Roger Johns's "River of Secrets"

Roger Johns is a former corporate lawyer and retired college professor with law degrees from Louisiana State University and Boston University. During his nearly two decades as a professor, he served on the editorial staffs of several academic publications and he won numerous awards and recognitions for his teaching and his scholarly writing. Johns was born and raised in Louisiana. He and his wife Julie now live in Georgia. Dark River Rising is his first novel.

Here Johns shares some insights into dreamcasting an adaptation of Dark River Rising and River of Secrets:

Warning: I’m about to cheat. I’m not normally a cheater, but today is different, and for good reason. First, though, a confession: I don’t watch television and I very rarely go to the movies. Consequently, as much as I’d like to, I haven’t a chance when it comes to choosing a recognizable current actor to play the part of Wallace Hartman, the female police detective who is the lead character in my two recent mysteries, Dark River Rising and River of Secrets. That said, I remember very well an experience I had after I finished an early draft of the first book. The manuscript contained very little physical description of Wallace. After my wife read it, I asked her who she thought Wallace looked like. Her answer took me completely by surprise: “She looks like me.” At that moment, I made a conscious decision to keep Wallace’s physical appearance rather vague. My thinking was that if, by keeping the description to a minimum, readers could more easily identify with the character, then who was I to get in the way. With the exception of the following, the books are bereft of clues as to Wallace’s appearance: she’s five-seven, in her mid- to late-thirties, white, dark shoulder-length hair, and a bit on the athletic side. Here’s the cheat: I couldn’t possibly name anyone to play the part, but if you’re in the mood to play casting director, please send your suggestions to me at: roger.johns@rogerjohnsbooks.com.

Visit Roger Johns's website.

The Page 69 Test: Dark River Rising.

--Marshal Zeringue