Elle Cosimano's "Seasons of the Storm"

Elle Cosimano's debut thriller, Nearly Gone, was an Edgar Award finalist, won the International Thriller Award for Best Young Adult Novel, and was awarded the Mathical Book Award recognizing mathematics in children’s literature. Her novel Holding Smoke was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award and the International Thriller Award. Her books for young adults have appeared on several statewide school and library reading lists.

Here Cosimano dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Seasons of the Storm:

Seasons of the Storm is a young adult urban fantasy/adventure about a group of teens who, upon their untimely deaths, have each been turned into the immortal embodiment of a season on earth. Gifted with elemental magic, they’re forced into a vicious cycle in which each Season must hunt and kill the one who comes before them in order to lay claim to their limited time on earth. I started drafting the story years ago, so many of the actors I envisioned while creating the characters are now too old for the roles. But there are plenty of amazing and talented young actors today who could easily play their parts.

Jack Sommers became the living embodiment of Winter in 1988 after a skiing accident took his life. With a skater’s build and garage-band style, he’s the story’s cool and brooding rebel. Cocky and willful, Jack’s known for his ambitious and often dangerous plans, and I can picture Colin Ford pulling off this role with aplomb.

After dying from cancer in the early 1990s, Fleur Atwell was revived to become one of the most powerful Springs in the world. Her long pink hair, emotional warmth, and sunny disposition contrast her badass grip on some deadly earth magic, and she can be ruthless when it counts to protect the people she loves. Emilia Jones would make a fantastic Fleur.

Julio Verano took the mantle of Summer after drowning while surfing off the coast of southern California in 1985. Carefree and often reckless, he’s known among the Guards as being a troublemaker with a stormy temper, and among the Seasons as being a hot beach boy and a flirt. Diego Tinoco, with his radiant smile and impressive physique, would be perfect for the part.

Amber Chase, a rebellious runaway, became an Autumn when she froze to death in 1969. A studious and highly skilled fighter with fiery red hair and sharp, catlike eyes, she’s become aloof and stoic, resigned to her violent life as a Season after so many years. I could see Abigail Cowen or Bella Thorne being a fantastic fit for this role.

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Q&A with Elle Cosimano.

--Marshal Zeringue