Erin Cotter's "A Dangerous Bargain"

Erin Cotter writes young adult fiction. Originally from Buffalo, New York, she currently calls Austin home. When not writing she spends time with her partner and pets, eating tacos, and searching for Golden-cheeked Warblers in the Texas Hill Country.

Here Cotter dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, A Dangerous Bargain:

My story is about an artist who has bargained away most of his life for divine inspiration pairing up with fellow apprentice Leonardo da Vinci to infiltrate the Medici family and find out the truth about his missing brother. It’s a mystery set in Renaissance, Florence but there’s also a heavy romantic element as well. Because of Renaissance element, I’d love to see a director with a great style for atmospheric, historical settings take the lead—maybe someone like Ridley Scott! But I’ll be honest, I don’t think Ridley Scott has the chops to pull off the romantic plotline in the story, so be better call in Jacob Tierney as well.

Now that I’ve mentioned Jacob Tierney, I’m having a hard time not thinking about Heated Rivalry, which means I’m having a hard time not thinking about Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, and I think they’d be great leads for these films. Having seen them pull off enemies to lovers already, I would die to see them cast in a historical piece together. Hudson Williams has perfected the soulful, broody glare that my protagonist Virgil wears for most of the book, and—weirdly enough!—the way I’ve written Leonardo da Vinci as a cocky, teasing flirt actually has a lot in common with Connor Storrie’s Ilya Rosanov already? I promise this was not on purpose. I had turned in the first draft of this book before Heated Rivalry came out. But after seeing how well Williams and Storrie play off each other on a hockey rink, I think we deserve to see them body-checking each other out of the way of the best easel space next.

Ridey and Jacob, Storrie and Williams, whenever y’all are feeling ready to get this started, call me!

Visit Erin Cotter's website.

Writers Read: Erin Cotter.

The Page 69 Test: A Dangerous Bargain.

--Marshal Zeringue

Jason Allison's "The Killing Yards"

Jason Allison is a writer and former detective who spent twenty years with the NYPD. His award winning fiction and has appeared in journals and anthologies. The Killing Yards is his first novel. Bronx born and raised, he now lives in Massachusetts with his wife and their judgmental Golden Retriever.

Here Allison dreamcasts an adaptation of The Killing Yards:

It’s been said—though I can’t find the quote—that after Alec Guinness played George Smiley in the 1979 BBC adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy, John Le Carré could no longer envision his version of the character. Smiley became Sir Alec, and vice versa. This isn’t uncommon with screen adaptations of novels. In On Writing, Stephen King explains how he limits physical details in his character descriptions. That way, each reader can create their own version in their own head. To use James Ellroy as a reference, my Pete Bondurant is probably different from your Pete Bondurant, but Bud White will always be Russell Crowe.

I will now violate my essay’s opening paragraph by casting my debut novel, The Killing Yards. As a huge cinephile, it’s surprising that I haven’t already. Yards is a crime noir set in the early 1990s NYC nightclub scene, and its four main characters—Jimmy and Michelle Lettner, GM and owner of Abattoir; Serge Thanakis, Jimmy’s only friend; and Ben Hopkins, striving NYPD rookie—have existed only in my brain space. Until now.

Every great project starts with a script. Assuming Tony Gilroy has adapted my novel, let’s move to the director. Two names jump out straight away, but for different reasons. In a series of gritty, NYC-set crime dramas, James Gray has crafted brilliant character portraits of the city’s felonious demographic. His work is emotionally searing, if not quieter and more intimate than Michael Mann’s epics, which often depict driven men (usually criminals or cops) doing their jobs with monomaniacal precision. He’s all about depicting process cinematically; think Heat’s bank robbery shootout, or Collateral’s frenetic Koreatown nightclub assassination. Given The Killing Yards orbits Manhattan’s hottest nightspot, Mann’s flair for shooting packed dance floors soundtracked by thumping EDM gives him the lead.

Here’s where things get tricky. Casting the right actor elevates the entire project, like how Inde Navarette absolutely owned Obsession. Jimmy Lettner, recovering addict and Abattoir’s ex-con general manager, is physically unassuming and emotionally dishonest. He screams for Jeremy Strong, whose Kendall Roy epitomized misguided ambition. For his wife Michelle, who believes power moves quietly (and wears a D&G sweater), I’m torn between Rebecca Hall and Claire Danes. Hall crushed her role in The Town, and recently chewed all the scenery in Onslaught, but I’ve always thought Danes is tremendous, going all the way back to My So Called Life. This one’s a tie.

The only character I had an actor in mind for when I wrote him is Serge Thanakis, Jimmy’s right hand, a former (maybe?) narcotics trafficker, and Abattoir’s true protector. And that actor is Jude Law. Unfortunately, Jude is 53 now. Enter Theo James, who pairs style with menace in The Gentlemen. He brings a subtle physicality and looks great holding a gun.

Last we’ve got Ben Hopkins, the insecure, careerist NYPD undercover desperate to make a case (he’s got Daddy issues). I discovered Dominic Sessa in The Holdovers, but he really came into his own playing a young Anthony Bourdain as a lying, insecure jerk in this summer’s Tony. Sessa brings the right amount of arrogance and attitude, eyeing the camera sideways, wondering if you’ve figured him out yet.

There it is, my dream director and cast for The Killing Yards.

All I need now is $35-40 million, and we’re golden.

Visit Jason Allison's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Beck Kubrick's "Dead Girls"

Beck Kubrick is an award-winning writer and cartoonist living in Manchester, UK. They like stories about terrible girls and thinking about the apocalypse. They have worked with Cartoon Network, Mad Cave Studios, Oni Press, and more.

Here Kubrick dreamcasts an adaptation of Dead Girls, their debut graphic novel as author-illustrator:

Dead Girls is a comedy-horror that plays with tropes and conventions and is obviously, very inspired by teen screams, slashers and the rise of good-for-her and coming of rage films. There are so many directors and filmmakers who inspire my work; I love any story that plays with the mundane, hyperreality and genre.

In anything and everything I make, I just want to put David Lynch, Bong Joon Ho, Katie Dippold, John Carpenter and Diablo Cody in a blender. Add a dash of Sofia Coppola, just for the scene in The Virgin Suicides (1999) in which Hanna Hall’s character says ‘Obviously, Doctor, you've never been a thirteen-year-old girl.’. Add a healthy dose of The Simpsons (1989), too. Also I want a Wilhelm scream, that’s non-negotiable.

There’s so many more filmmakers off the top of my head who I love and was inspired by when creating the book: The Kates, The Daniels, Jonathan Entwistle, Greg Jardin, Bill Watterson (not that one), Bronwen Hughes, Jane Schoenbrun and so many more.

Since I use lots of mediums for the art: ink, pencil, oil paint etc. so I think there’d have to be some animation. Pendleton Ward and Joe Bennet make great, animated shows. I’d also love for the fursuits to be done by the team behind Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared (2014) as they’d be perfectly unsettling.

For actors, I generally like the Heartstopper (2022) approach of casting real teens and relative unknowns but I don’t know many unknowns…because they’re unknown.

Ash, my protagonist, is grunge-y with bleached, fried hair she cut in herself. She’s angsty and a fighter but is hurting deep down and trapped in other people’s expectations; so someone who can play a detached, cool girl like Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets) or Lizzie Broadway (Gen V). Maybe even a Lachlan Watson (Chuckie) or Jack Haven (I saw the TV Glow) for the way they play with expectations and identity.

Cassie is Ash’s hyper femme, terminally delightful foster sister. She’s all rainbow and fairies but will save the day with a mascara wand and a dream, like Elle Woods. Amy Lou Wood (White Lotus) would be great.

Jamie, Ash’s best friend is Korean-American and has hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (like me!). I’m not sure of many actresses with the condition, but I think Aubrey Anderson- Emmons (Modern Family) or Ella Jay Baso (Bird of Prey) would do a great job with Jamie’s usually dry, sarcastic wit and delivery.

Ernie, Ash’s-inherited-from-her-mum-friend/ surrogate-uncle, falls somewhere between Harvey Guillén and Colman Domino. Does such a man exist?

Amandla Stenberg would be perfect as Heather, the girl Ash is sort-of seeing, who is sort-of missing. Pariah Ferguson would be great as Naomi, super smart, but socially oblivious, true crime streamer investigating the murders who’s willing to do whatever it takes to get the truth.

I don’t have specific actors in mind, but Ash’s Filipino foster (grand)parents have the energy of Jeff Goldblum and Dale Dickey. Helen, Heather’s mum who hates Ash, would be played perfectly by Kate O'Flynn or Tilda Swinton. Mostly, because I want to see Tilda Swinton in a brown, bob wig.

Follow Beck Kubrick on Instagram.

--Marshal Zeringue

Suzanne Redfearn's "The Wonder of One"

Suzanne Redfearn is the #1 Amazon and USA Today bestselling author of nine novels: The Wonder of One, Call of the Camino, Two Good Men, Where Butterflies Wander, Moment In Time, Hadley & Grace, In an Instant, No Ordinary Life, and Hush Little Baby. Her books have been translated into twenty-seven languages and have been recognized by RT Reviews, Target Recommends, Goodreads, Publisher’s Marketplace, and Kirkus Reviews. She has been awarded Best New Fiction from Best Book Awards and has been a Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist.

Born and raised on the east coast, Redfearn moved to California when she was fifteen. Currently, she lives in Laguna Beach with her husband where they own Lumberyard Restaurant. In addition to being an author, Redfearn is an architect specializing in residential and commercial design. When not writing, she enjoys doing anything and everything with her family—skiing, golf, tennis, pickleball, hiking, board games, and watching reality TV. She is an avid baseball fan. Her team is the Angels.

Here Redfearn dreamcasts an adaptation of The Wonder of One:

If they make The Wonder of One into a movie, here’s who I imagine playing the roles:

For Vivien, the main protagonist of the story, when she's little (the story begins when she is six), I think an actress like Abigail Breslin when she acted in Signs would work well. She’s small, cute, and wise beyond her years. Adult Vivien (the story spans twenty-two years, ending when Vivien is twenty-eight) should be played by someone like Emilia Clarke (Daenerys in Game of Thrones), a diminutive spark plug, who is tough, determined, brilliant, and who possesses a radiant smile capable of melting hearts.

For the sheriff, who is the second primary character, I envision a young Shaun Johnston, (Jack from the series Heartland)—earnest, tough, and no-nonsense. I’ve always loved him, the guy who always makes the right choice even if it’s not the easy one.

Visit Suzanne Redfearn's website, and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

Coffee with a Canine: Suzanne Redfearn and Cooper.

My Book, The Movie: Hush Little Baby.

The Page 69 Test: Hush Little Baby.

The Page 69 Test: No Ordinary Life.

Writers Read: Suzanne Redfearn (February 2016).

My Book, The Movie: No Ordinary Life.

My Book, The Movie: In an Instant.

The Page 69 Test: In an Instant.

Q&A with Suzanne Redfearn.

My Book, The Movie: Hadley and Grace.

The Page 69 Test: Hadley & Grace.

Writers Read: Suzanne Redfearn (March 2022).

The Page 69 Test: Moment in Time.

My Book, The Movie: Moment in Time.

Writers Read: Suzanne Redfearn (February 2024).

Writers Read: S. E. Redfearn (October 2024).

The Page 69 Test: Two Good Men.

Writers Read: Suzanne Redfearn (October 2025).

My Book, The Movie: Call of the Camino.

The Page 69 Test: Call of the Camino.

--Marshal Zeringue

Vikki VanSickle's "The Mystic and the Missing Girl"

Vikki VanSickle has worked as a bookseller, a menstrual health educator, a creative writing instructor and publishing professional with Penguin Random House Canada. Currently, she lives and writes in Toronto and hosts a book segment on CTV Your Morning.

Here VanSickle dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, The Mystic and the Missing Girl:

The Mystic and the Missing Girl takes place in a small, lakeside town that seems charming on the surface, but is hiding some murky secrets—including the truth about seventeen-year-old Ginny Evans, who went missing in 1998. This is an ensemble piece that plays with small town stereotypes, dabbles in the supernatural, and offers numerous opportunities for character actors to shine. Think a cozy mystery in the hands of a screenwriter like Diablo Cody. Here are some of the main players:

Our hero is Drew Benson— a reluctant psychic and tarot reader turned sleuth. A former teenage Goth, Drew is a little messy with a quick wit and a vulnerable side. She is unsure of her path or where she belongs. I would cast a quirky, fast-talking brunette like Cristin Miliotti or Kat Dennings in the role.

Nick Campbell is Drew’s high school nemesis—top of the class, valedictorian, he is what Drew calls a ‘type A Virgo.’ These days he’s had quite the glow-up, transitioning from nerd to sexy nerd thanks to a careful diet and cross fit. Described as a dead ringer for Clark Kent (but blond!) I think Wentworth Miller could pull off slightly prim, beefy nerd very well.

Gloria “Gigi” Gong is not just a sidekick. She is a sarcastic, whip-smart Scorpio who runs the local pub and used to front an all-girl punk band called The Poor Clares. Drew describes her vibe as “hot, grumpy, Asian witch.” This is a role I could see Greta Lee absolutely killing.

Foster Banks is Drew’s “most handsome and least favorite mistake.” Tall, lanky, and dark-haired, he has the sleazy appeal of a bass player in a Brit pop band, even when all cleaned up for his job as a lawyer. He is the kind of man who smirks instead of smiles and can make any comment seem suggestive. This is a role the charismatic Francois Arnaud was born to play.

Amanda MacKinnon is the haunted best friend of the missing Ginny Evans. She hides away, working in a crusty old hair salon, unable to leave town because of her heavy memories of Ginny. Despite her work as a hair stylist, her own look is a little off the mark, stuck in the early 2000s with chipped burgundy nails and matching dye job. This is a perfect role for a millennial icon like Julia Stiles or Clea Duvall.

Charlene Wilson is a twice divorced career waitress who has seen it all and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. She has the raspy voice of a lifelong smoker and despite a wary, world-weary demeanor, knows how to land a joke. I would love to see formidable character actress Dale Dickey in this role.

Visit Vikki VanSickle's website.

Writers Read: Vikki VanSickle.

--Marshal Zeringue

Linda Kass's "World News from Waverley High"

Linda Kass began her career as a magazine journalist and correspondent for regional and national publications. Along with her forthcoming novel, World News from Waverley High (September 2026), she is the author of three previous works of historical fiction: Tasa’s Song (2016), A Ritchie Boy (2020), and Bessie (2023). A longtime civic leader, she is the founder and owner of Gramercy Books, an independent bookstore in Central Ohio. Kass lives in Columbus with her husband, Frank; they have four children, six grandchildren, and a labradoodle named Wally.

The set-up for World News from Waverley High:

1969. Lena Rosen is an intelligent, observant teenager torn between spontaneity and self-consciousness. During her junior year, she becomes attuned to the pulse of her times in her first-period Current History class, where rebellion, social change, and musical innovation of the 1960s dominate discussion. When Lena becomes the associate editor of the school newspaper The Beacon, she is drawn into the swirling discourse surrounding the Vietnam War, civil rights, environmental disasters, and campus protests—while also grappling with her growing attraction to Jack Stone, the paper’s editor.

Here Kass dreamcasts an adaptation:

Here are some age-appropriate-looking, older-teen-playing actors and actresses who are commonly cast as 16- or 17-year-olds, including performers who may be a bit older but still pass convincingly:

For Rita Fields: Maddie Ziegler — good for the popular girl, social media girl, or slightly aloof “everyone knows her” type; often cast in teen roles and can read as 16–17.

For Caroline Brown: Chloe Coleman — works well as the smart, cool, socially aware popular girl; has a strong “older teen” look on screen.

For Lena Rosen: Sunny Sandler — can fit the bubbly popular girl or well-liked campus-cool character; can read as a 16–17-year-old with the right styling.

For Abby Hackman: Mia Talerico — better for sweet, recognizable, younger-looking popular teen roles; still reads very young but can fit younger teen roles; or Julia Butters — youthful but can plausibly play slightly older teens.

For Rich Kohn: Mason Thames — very strong for the popular boy, athlete, or romantic lead type; very strong fit for 16–17 roles.

For Jack Stone: Jacob Tremblay — can work as the sensitive popular guy or the unexpectedly central friend; often casts well into teen parts despite a youthful look, could be popular boy/heartthrob.

For Kerry Ross: Walker Scobell — can play younger or older teen depending on styling.

For Mike Jones: Caleb McLaughlin, Jaden Smith, or Michael Rainey.

For Derek Wright, Stephen Long: Marcus Scirbner or Miles Brown.

Directors who fit 1969 high school:

Richard Linklater – He’s masterful with period detail and ensemble young casts, and he has already done late‑60s/70s milieu in films like Dazed and Confused and Everybody Wants Some!!, both praised for their lived‑in authenticity rather than nostalgia gloss. He’d be ideal if you want the feel of students’ everyday lives, hanging out in corridors and parking lots, with history simmering in the background rather than front and center.

Kelly Fremon Craig – Her films, The Edge of Seventeen and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, show a keen ear for adolescent dialogue and inner life, plus an ability to adapt period material (the latter is set in the 1970s) without making it feel like a dress‑up exercise. She’d be a strong choice if you want a deeply character‑driven, intimate story about one or two students navigating 1969’s social shifts.

Greta Gerwig – With Lady Bird and Little Women, she’s shown she can blend coming‑of‑age, social context, and a precise sense of time and place, and she’s very attuned to young women’s interiority. If your story centers on a girl or a group of girls in 1969, especially with an undercurrent of feminist awakening, her sensibility could suit it beautifully.

Jeff Nichols – He often works in specific American historical moments with a quiet, observant tone, and his work with teens in Mud shows he can capture young characters against a larger cultural backdrop. He’d tilt the project toward an understated, mood‑driven Southern/Midwestern Americana feel.

A practical example: if your novel’s tonal center is something like The Learning Tree or Kes—grounded, observant portraits of young people with social tensions in the background—a Linklater or Nichols type makes sense. If you’re closer to a Judy Blume–meets‑political‑awakening story in a Midwest or Northeastern high school, someone in the Gerwig/Fremon Craig vein is closer to the bull’s‑eye.

Visit Linda Kass's website.

Writers Read: Linda Kass (June 2026).

Writers Read: Linda Kass (July 2026).

Writers Read: Linda Kass (August 2026).

--Marshal Zeringue

Sara Cooper's "Ravenous"

Sara Cooper is a novelist and an award-winning playwright-lyricist. She lives in New York with her husband John and their son Theo. Major awards include Richard Rodgers Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters (2022); ASCAP Foundation Lucille and Jack Yellen Award (2021); Grand Jury Prize, Barnstorm Media (2020); Jonathan Larson Grant, American Theatre Wing (2014).

Ravenous, her debut novel, was a Finalist for the 2025 Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards.

Here Cooper dreamcasts the lead for an adaptation of Ravenous:

Okay, so, as a playwright, I love dreamcasting. I hadn't actually thought about who would play Breigh in a movie, but I got super excited when I saw this prompt.

Quick summary of the book: Ravenous is about a pregnant influencer who specializes in unboxing and takes things way, way too far. It's very stream-of-consciousness and is kind of a super intense feminist horror anticapitalist fever dream.

First of all, if I was casting for a theatre piece (which I feel I must include here, because, like I said, I'm also a playwright!), I'd cast Sherz Aletaha. She's a brilliant actress and plays comedy and tragedy with insane nuance. She's also incredibly smart, and I think she would do amazing things in this role because she would really dig into the big philosophical and sociopolitical questions asked by the book. I've been very fortunate to have worked with Sherz on a few projects and she is an absolute genius. I think she'd be the perfect Breigh Marie because she'd be hilarious but she'd also play her with compassion, which is important to me.

I also would cast Sherz in the movie, but, since she mostly does theatre, I'm going to dreamcast a film-specific actor, too. Stephanie Beatriz would be amazing as Breigh. She is so incredibly funny and also brilliant at playing intense and smart, and she's got such great charisma and on-screen presence that you love her even when a character acts badly (which Breigh definitely does).

Visit Sara Cooper's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

E. J. Copperman's "Where There’s Smoke…"

E.J. Copperman is the nom de plume for Jeff Cohen, writer of intentionally funny murder mysteries. As E.J., he is the author of the Haunted Guest house series, the Agent to the Paws series and the Jersey Girl Legal mysteries, as well as the Fran and Ken Stein mysteries. As Jeff, he is the author of the Double Feature and Aaron Tucker series; and he collaborates with himself on the Samuel Hoenig Asperger's mysteries.

Here Copperman shares some notes for the casting agent on an adaptation of his new novel, Where There’s Smoke…:

The fact is, I don’t know what my characters look like.

That’s been true in every novel I’ve written (and there have been a bunch). I don’t picture the character beyond a very general type unless their appearance will be important to the story, and it almost never is.

So trying to (mentally) cast a movie of Where There’s Smoke… the second Haunted Paint Store mystery, I have to go with attitude rather than resemblance. I believe the reader will form a mental picture of the character and no matter what they imagine, they’ll be right. So no physical descriptions for me.

Laura Meehan, is a woman knocking on the door of middle age, but not walking over the threshold yet. She make self-deprecating comments about the way she looks, but I don’t think those are to be taken seriously. Certainly her husband Roy doesn’t think she’s lacking in any department. She’s not a girl-next-door type, but probably a girl-two-doors down woman.

Her deceased father, Amos Meehan, is an ex-police detective and ex-owner of the paint store Laura now owns and operates. He has a wry outlook, likes to prod people just a bit, and thinks all of his opinions are indisputable facts. He’s going to be in his late sixties or early seventies forever, and luckily he can’t see himself in a mirror. When I’m writing Roy I’m probably thinking about my own dad, but more assertive. And I don’t think he looks like my father at all: Amos isn’t nearly Jewish enough for my dad.

Roy isn’t the most handsome man in New Jersey, but he’s no slouch, and that’s all I know about what he looks like. He’s a computer whiz but not the stereotypical geek/immature adolescent you might be used to. He’s very good at his job and he can be an enormous help to Laura when she’s investigating a crime. As all paint store owners do. He has a sense of humor that isn’t New Jersey-bred but he still communicates perfectly with his Jersey girl wife. But he worries more about her poking into things outside her own realm than Laura does.

If you’re a producer and want to turn Where There’s Smoke… into a movie, television series or YouTube sensation, feel free to cast whomever you like. Just email and I’ll give you my agent’s contact information.

Visit E. J. Copperman's website and Facebook page.

My Book, The Movie: The Thrill of the Haunt.

Writers Read: E. J. Copperman (November 2013).

The Page 69 Test: The Thrill of the Haunt.

My Book, The Movie: Ukulele of Death.

The Page 69 Test: Ukulele of Death.

Q&A with E. J. Copperman.

The Page 69 Test: Same Difference.

Writers Read: E. J. Copperman (February 2025).

The Page 69 Test: Where There's Smoke....

--Marshal Zeringue

Barbara O’Neal's "A Thousand Painted Hours"

Barbara O’Neal is the author of more than a dozen award-winning, bestselling novels, including the runaway bestseller, When We Believed in Mermaids, which has been published in 21 countries and spent many months on both the most sold and most read Amazon Charts, as well as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Washington Post bestseller lists. O’Neal is an avid traveler and passionate cook, and discovered the Oregon coast on a pandemic-era trip with her husband. She now lives on that rocky, moody coast in a quirky beach house and writes her books from a room overlooking the sea. She lives with her British husband, who has promised to never lose his accent, and their cats and dogs.

Here O’Neal dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, A Thousand Painted Hours:

I would so dearly love to see this as a movie! It would be the kind of movie I'd watch ten times. It is a love story at its most elemental level, an epic story told over several decades about Elsie Turner, the daughter of an British civil servant in Nainital, India, and Elsie's friend Tanveer Singh, the son of a local Maharajah. It begins with the Blitz in London, a subject I never quite get enough of, and flashes back to the friendship, then love story of the two over time, and follows the pair as they fight for their ideals, not always in harmony, and for the lives they each wish to have. Tanveer is devoted to Indian Independence, while Elsie is trying to find her voice as an artist, and as they come together and are torn apart many times, they each have to grapple with the times and their class, and the very real, sustained connection they've found with each other.

Honestly, there are any number of actors who would play Tanveer beautifully. I love Riz Ahmed's soulful face. I also love Himesh Patel, and the wildly talented Dev Patel. Lately, I have been smitten by the Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh and he's done so much for the visibility of Sikhs that he'd be utterly perfect.

For Elsie, I imagined Rachel Weisz--she has the intelligence I'd like to see for this character.

As for directors, my dream person would be Mira Nair, but I would also be delighted with Sofia Coppola. I mean, why not dream big?

Visit Barbara O'Neal's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Laura Jensen Walker's "The Postmistress of Puddlington"

Bestselling, award-winning author Laura Jensen Walker is the Agatha and Lefty-nominated author of more than 20 books including Murder Most Sweet, Hope, Faith & a Corpse, and Death of a Flying Nightingale.

A rabid Anglophile since being stationed at an RAF base with the USAF in her twenties, Walker lives in Northern California with her Renaissance-man husband and two rescue terriers, where she drinks tea and dreams of England.

Her new novel is The Postmistress of Puddlington.

Here Walker dreamcasts an adaptation of the new novel:

I’m a big movie buff, so when I began writing The Postmistress of Puddlington during lockdown, I cast the film in my head.

Middle-aged spinster postmistress Hester Smith who loves Dickens and Jane Eyre is a toss-up between Olivia Colman and Kate Winslet—without makeup. Both are excellent actresses and Kate has proven she can do plain as shown in Mare of Easttown. (Plus, her hair color is the same as Hester’s.) But. . . there’s something about Olivia Colman that gives her a slight edge.

For Minerva Winterbottom, the bohemian, aging lady of the manor who likes to jitterbug, I envisioned two of my favorite actresses, and found it impossible to choose between them. Sadly, since then Dame Judi Dench has gone blind and at ninety, has aged out of the sixty-something role of Minerva. Therefore, (drumroll) the only woman to play Lady Winterbottom is Dame Emma Thompson. Emma epitomizes bohemian and is a phenomenal actress. (That scene in Love, Actually where she realizes her husband—played by Alan Rickman—cheated on her, is a masterclass in acting.) Also, the divine Emma is absolutely hilarious and wrote the Academy Award-winning screenplay for Sense and Sensibility.) Enough said.

Then there’s Mary Robins, vicar’s wife and president of the local W.I. (Women’s Institute.) Initially, I thought of Rachel Weisz or perhaps Emily Blunt. Lately though I’ve been leaning toward Anna Madeley who does such a lovely job playing Mrs. Hall, the housekeeper, in All Creatures Great and Small.

For Mary’s pretty daughter Violet, I kept seeing Anne Hathaway in my head as I wrote. In my opinion, Anne is one of the most beautiful, talented actresses in Hollywood. And she’s proven she can do an English accent. Unfortunately, she’s now in her forties, while Violet is eighteen at the start of the war and twenty-four when Puddlington ends in 1945. I racked my brain trying to think of beautiful, dark-haired young actresses and came up with Selena Gomez—though I don’t know if she can do a British accent. If not, then Rachel Shenton who plays James Herriott’s wife Helen in All Creatures Great and Small, would be perfect.

Nora Clarke, the final character in my quintet of English women was the easiest to cast. Violet’s best friend Nora moved to the U.S. at thirteen when her American dad had to return home to care for his parents. She returns to England at nineteen to do her bit by enlisting in the Royal Navy as a “Wren” in 1939. Emma Watson (Hermione from the Harry Potter movies) was hands down Nora from the get-go.

Lastly, Amos Brown, the hulking, middle-aged gardener who quotes Wordsworth is Ciarán Hinds all the way. I’ve loved the Irish Ciarán since he played Captain Wentworth in Persuasion. I also adored him in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and Belfast (for which he should have won the Oscar, in my opinion.) Runner ups: Colin Firth and Clive Owen, both now in their sixties, which is hard to believe. Colin Firth will always be Mr. Darcy to me.

Visit Laura Jensen Walker's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Alphabet Sleuths.

Q&A with Laura Jensen Walker.

The Page 69 Test: The Alphabet Sleuths.

Writers Read: Laura Jensen Walker (February 2026).

--Marshal Zeringue

Katie Tallo's "Where Her Secrets Lie"

Katie Tallo has more than three decades of experience as an award-winning screenwriter and director. After winning an international novel contest, she began writing mystery thrillers. In 2020, her debut thriller, Dark August, was an instant bestseller, earning acclaim as a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and an Apple Book of the Month. It also made the Globe 100 list. Since then, Tallo has written two more novels in the critically acclaimed Gus Monet trilogy including Poison Lilies and Buried Road. Her first standalone crime thriller, Where Her Secrets Lie, comes out August 2026 and her next thriller, The Last Villa, comes out in June 2027. Tallo lives with her husband in Ottawa where she is currently cooking up her next novel.

Here the author dreamcasts the lead for an adaptation of Where Her Secrets Lie:

If they make my book, Where Her Secrets Lie, into a film, I’d love to see Helen Mirren play the fiesty, wild-haired, beer-drinking protagonist, Lenny Bird. Helen is ten years older than Lenny but she’s got the vibe, the look, the sexy energy and the agency to pull off this edgy grandmother who takes on a ruthless crime boss. Her work in Mobland — hell, all her work — proves she’s got the gritty chops to be the perfect Lenny Bird.

While writing the novel and developing the lead character, I was very much inspired by a photo of Helen taken when she turned 70. It’s a sexy, fierce image of a beautiful older woman in her prime. Every time I looked at the photo, I got a little closer to understanding Lenny. It would be hard to imagine anyone else in the role.

Visit Katie Tallo's website.

The Page 69 Test: Dark August.

Q&A with Katie Tallo.

Writers Read: Katie Tallo (June 2022).

The Page 69 Test: Buried Road.

Writers Read: Katie Tallo (December 2024).

--Marshal Zeringue

Rachel Peterson's "Killing Sadie"

Rachel Peterson graduated from Miami University of Ohio with a degree in English and Creative Writing. After starting her career as a copywriter, she made the shift to the technology space and spent nearly a decade in New York City leading marketing teams for international tech companies before stepping away from the corporate world and focusing full-time on her career as an author. Peterson now splits her time between NYC and the Midwest, where she lives with her husband Ken, their dog Olive, and horse Hope.

Here Peterson dreamcasts an adaptation of her new YA thriller, Killing Sadie:

As a Midwestern kid who spent her early days dreaming of becoming an actor or author, my mind is constantly buzzing with who would play my characters!

We have quite a few characters to cover for Killing Sadie, so let’s focus on our twins, Sadie and Jayne Cooper. Sadie is our Midwestern golden girl with the personality to match, while Jayne is far edgier. But like most twins, they share an unspoken bond and are two sides of the same coin.

My mind jumps instantly to Isabel Gravitt (Tori Cooper in Your Friends and Neighbors), or Sadie Sink to play our twins! These two actresses have range for days, and can flip from polite to sinister in a second. And who are we kidding, every character in Killing Sadie needs to have this attribute! For their parents, Jon Hamm and Reese Witherspoon is a combination the world simply needs more of, full stop.

Putting my producer hat on, the mood for Killing Sadie leans camp and nostalgia, so if we can convince Sabrina Carpenter to return to acting, she might be my top spot for Liz! Or maybe India Lillie Davies from the AGGGTM universe, who played Andie Bell, a perfect comp for our party girl with hidden secrets.

Oh, and Jessica Beal or Simone Ashley as Detective Sloane, anyone? I could just die.

Visit Rachel Peterson's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

D. E. Carr's "When Squirrels Fly"

D. E. Carr has a career that spans the fields of neuropsychology, community health, and recreation management. She has a distance runner’s appreciation for the outdoors and thoroughly enjoys the humor and the brilliance of the residents of her adopted hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, When Squirrels Fly:

When Mel Caldwell makes an animated, middle of the night phone call to her niece, Allie, but hangs up before explaining herself, Allie initially shrugs it off. Her aunt has always been a little eccentric. But when Aunt Mel disappears from her home less than 24 hours later, Allie drops everything and travels to Michigan to search for her. Shortly after her arrival in Ann Arbor, Allie meets her aunt’s enigmatic next-door neighbor, George Bennet. She reluctantly accepts help from George unaware he hides a dangerous secret that will complicate the search. The duo becomes a trio when Allie’s affable, but annoyingly irreverent younger brother, Nick, arrives to help. To find Aunt Mel, they’ll need to work together to determine how a neighborhood trellis, virtual reality goggles, migraine research, and an itinerant chihuahua, are all connected to the case.

When Squirrels Fly blends the popular genres of Cozy Mystery and light Science Fiction, both of which transition well to the screen. Although Ann Arbor, Michigan is a bit bigger than the typical small town cozy mystery setting, the action is mostly contained in a two-mile radius encompassing the historic Old West Side. The movie could be filmed on location in Ann Arbor where the somewhat quirky ambience allows the characters an easy backdrop for comic relief. There will be no shortage of extras with a wonderfully diverse population to choose from.

To imagine this cozy mystery-sci fi movie, think Hallmark Mysteries blended with a toned-down version of Everything, Everywhere, All At Once - Mystery 101 meets Something, Somewhere, Once in a While. This will be the vibe of When Squirrels Fly, the movie. I can already picture some entertaining special effects.

True to the cozy mystery genre, Allie Caldwell is an amateur sleuth; also, an accomplished associate professor of neuroscience from Colorado. I see her being played by Jennifer Lawrence whose characters are typically strong, clever, intuitive, witty and a tiny bit clumsy. She also has great chemistry with Bradley Cooper who I see as George Bennet. George is a sympathetic neighbor, but he’s complicated. The banter will flow easily between these two actors, just as it does in the book.

Allie has a playful, chaotic relationship with her younger brother Nick, whose world view is at opposite ends of the spectrum from hers. I think Chris Pratt – the one seen in television’s Parks & Recreation and not the raptor-whispering hero in Jurassic World – has the demeanor, comedic timing, and charisma to be a good Nick.

Mrs. Oakley, the spirited 85-year-old ballet instructor who doesn’t look a day over 65, lives across the street from Mel and knows a lot more than she lets on. I see her being played by Jamie Lee Curtis.

Finally, the floppy-eared, 8-pound, roving Chihuahua, Chidi, can only be played by my dog Cheech. He’ll need to lose a few pounds to fit the role, but he’ll think he owns the set by week two.

In order to maintain production deadlines, the film will need a director that can handle Chihuahua obstinacy. Wes Anderson is my ideal choice.

Visit D. E. Carr's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Elizabeth H. Winthrop's "Conviction"

Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop was born and raised in New York City. She earned her B.A. from Harvard University and her M.F.A. in fiction from the UC Irvine, where she was the recipient of the Schaeffer Writing Fellowship. She is the author of the novels Fireworks, December, The Why of Things, and The Mercy Seat. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and daughter and is Associate Professor of English/Creative Writing at Endicott College.

Here Winthrop dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Conviction:

I honestly didn’t have any cinematic notions in mind when I wrote Conviction, but in answering the question of who I’d want to star in a movie adaptation was fun, and when I stumbled across the “right” actor for each role, I knew it immediately.

Saoirse Ronan could play Maggie; she has that quality of fierce interiority, and she's believable as someone whose idealism could harden into something dangerous without ever losing your sympathy.

Ramy Youssef could play Ahmet. He has enormous charm, quiet intelligence, and a genuine spiritual seriousness.

As for Ann, I think Laura Linney. She has that quality of holding enormous pain very tidily, and then it breaks through in unexpected moments. She's also believable as someone who gardens, who bakes a cake for no occasion, who sleeps on a futon since her husband died. Grounded and devastating.

Edward Norton could play Josh. There's something in him that suggests a person who acts from quiet conviction rather than performance, and he can play genuine goodness without it being boring. He has interior complexity, which matters for a character the audience only gets in memory and absence. And he's believable as a carpenter, a father, someone who spends ten hours in a barn.

Hiam Abbass would be perfect as Nour, who is novel’s moral center-- aged, physically worn but inwardly fierce. Hiam Abbass has exactly that quality of power held very quietly.

Finally, Ali Suliman could play Sirvan. He actually looks how I imagined Sirvan to look—and Sirvan is the only character I imagined. And as an actor Suliman is perfect; he has gravitas and a profound sadness he can access without effort.

Visit Elizabeth H. Winthrop's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"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.

The Page 69 Test: Bleak Harbor.

The Page 69 Test: Purgatory Bay.

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.

My Book, The Movie: Back Bay Blues.

The Page 69 Test: Back Bay Blues.

Q&A with Peter Colt.

The Page 69 Test: Death at Fort Devens.

My Book, The Movie: Death at Fort Devens.

Writers Read: Peter Colt (June 2022).

My Book, The Movie: The Ambassador.

The Page 69 Test: The Ambassador.

The Page 69 Test: The Judge.

My Book, The Movie: The Judge.

Writers Read: Peter Colt (May 2024).

Writers Read: Peter Colt (March 2025).

My Book, The Movie: The Banker.

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.

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--Marshal Zeringue