Sarah Bailey's "The Dark Lake"

Sarah Bailey lives in Melbourne, Australia and has two young sons. She has fifteen years experience in the advertising industry and is currently a director at creative projects company Mr Smith.

Here Bailey dreamcasts an adaptation of The Dark Lake, her first novel:

When I was writing The Dark Lake, I found it really helpful to develop a fantasy cast to ensure I had consistent descriptions of each character. I created a little mood board on my bedroom wall by cutting out pictures of actors that I felt would be able to bring each of my characters to life. Of course, I never imagined that it might one day be turned into a TV series or film, and the fact that this is now a possibility is truly mind-blowing!

As I embarked on my private casting adventure, finding an actor that could step into the role of DS Gemma Woodstock was critical. She is such a layered person, with a lot of light and shade. In my head Gemma is quite a slight person physically but very strong emotionally with the potential of being quite fierce and frustrating at times. Ellen Page was my top pick to play Gemma. I love her petite but tough vibe.

Felix is another important character as he needs to be charming but aloof and slightly mysterious. I had either a Christian Bale or Ben Affleck type in mind for him. In contrast the character of Scott Harper, Gemma’s partner is very trustworthy, stable and solid and for that reason, I thought Joshua Jackson would work well in this role.

Several of the other characters I based on Australian actors. The murdered woman, Rosalind Ryan would be perfect for Isabel Lucas. Beautiful and mysterious, she has a distinctive other-wordly vibe. Miranda Tapsell would make a great Candy Fyfe, being so fun and feisty.

Jonsey, Gemma’s much-loved boss needs to be a gruff character with a heart of gold. J.K.Simmons would definitely be able to pull this off and the fact that he played Juno’s dad alongside Ellen Page in that iconic movie would be a cute build on their past onscreen relationship.

For the two younger Ryan brothers, I needed to find actors that were attractive but again somewhat distant. I thought that Zac Efron and James Marsden would provide the right look and tone for Timothy and Bryce. Their older brother Marcus is more passive and needs a bit more softness to him. Someone like Josh Brolin would work well. In terms of their father, the wealthy patriarch George Ryan, either James Brolin or Richard Gere would be perfect.

For the naïve but kind-hearted Rodney Mason, Freddie Highmore sprung to mind as did the lead actor from 13 Reasons Why, Dylan Minnette.

I’m not sure whether it a normal practice to develop a cast list when you write a book but it is certainly something that I found really helpful. I’m already doing it again for the sequel!

Visit Sarah Bailey's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Dark Lake.

--Marshal Zeringue