Laura Jensen Walker's "The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch"

Laura Jensen Walker is the award-winning author of several books, including The Alphabet Sleuths, the Lefty-nominated Death of a Flying Nightingale, and the Amazon bestselling, Agatha-nominated Murder Most Sweet.

Growing up in Racine, Wisconsin, a young Walker dreamed of seeing the world and becoming a writer. She enlisted in the US Air Force after high school and flew a typewriter across Europe as a clerk typist. While in the UK, she fell head over heels for all things English and became a confirmed tea-drinking Anglophile.

At age forty, cancer compelled Walker to finally publish her first book. Then, in her sixties, she discovered she was neurodivergent, spurring her to write a novel about a book-loving, neurodivergent senior with unusual quirks and sensory issues: The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch.

These days, Walker lives in Northern California with her Renaissance-man husband and two rescue terriers, sipping tea (Yorkshire Gold) and dreaming of visiting Hay-on-Wye one day.

Here Walker dreamcasts an adaptation of The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch:

If I were to cast my book as a movie, who would I like to see play the lead roles? First, let me tell you a bit about the main characters.

Primrose Honeychurch is a solitary, sharp-tongued recluse with sensory issues who prefers books to people. Accustomed to maintaining a set routine in her cookie-cutter Las Vegas suburb, when the seventy-year-old receives life-altering news, she sets off on an unexpected, life-altering pilgrimage to the UK.

During her journey, Primrose meets a tattooed, blue-haired American singer and lesbian named Riley, and gets to know her twenty-year-old Cornish great-niece, the neurodivergent Clover, who becomes a kindred spirit. Primrose also reconnects with her sixty-something cousin Daisy, Clover’s grandmother.

While writing the curmudgeonly, set-in-her-ways Primrose, I found myself thinking of Frances McDormand, who did such a wonderful job playing the strict, outspoken Olive in the TV miniseries Olive Kitteridge. Frances McDormand would make a great Primrose. At least, that’s what I thought until I saw Sally Fields’ brilliant performance as Tova in Remarkably Bright Creatures. Now Sally and Frances are neck-in-neck for the role of Primrose.

Kristen Stewart who shot to fame in Twilight and has since gone on to distinguish herself in films like The Runaways where she played rocker Joan Jett and Spencer, where she played Princess Diana would be perfect as the gay, free-spirited American singer Riley.

For young artist Clover, I envision Ella Bruccoleri who I first fell in love with in Call the Midwife as young Sister Frances. This delightful English actress with the guileless, innocent face solidified that love as captivating odd duck Mary Bennett in The Other Bennett Sister. I adore her.

For Primrose’s sixty-something Cornish cousin and Clover’s grandmother Daisy, I see Kristin Scott Thomas born in Cornwall who shot to fame in The English Patient. She was excellent in Gosford Park and Darkest Hour where she played Winston Churchill’s wife Clemmie.

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).

My Book, The Movie: The Postmistress of Puddlington.

The Page 69 Test: The Postmistress of Puddlington.

--Marshal Zeringue

KC Jones's "House Haunters"

KC Jones is a screenwriter-turned-novelist currently living in western Washington. When not writing, he can be found watching movies, playing video and board games, or enjoying nature—whenever it isn’t raining.

He graduated from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas with a degree in film production. His first published novel, Black Tide, was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a first novel.

Here Jones dreamcasts an adaptation of his new novel, House Haunters:

House Haunters centers on the relationship between Grace Wonderly, a very talented but very burnt-out reality TV producer who needs a hit concept to revive not just her career, but the joy she once found in it, and Frank Pendleton, a gruff and misanthropic home inspector who moonlights as a paranormal investigator and generally prefers the company of the dead to that of the living.

Joel Edgerton and Pedro Pascal were in my head a lot while writing Frank, particularly their turns in Dark Matter and The Last of Us respectively. I think either would bring the perfect blend of vulnerability and deadpan honesty to Frank.

Grace has always been a bit more elusive in my mind, but Sharon Horgan would kill it as a takes-no-BS character on the verge of a midlife crisis. Linda Cardellini would be great as Grace’s confidently chaotic realtor BFF Vanessa, with Randall Park rounding out the core group as Vanessa’s ghost-averse husband Dustin. I have a hard time casting Chris, Grace’s frustrating, myopic, AI-subservient boss. Maybe I’m just too close to the source material.

Mike Flanagan would be a dream to helm this movie; Doctor Sleep is one of my all-time favorite horror films, and I still think about Midnight Mass. As a series, though, I think I'd take the team behind Widow's Bay. Their ability to blend humor and horror and heart was a wonder and joy to behold.

Visit KC Jones's website.

The Page 69 Test: White Line Fever.

Q&A with KC Jones.

Writers Read: KC Jones.

The Page 69 Test: House Haunters.

--Marshal Zeringue

Elizabeth Crane's "That May Not Mean What You Think"

Elizabeth Crane is the author of several collections of short stories, including Turf, When the Messenger is Hot, All this Heavenly Glory, and You Must Be This Happy to Enter, a memoir, This Story Will Change, as well as two novels, We Only Know So Much and The History of Great Things.

Here Crane dreamcasts adapations for a couple of selections from her latest story collection, That May Not Mean What You Think:

For the story "Nepo Babies, An Extinction Story," set in a bizarro apocalyptic future where there is no longer anyone alive who isn't a descendant of a nepo baby, I would cast only nepo baby actors. So I think Dakota Johnson would be great as the character of the white feminist's grandchild (the characters don't have actual proper names in the story), and Billie Lourd would be great as the shady tech heiress, Patrick Schwarzenegger as the grandson of the muckety-muck, and perhaps Kiefer Sutherland and Gwyneth Paltrow as Harvard Rubble Guy and Harvard Rubble Guy's Wife.

And for the story "Senior Living For the Unknowables," set in a retirement home for aging reality TV stars: I like to call this story my Vanderpump Rules Fan Fiction, and so I'd like to see this story cast with the actual cast members of Vanderpump playing the fictional very old versions of themselves, which would necessitate a phenomenally talented makeup artist to age them.

Visit Elizabeth Crane's website.

Writers Read: Elizabeth Crane (April 2008).

The Page 69 Test: We Only Know So Much.

My Book, The Movie: We Only Know So Much.

Coffee with a Canine: Elizabeth Crane & Percy.

Q&A with Elizabeth Crane.

Writers Read: Elizabeth Crane.

The Page 69 Test: That May Not Mean What You Think.

--Marshal Zeringue

Tessa Wegert’s “The River Runs Black”

Tessa Wegert is the critically acclaimed author of the Shana Merchant mysteries, as well as the North Country series, beginning with In the Bones. Her books have received numerous starred reviews and have been featured on PBS and NPR Radio. A former journalist and copywriter, Wegert grew up in Quebec and now lives in Connecticut, where she co-founded Sisters in Crime CT and serves on the board of International Thriller Writers (ITW).

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, The River Runs Black.

The River Runs Black is the second book in my North Country thriller series—following In the Bones—and it’s a spinoff of my previous Shana Merchant series. As such, I already had actors in mind for the key roles of Tim Wellington (Adam Driver), Shana Merchant (Emma Stone), Maureen “Mac” McIntyre (Jane Lynch). This book also introduces three new points of view, though, so I had some fun imagining who might be the best fit for those roles.

Bobby Ott: I’d love to see Catherine "Katie" Laga'aia take on the role of sixteen-year-old Bobby, daughter of French Polynesia-born New York State Police Investigator Valerie Ott (who’d ideally be portrayed by Courtney Eaton, in case you were wondering). Playing a small-town teenager abducted during a cross-border drug investigation would be a far cry from portraying Disney’s Moana, but while Bobby is pushing hard to grow up, she’s still a kid who watches Gilmore Girls and is excited about Halloween, and Laga'aia would capture that nuance beautifully.

Phoebe Reed: Since part of The River Runs Black takes place in Ontario, Canada and I’m Canadian myself, it would be great to see a Canadian actor in one of the roles. Abby Ross immediately comes to mind. Known for Riverdale and Once Upon a Time, Ross would bring both innocence and inner strength to this young, motherless heiress in possession of information that could cost Phoebe her life.

Raymond Stoll: State Trooper Raymond Stoll might be one of my most surprising characters; without giving anything away, he stunned me on several occasions while I was writing the book—particularly in the final chapter, which I hope will reframe the reader’s perspective and leave jaws on the floor. Based on his role in the MacGyver reboot, I think Lucas Till would bring the energy that’s inherent in Raymond’s scenes, and also nail the trooper’s insecurities and all- consuming desire to become a detective himself.

Visit Tessa Wegert's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Dead Season.

The Page 69 Test: The Dead Season.

Q&A with Tessa Wegert.

The Page 69 Test: Dead Wind.

Writers Read: Tessa Wegert (April 2022).

Writers Read: Tessa Wegert (December 2022).

The Page 69 Test: Devils at the Door.

The Page 69 Test: The Coldest Case.

Writers Read: Tessa Wegert (November 2025).

--Marshal Zeringue

Humphrey Hawksley's "Operation Icebreaker"

Humphrey Hawksley has reported on key trends, events and conflicts from all over the world.

His work as a BBC foreign correspondent has taken him to crises on every continent.

Here Hawksley dreamcasts an adaptation of his new Rake Ozenna thriller, Operation Icebreaker:

The key for an Operation Icebreaker movie is casting a compelling lead character whose script demands he is economical with words yet has a vivid screen presence that will hold a movie theatre. He should also be an Alaskan native. I’m looking for a modern-day blend of Charles Bronson in Chato’s Land, Clint Eastwood in Where Eagles Dare and Yul Brunner in The Magnificent Seven. Martin Sensemeier would work well playing Red Harvest the Comanche Warriot in the 2016 Magnificent Seven remake. Kiowa Gordon, who plays Jim Chee, the tribal police officer in Dark Winds would be great, and he’s mid-thirties, Rake’s age. Asivak Koostachin could also work well. He was in Red Snow, about an Inuit soldier captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan who draws on his Indigenous heritage to survive. Another idea would be to screen test unknown actors in Alaska itself and surround the lead with famous names.

Kelly Reilly from Yellowstone could play Rake’s on-off girlfriend, Carrie Walker, emotionally complex but highly skilled at her work as a trauma surgeon. Michelle Dockery, Lady Mary from Downton Abbey, would be superb as Stephanie Lucas, projecting authority and warmth. Rufus Sewell from his roles in The Diplomat and Man in the High Castle is exactly the Harry Lucas character. Mark Strong could portray Brett Laine’s emotional coldness and contradictions that allow him to morally justify evil.

The idea directors would be Taylor Sheridan (Wind River, Yellowstone) brilliant at capturing American wilderness and culture clashes; Paul Greengass (the Bourne series, United 93) is really good at tension and pace; and Katherine Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, A House of Dynamite) completely understands building tension and how political big pictures impact individuals.

Visit Humphrey Hawksley's website.

The Page 69 Test: The History Book.

My Book, The Movie: Security Breach.

My Book, The Movie: Man on Ice.

Writers Read: Humphrey Hawksley (May 2018).

The Page 69 Test: Man on Ice.

The Page 69 Test: Man on Fire.

Writers Read: Humphrey Hawksley.

--Marshal Zeringue