Emma Barry's "Bad Reputation"

Emma Barry is a novelist, college lecturer, and former political staffer. She lives with her high school sweetheart and a menagerie of pets and children in Virginia, where she occasionally finds time to read and write.

Here Barry dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Bad Reputation:

Cole James’s reputation as Hollywood’s favorite himbo no longer suits him. His fans can’t separate the real man from the character he played on a soapy teen drama decades ago. But that’s going to change with Waverley, the hit streaming historical romance series.

Maggie Niven hates her own notoriety. Fired for directing a divisive play, Maggie takes her fight against censorship public. When Hollywood comes calling, she becomes the new intimacy coordinator for Waverley. But it’s harder than she imagined to focus on the job.

Cole isn’t what she expected—and Maggie is more than he dreamed of. As filming gets underway, the cast’s old traumas lead to real intimacy, and Cole and Maggie struggle with feelings they shouldn’t have. Having an affair on set could destroy his comeback and her new career. Falling in love would ruin everything.

So is there a Hollywood ending in store for them?

(Folks, it’s a romance. You do the math.)

I have to admit that I don’t normally fancast my books, but with Bad Reputation, I had to. It’s a book about making a television show for crying out loud! You better believe I have a cast list ready to go.

Cole has the soul of a Boy Scout or an elementary school crossing guard. Sure, he’s blond, muscular, and hot, but you have to like him, not just lust after him. I’d cast Chris Pine, largely based on the energy he brought to Wonder Woman 1984. That scene when he confuses the trash can with a work of art pretty much inspired the book.

Maggie is a former high school teacher who’s smart, quick talking, and just a little sarcastic and self-deprecating. The actor I had in mind was Anna Kendrick. I find her a lot of fun to watch, because even when she’s being tart, she’s always a touch vulnerable. That’s very much Maggie’s vibe.

There are two secondary romances in this book: one between Cole’s co-star and best friend, Tasha, who finally admits that she’s in love with Cole’s long-time stand-in and stuntman, Ryan. The other finds two journalists exposing a Hollywood predator (they end up in a “there’s only one cottage” situation, or at least that’s how it plays out in my head). I’d cast Florence Pugh and Glen Powell as Tasha and Ryan, and Danielle Galligan and Mark Ruffalo as Libby and Jack.

Waverley’s showrunner, Zoya, should be played by Adria Arjona, and Maggie’s best friend can be Billie Lourd.

Seriously, call me, Hollywood. I’ve done all the hard work for you.

Visit Emma Barry's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Elom Akoto's "Blindspot in America"

Elom K. Akoto immigrated to the United States from Togo (West Africa). He earned a bachelor’s degree in Education and a master’s degree in TESOL (Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages). He is the founder of Learn and Care, a nonprofit organization that aims to promote Literacy and Adult Education, not only among immigrants but also among Native Americans who missed the opportunity to earn a high school diploma. The program offers ESL, literacy, GED preparation classes, and more. He self-published two ESL workbooks: Ideal Companion, ESL level 1 and Ideal Companion, ESL level 2. He teaches French in a high school and ESL at a community college in Omaha, Nebraska, where he lives with his family.

Here Akoto dreamcasts an adaptation of his debut novel, Blindspot in America:

Blindspot in America is a political novel that explores the narrative of immigrants' experiences in America in their quest for the American Dream. The novel tells the story of an African immigrant, Kamao, born into a prominent Ghanaian family, his father being the secretary of health, who becomes entangled in American politics. His relationship with Lindsey, the daughter of Brad McAdams, a wealthy, prominent, conservative, and anti-immigrant US senator, triggers a series of troubles for him.

While writing this novel, I enjoyed the story playing in my head as if it were a Hollywood movie. I imagine the book being adapted into a film or a series on Netflix or other platforms featuring some well-known skillful actors and actresses. Because there are so many talented actors who can play each of the novel's three main characters, Kamao, Lindsey, and Brad McAdams, it was challenging to come up with a finalist for each role.

For the role of Kamao, I continue to struggle to choose between three finalists: Algee Smith, Khylin Rhambo, and Malachi Kirby. Kamao is described as an athletic, martial artist, and good-looking fellow who resembles, in some way, Thomas Sankara, the late charismatic, charming, and revolutionary president of Burkina Faso, a West African country, who was assassinated in 1987. All three actors mentioned can fit the description, except for the resemblance to Sankara. I would happily let every reader decide which of the three they would rather see play that role.

The character of Lindsey McAdams is described as a beautiful girl with blue eyes, a brunette, a down-to-earth attitude, and well-mannered. I’m leaning toward Josephine Langford, although she would have to fight for this role against Lily Reinhart. I chose those two actresses because of their looks and acting skills. In the After series, Josephine Langford has revealed her skills as a passionate lover with a tender but sharp romantic flare. I think that would fit her role as Lindsey McAdams, who usually doesn’t hold back her feelings for Kamao.

For the role of Brad McAdams, a white male in his sixties with prominent shoulders and imposing physical attributes and personality, I couldn’t find better actors than Brendan Gleeson and Jeff Daniels. Although Gleeson is my first choice, I wouldn’t be disappointed if Daniels is picked to play the role because of his more classy, political figure look.

Visit Elom Akoto's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Tess Callahan's "Dawnland"

Tess Callahan is the author of the novels April & Oliver and Dawnland. Her essays and stories have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Writer’s Digest, National Public Radio, Agni, Narrative Magazine, AWP Notebook, Newsday, The Common, the Best American Poetry blog, and elsewhere. Her TEDx talk on creativity is titled, “The Love Affair Between Creativity & Constraint.” Callahan is a graduate of Boston College and Bennington College Writing Seminars. A certified meditation teacher, she offers meditations on Heart Haven Meditations and Insight Timer. She curates Muse-feed.com, a toolbox for aspiring writers. A dual citizen of the United States and Ireland, she lives in Cape Cod and Northern New Jersey with her family and number one life coach, her dog.

Here Callahan dreamcasts an adaptation of Dawnland:

Because Dawnland is about love of all kinds—romantic, doomed, familial, fatalistic, erotic—it requires actors with a wide range and a director with an eye for subtlety. Set it in the spectacularly dynamic landscape of Cape Cod’s outermost beaches, the setting mirrors the inner life of the characters, who teeter on cliffs both literal and metaphorical. April and Oliver are in- laws with a tangled past. As their family reunion unfolds, their buried secret threatens to erupt like a rogue wave. Fault lines appear between spouses, siblings, parents and children in what becomes a summer of reckoning. Will the truth force deeper, more authentic relationships or destroy them irreparably? Anne Hathaway is a dead ringer for April, both physically and in terms of her personal zest and emotional range. In Dawnland, April’s husband Al says she has “Anne Hathaway eyes,”—dark, boundless, and full of mystery. From Brokeback Mountain to The Devil Wears Prada, Hathaway demonstrates the depth and versatility needed for a vibrant and often unpredictable character like April.

Although he is not (yet) an actor, the Irish musician Hozier is perfect for the role of Oliver. Not only are they both tall, lean, and quietly irreverent, they possess a rare blend of deep introspection and ferocious passion. Like Hozier, Oliver is a musician. They possess the same musical sensibility and vocal range. Hozier is mentioned in Dawnland as someone Oliver admires, and at one point Oliver and April dance to an iconic Hozier song, “Movement.” My confidence in Hozier’s acting ability lies in his music video, “Eat Your Young,” as well as his riveting performance on stage. His simmering passion perfectly suits the role of Oliver.

Hathaway and Hozier would melt any audience.

As for directing, Todd Haynes would be a natural. He has done compelling work exploring the inner life of musicians as well as family and societal dysfunction. Another great choice would be Marielle Heller, who has a deep understanding of teenage psychology and clearly grasps the consequences of long held lies.

Finally, I would go with Declan Baldwin as producer due to his wide range of experience and his highly nuanced films such as Manchester by the Sea and Still Alice.

Dawnland is highly cinematic novel begging for a movie. Who’s onboard?

Learn more about the novel and author at Tess Callahan's website.

The Page 69 Test: April and Oliver.

The Page 69 Test: Dawnland.

--Marshal Zeringue

Asha Greyling's "The Vampire of Kings Street"

Asha Greyling lives in Maryland with her furry four-footed muses, Gwin the terrier and a guinea pig who thinks she’s a cat. She likes nothing more than swinging in the playground (unless the local children scare her off), collecting acorns, or sitting down with a good book.

Here Greyling dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, The Vampire of Kings Street:

When I write, I visualize everything. It helps me set up a scene if I can see it in my mind’s eye as a movie. Sometimes I’m describing what I see, not at all what I’ve planned!

My dreamcast for The Vampire of Kings Street would be the following:

Simone Ashley – Simone Ashley has just the kind of flair, style, and attitude that I would imagine for Radhika Dhingra. Radhika is the descent of South Indian immigrants and now an aspiring lawyer in 19th century New York. There is a lot of colorism in India (and the world as a whole), so I deliberately made Radhika darker skinned than most of the Indian actresses you see in film, like Simone Ashley herself. I'd love to see Simone in this role!

Freddy Carter – For the vampire-accused-of-murder, Evelyn More, I think Freddy Carter would fit the role excellently. He’s great at playing ambiguous characters with both a dark and light side, which fits Evelyn exactly – characters who you could imagine being villainous but equally capable of heroism. And after all, maybe Evelyn More is the murderer – read to find out!

Florence Pugh – Florence Pugh’s spunky and no-nonsense performance would fit the character of daring reporter Jane Beverly to a “T.” Jane Beverly is an ambitious, free-spirited character—one of Radhika Dhingra’s few friends—who never lets society’s norms hold her back from her goals.

Visit Asha Greyling's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Vampire of Kings Street.

--Marshal Zeringue

Julie E. Czerneda's "A Change of Place"

Julie E. Czerneda is a biologist and writer whose science fiction has received international acclaim, awards, and best-selling status. She is the author of the popular "Species Imperative" trilogy, the "Web Shifters" series, the "Trade Pact Universe" trilogy and her new "Stratification" novels. She was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Her stand-alone novel, In the Company of Others, won Canada's Prix Aurora Award and was a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award for Distinguished SF.

Here Czerneda shares some ideas for an epic series adaptation of her new novel, A Change of Place:

A Change of Place continues from two previous books in my Night’s Edge fantasy series. The characters are the same, though more arrive, the focal setting—Marrowdell—is always present, but in each book, we visit dramatically different places and problems. It’s, well, big.

Making it not so much a movie prospect and very much an epic series.

Just typing that makes me tremble, a little. Wouldn’t that be something?

Oh I didn’t always think that way. When I first thought of Marrowdell, my dragon, my characters and the entire scope and tone of the story it was in response to what I wasn’t finding. I wanted fantasy where the magic was wondrous and wild. With families that were whole and loving and coped together with their troubles. Characters who weren’t victims but happy or hoping to be, engaged with their surroundings and each other. There’s a mill. Farms. Dancing.

A story that feels like warm cocoa and a blanket on a chilly day, with gleeful ahas!

In other words, no grim. No gore. Okay, maybe a touch of gore and smidge of risk, but countered by a great deal more pie and joy and laughter.

As there wasn’t anything like this in movie or series form—and so much the opposite ::coughs Game of Thrones ::coughs:: as I wrote I never thought a visual edition of my fantasy would be possible. After all, it has moments like this:

As the light of this world faded, the light of the Verge reached the bay, or rather, shone up through it to reveal treasure below.

Mimrol.

The magic that flowed as rivers and filled lakes in the Verge did the same here, in the depths beneath the dark water, its silver like some fantastic etching come to life. In Channen, the stuff had fallen as rain, greedily snapped up by the turtle-like nyim—what wasn’t collected by those who knew its value.

Suggesting she did, Nonny stood, calmly handed Jenn her cup, then shrugged off her rags. Beneath she wore nothing but a woven belt lined with compartments.

With one smooth motion, she stepped up on the gunnel and dove.

Now, however, we’ve a wealth of amazing film and shows with incredible special effects to ably portray beautiful moments, like this, as well as all those action things (which I adore as well, don’t get me wrong). Most recently, the Rings of Power on Prime, season 2 directed by Charlotte Brändström, comes to mind*. Watching lets me truly imagine Marrowdell coming to life on a screen at last, which would be epic--many of my family and friends are movie folks, not so much readers.

And I’d like it too.

*Confession: like every author I know who watched Lord of the Rings I dreamed Peter Jackson would “discover” my book and make it a spectacular umpteen hour movie but--at the time I was writing Species Imperative, a hard sf epic, and I didn’t think it his sort of thing. Peter? Maybe now?

Visit Julie E. Czerneda's website.

The Page 69 Test: To Guard Against the Dark.

The Page 69 Test: The Gossamer Mage.

The Page 69 Test: Mirage.

Q&A with Julie E. Czerneda.

The Page 69 Test: To Each This World.

My Book, The Movie: To Each This World.

--Marshal Zeringue

J.H. Markert's "Sleep Tight"

J. H. Markert, the author of The Nightmare Man, Mister Lullaby, and Sleep Tight, is the pen name for writer James Markert, an award-winning novelist of historical fiction. Markert is a produced screenwriter, husband, and father of two from Louisville, Kentucky, where he was also a tennis pro for 25 years, before hanging up the racquets for good in 2020. He graduated with a degree in History from the University of Louisville in 1997 and has been writing ever since. With a total of 10 published novels under his belt, Markert writes historical fiction under his name and horror/thriller under J.H. Markert. He has recently completed his next historical novel, Ransom Burning, a civil rights era family/crime drama that Markert calls “my best book yet!” He recently finished another horror novel called Dig, and is currently hard at work on his next novel, Spider to the Fly.

Here Markert dreamcasts an adaptation of Sleep Tight:

I always envision “movie” when writing my novels, which means I inevitably think of certain characters when I create my stories and Sleep Tight was no exception. No budget could afford this cast, but in the spirit of sleeping tight, and sleeping right, we can dream, right?

As a Louisvillian, for the main character, I could think of no one other than Louisville’s own Jennifer Lawrence as my Detective Tess Claiborne. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit, in part, writing the story one day hoping she could play Tess!

As far as her husband Justin, I’d go with Chris Pine.

For Detective Danny Gomes, I’d go with a serious Jack Black.

For the incredibly difficult task of playing Noah Nichols, I’d love to have Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and for Father Silence, Joaquin Phoenix.

And for Lisa Buchanon I’d like to cast Lady Gaga!

Visit J.H. Markert's website.

Q&A with J. H. Markert.

My Book, The Movie: The Nightmare Man.

The Page 69 Test: The Nightmare Man.

--Marshal Zeringue

Sofie Kelly's "Furever After"

New York Times bestselling author, Sofie Kelly, writes the Magical Cats mysteries, set in the small town of Mayville Heights, Minnesota. As Sofie Ryan, she is the author of the popular bestselling Second Chance Cat mysteries that feature repurpose shop owner, Sarah Grayson, a group of senior sleuths and the world's oldest computer hacker.

Kelly has been a late night disk jockey—which explains her love of coffee--and taught absolutely terrified adults how to swim. Like Kathleen Paulson in the Magical Cats books, she practices Wu style Tai Chi. Kelly is also a mixed-media artist and likes to prowl thrift shops looking for things to re-purpose in her art.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Furever After:

Librarian Kathleen Paulson lives in Mayville Heights, a small town in Minnesota. In the latest book in the series, Furever After, she’s about to marry Detective Marcus Gordon. Kathleen gets tangled up in quite a few of Marcus’s cases. She’s kind and empathic and people tell her things. Kathleen is also very good at figuring out when someone is lying. Her parents are actors—primarily in the theatre—and she’s learned a lot about human nature from watching them. She has excellent research skills as well. And she has a couple of furry helpers, her cats, Owen and Hercules.

Owen and Hercules are not ordinary felines. There’s a reason this series is called the Magical Cats Mysteries. The cats each have a very unique skill. Owen can become invisible, and being a cat he doesn’t always disappear when it’s convenient for Kathleen. Hercules can walk through walls.

So which actor do I picture playing Kathleen if Hollywood decided to turn the series into a movie? Sandra Bullock. She’s equally good at comedy and drama. She looks right physically for the part. And she’s an animal lover. But Sandra is a little older than Kathleen, who is in her late thirties. However, I’m actually thinking about Sandra Bullock from about 2006 when she was in the movie The Lake House. (Don’t tell me the movie is stupid because I will stuff my fingers in my ears and start humming loudly.)

So if Sandra Bullock was cast as Kathleen I’m thinking maybe…maybe Keanu Reeves for Marcus? Yes, I know his eye color and age are all wrong but again I’m picturing Keanu circa 2006, which does fix the age issue. And I could be flexible about Marcus’s beautiful blue eyes.

So what do you think?

Visit Sofie Kelly's website.

My Book, The Movie: Curiosity Thrilled the Cat.

Writers Read: Sofie Kelly (October 2015).

The Page 69 Test: Faux Pas.

Writers Read: Sofie Kelly (September 2022).

Writers Read: Sofie Kelly.

--Marshal Zeringue