agent in the Billion Worlds of the far-future Solar System. Sabbath, as I've mentioned before, is very hard to cast because he is genetically engineered to be the most average-looking, unmemorable person possible. Of course, 8000 years in the future, bland average looks would seem supernaturally attractive to us crude primitives, but that's kind of true about actors already — even the "ugly" ones are good-looking. I think I'd go with a Hispanic actor like Manuel Garcia-Rulfo or Hunter Gomez, to give a better sense of what an average human in the far future might look like.

Sabbath's deadliest enemy — and the love of his life — is Meili Tewa, a spy-for-hire. She can't be just an ornamental "Bond Girl." Meili's actress needs to be athletic, fearless, beautiful, and convey a sense of roguish amorality. I think I'll reach back 20 years and cast Angelina Jolie in her Lara Croft days as Meili. If the time machine isn't working, then the martial-arts actress Juju Chan would be good.

Another nemesis is Zoya Dukra, a private investigator in the city of Ishtar on Venus who is supposedly working with Sabbath to investigate a mysterious death, but who has a hidden agenda. Zoya needs an actress who can be both beautiful and uncanny. Alicia Vikander did that very well in Ex Machina, so I'll cast her as Zoya.

As one would expect in the year 10,000, several characters are "mechs" —digital intelligences. There are three major AI characters. Daslakh, my narrator, has been in all my other Billion Worlds novels, so I've discussed a number of possible voice actors for it. I've mostly defaulted to male actors, but perhaps Dame Judi Dench would be appropriate to voice Daslakh in this film.

The other two important AIs are Kappa, another colleague of Sabbath's who comes to a bad end, and Tiejiang Jian, a former human now uploaded into software who operates an immense mining operation on Venus. Kappa should sound just slightly wrong. It has a spindly disposable mechanical body, so I suggest giving it a rich baritone voice completely at odds with its appearance. As to Jian, they began as human so I expect they use their original voice. Ken Watanabe might be a good choice.

The Director: I'd like a director who actually adapts the book rather than doing a new story with the same title. Denis Villeneuve is the current champion of faithful adaptations. Christopher Nolan has famously pulled off the "deceptions within deceptions" nature of the story. Guy Ritchie can do good gritty portrayals of the kind of amoral characters that populate this book. If none of them are available, I'll take any competent action director, like Christopher McQuarrie or Dan Trachtenberg.

The Score: Get Michael Giacchino to channel the spirit of John Barry. Or maybe just have Hans Zimmer read the book and turn him loose to see what happens.

Visit James L. Cambias's website.

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Q&A with James L. Cambias.

The Page 69 Test: The Godel Operation.

The Page 69 Test: The Miranda Conspiracy.

My Book, The Movie: The Miranda Conspiracy.

Writers Read: James L. Cambias (February 2025).

The Page 69 Test: The Ishtar Deception.

--Marshal Zeringue