Claire Holroyde's "The Effort"

Claire Holroyde is a writer and graphic designer living outside of Philadelphia.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of The Effort, her first novel:

With its ensemble cast and multiple narrative threads, The Effort would better adapt to an original series. I select Naren Shankar, showrunner for The Expanse, to bring the novel to life. Naren respects science. He holds a PhD in Applied Physics & Electrical Engineering from Cornell University no less. However, he doesn’t let science overshadow meaningful drama. The Expanse is one of the best shows on television, outside of any categorization. It’s a successful adaptation of the book series by James S. A. Corey and features everything I would desire for my own: an epic storyline, a large and diverse ensemble cast, expert screenwriting, and complex production design.

As for casting the international characters of The Effort, let me roll up my sleeves and populate its two main settings: a spaceport at the South American equator and a polar icebreaker on a research expedition in the Arctic.

Spaceport in French Guiana

Dr. Ben Schwartz, a NASA manager turned science lead of the Defense Effort for Comet UD3, would be played by Hugh Dancy of Hannibal and Homeland. Dancy could emanate brilliance, manic intensity, sarcasm, and desperation as the mission’s launch window reduces. Ben’s partner, Amy Kowalski, would be played by Mackenzie Davis of Halt and Catch Fire and The Martian. Davis has proven that she can play an intriguing cyberpunk with pluck and fortitude that is not to be underestimated. Love Mwangi, UN interpreter and renowned linguist, would be played by Lupita Nyong'o of Black Panther and Us. Like Love, Nyong’o was raised primarily in Nairobi. She is worldly and has dual Kenyan and Mexican citizenship. Dr. Zhen Liu would be played by Chinese actress Zhou Xun of Cloud Atlas and The Equation of Love and Death. Zhou has appeared in over 30 films and is the first entertainer to receive the UNEP's Champion of the Earth award.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy in the Arctic

Jack Campbell, a photojournalist on assignment with National Geographic, would be played by Bradley Cooper of A Star is Born and Silver Linings Playbook. He is older than the character, but he’s too perfect as a golden boy with good looks and easy charm. He could flip on a dime between comedy, drama, and the middle ground. Dr. Maya Gutiérrez, an oceanographer, would be played by Gina Rodriguez of Annihilation and Jane the Virgin. Rodriguez can be endearing but dogged like Maya. Lt. Ned Brandt, Healy’s helicopter pilot and crewmember, will be played by the physically strong, funny, and lovable Chris Pratt of Guardians of the Galaxy and Parks & Rec.

Gustavo Wayãpi, a Nobel Laureate and Indigenous activist, was both my most complicated character and biggest casting challenge. The role requires an Indigenous actor with Amazonian heritage who can also speak English. A friend tipped me off to the Indigenous actor Nilbio Torres of Embrace of the Serpent—the first Colombian film ever to receive a nomination for an Academy Award. Torres worked in a jungle plantation when a film crew arrived, offered him a role, and sent him to acting classes in Bogotá. The new actor is more than 20 years too young to play Gustavo and lacks the language capability, but he exemplifies the right kind of casting decision.

Visit Claire Holroyde's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Kate Quinn's "The Rose Code"

Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of southern California, she attended Boston University where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Classical Voice. She has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance, before turning to the 20th century with The Alice Network, The Huntress, and The Rose Code. All have been translated into multiple languages. Quinn and her husband now live in San Diego with three rescue dogs.

Here Quinn dreamcasts an adaptation of The Rose Code:

Every writer dreams their book will someday be a ten-part HBO miniseries, and I'm no exception! If my novel The Rose Code with its trio of Bletchley Park codebreaker heroines were to get the Hollywood treatment, here's my dream cast:

For my effervescent debutante Osla whose fluent German lands her a job translating decoded German intelligence, Holliday Grainger. In The Borgias and CB Strike, she shows Osla's beauty, sparkle, and sense of fun—she's the girl all men fall in love with, and all women want as their best friend.

For my tough-as-nails London shop-girl Mab, who ends up working Bletchley Park's legendary bombe marchines, Cara Delevingne. She has the height, the imperious eyebrows, the resting b*tch face, and shows like Carnival Row showed she can play a woman with a soft center under a hard outer shell.

For Beth, my shy wallflower turned genius cryptanalyst, Anya Taylor-Joy. ATJ proved in The Queen's Gambit that she can play quirky oddball genius women with huge flair and strength.

That's just the heroines—there are plenty of other characters in The Rose Code. Prince Philip (in the days before he was royal consort) shows up in this novel, and after The Crown, I can't think of anyone playing him but Matt Smith. Alan Leech (Branson from Downton Abbey) for Francis Gray, a war poet who will end up as suitor to one of my heroines. Mena Massoud would be terrific as Harry Zarb, an Egyptian-Maltese-Arabic codebreaker who works alongside Alan Turing on the fiendishly difficult German U-boat ciphers. And Anthony Head, after playing such a superb mentor figure in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is the only one I can think of to play Dilly Knox, an absent-minded classics scholar turned codebreaker who recruits Beth for his team!

And soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, please.

Learn more about the book and author at Kate Quinn's website.

Coffee with a Canine: Kate Quinn and Caesar.

My Book, The Movie: Empress of the Seven Hills.

The Page 69 Test: The Rose Code.

--Marshal Zeringue

Lisa Fipps's "Starfish"

Lisa Fipps is a graduate of Ball State University, award-winning former journalist, current director of marketing for a public library (where she won the Sara Laughlin marketing award), and an author of middle-grade books. Starfish is her debut novel. She’s working on her next novel and several others. She currently lives in Indiana and lived in Texas.

Here dreamcasts an adaptation of Starfish:

Starfish gives readers a true-to-life glimpse into what a fat child’s life is like. The world tries to make Ellie feel small by bullying her relentlessly just because she’s fat. She only has a handful of allies, but they’re accepting, loving, and loyal: her dad; friend Viv (who moves away); her new neighbor, Catalina, who becomes her friend; her pug, Gigi; her therapist, Dr. Wood; the school librarian; and two teachers. Ellie’s resilient and has a great sense of humor as she struggles to keep from drowning in a sea of deep, emotional turmoil caused by fatphobia and anti-fat bias. During her journey, she realizes there’s nothing wrong with her; there’s something wrong with people who are full of hatred and cruelty. Then she realizes a powerful, freeing truth: She has the right to be seen, to be heard, and to take up space in the world.

The answer to who should play Ellie would need to come closer to when the movie came out because kids change so quickly as they age. That said, I would definitely want a fat girl to play Ellie, one who would not need a fat suit or prosthetic makeup. That would be horribly offensive. There are fat children actors. Let them shine as Ellie. Maybe like a young Chrissy Metz from This Is Us. As far as the parents, I’d love to see someone like Matthew McConaughey play Ellie’s dad, someone who could do a true, thick Texas accent. For Ellie’s mom, I’d want an actress who could play the role of being super tough (almost heartless) and make a lot of missteps but only because she has these internal principles she truly thinks are right (even though they’re not) and so she’s trying to do what she thinks is best, like Keri Russell did in The Americans.

I know so little about directing and directors. However, I can tell you about two TV shows and three movies that felt like seamless storytelling to me, which, I think is a sign of good directing: Indian Summers, The Americans, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Shawshank Redemption, and Steel Magnolias. That’s the key to me: seamless storytelling.

Visit Lisa Fipps's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Mark Edward Langley's "Death Waits in the Dark"

Mark Edward Langley was instilled with a love for the American West by his father at a young age. After visiting it throughout adulthood, his connection to the land became irrevocable. After spending almost thirty years working for someone else, he retired and began to focus on writing.

Here Langley shares some ideas for casting an adaptation of his Arthur Nakai mysteries: Path of the Dead, Death Waits in the Dark, and the forthcoming When Silence Screams:

Normally when I create a certain character--like my lead Arthur Nakai—I try to chose someone, possibly an actor that I admire, to base them on.

In the case of Arthur Nakai and the people that inhabit his world, I looked at many Native American actors in an effort to find the one who most epitomized the character I had created. In Arthur’s case, I chose Zahn McClarnon (in his younger days since Arthur is in his mid-forties.) He embodied what I thought Arthur would look like. He had the rugged look and the muscular frame that fit the character very well.

Next, I looked at someone to base Arthur’s wife off on, and I decided it should be a local news anchor/reporter at the time I was conversing with. I was asking her questions that only she cold answer: what do you have to give up in order to become a news reporter? What do you miss now that you’ve been doing it as long as you have? Is there anything you regret? Her name was Kim Vadis. And, to me, she was Sharon Nakai. From her I learned of the sacrifices that profession asks of you. I learned how much you had to give in order to chase that dream.

For the character of Navajo police captain Jake Bilagody, my main influence was my grandfather on my father’s side. Though not Native American, I chose him for his physique. He was a large, tall barrel-chested man with a booming voice when needed. I didn’t really have any actor in mind when I created him, and I have never really thought about who would play him if a movie or TV show is ever discussed.

I will admit that when I begin to develop characters, I search the internet for ideas. I have in my mind what the person may look like, but until I type those attributes into the search bar, I truly have no idea. They could end up being a photograph that pops up or a conglomeration of a few people. In the case of Sharon’s father, Edward Keonie in Path of the Dead, I searched for an older man and found him. In Death Waits in the Dark, I pulled from my own past when I conjured up Margaret Tabaaha, the mother who lost her husband during Operation Enduring Freedom and now her two sons to an elusive killer. And in the next book in the Arthur Nakai mystery series, When Silence Screams—because it’s a fictional story that tries to enlighten the reader about the true devastating scourge of missing and murdered indigenous women on the reservations of the USA and Canada—I studied every flier that held the young face of a missing Native American girl. Since learning that in 2016 alone 5,712 girls and women went missing, I knew I had to honor them by making the girls in my novel as real as possible.

Some of the other characters that populate my novels tend to be a mixture of people I either worked with or went to school with. I hope that when an old friend of mine reads his nickname in When Silence Screams, he’ll have a big grin on his face. If my books are lucky enough to be picked up for film or TV, I hope I will be consulted when the actors are discussed. But knowing what I do about how Hollywood works, my role may simply be largely symbolic. But I’ll take it!

Visit Mark Edward Langley's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Marj Charlier's "The Rebel Nun"

Marj Charlier began her writing career at daily and mid-size newspapers before joining the Wall Street Journal as a staff reporter. After twenty years in journalism, she pursued her MBA and began a second career in corporate finance. While she has published ten novels, The Rebel Nun is her first historical novel.

Here Charlier dreamcasts an adaptation of The Rebel Nun:

The Rebel Nun offers everything I love in a great movie: a smart, strong and complex heroine; detestable male and female antiheros; a posse of allies that would make Joseph Campbell proud; a captivating (but unobtrusive) setting; and a fast-paced climactic action scene, all befitting a terrific cast. Since I have an unlimited budget for my movie, my cast is as aspirational as the nuns’ rebellion.

Clotild is a complicated heroine—sometimes impetuous, sometimes cautious, always introspective and analytical. She is of northern Germanic descent—Frank and Thuringian, and perhaps more distantly, Scandinavian. Scarlett Johansson is a perfect fit, bringing her Avengers/Black Widow personality and moxie to the role.

Stellan Skarsgård would be well suited to play Maroveus, the evil Bishop of Poitiers, with a bulbous nose and enervating presence. Skarsgård could reprise his puffed-out pose, ego, and lack of self-awareness of Good Will Hunting, and his smart but manipulable Selvig of The Avengers. And Geoffrey Rush would play Maroveus’s aging colleague, the sometimes helpful, sometimes conniving, always misogynist, Bishop Gregory of Tours.

Lebover, the corrupt and licentious abbess who demeans the nuns, especially Clotild, is a tough role to fill because I can’t imagine anyone would want to be identified with her. I would like a Kathy Bates of twenty years ago, but I have no time machine. Perhaps this would give Melissa McCarthy a chance to show her chops playing a severe, unsympathetic character. Meanwhile Jennifer Lawrence would bring to Basina—Clotild’s weak, mercurial, and unreliable cousin—a flighty yet tragic nature. The two other major roles for nuns would be blessed by Gal Gadot and Eva Longoria.

I see Alboin, the only good guy in the book, as charismatic, good looking and tall, if not also big. He must rock a serious beard and have Germanic blue eyes. Of course, Brad Pitt could do this, but he’s only 5’11”. If Bradley Cooper, at 6’1”, brings his most weighty gravitas to the role, he would be perfect. It’s a small role here but will be much larger in the sequel (to come).

With this cast, there’s no need to worry about a director. My husband prefers Martin Scorsese for his ability to create “buzz,” but I think it should be a woman. Niki Caro loves directing strong female characters, and she has done fabulous work on such films as Whale Rider and McFarland U.S.A. And I want Rachel Portman and Antonio Pinto to collaborate on the music and score.

Visit Marj Charlier's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

James Brabazon's "All Fall Down"

James Brabazon is an author, frontline-journalist and documentary filmmaker. Based in the UK, he has travelled to over 70 countries – investigating, filming and directing in the world's most hostile environments. He is the author of the international bestseller My Friend the Mercenary, a memoir recounting his experiences of the Liberian civil war and the Equatorial Guinea coup plot; and the Max McLean series of spy thrillers The Break Line and Arkhangel (UK) / All Fall Down (USA).

Here Brabazon dreamcasts an adaptation of All Fall Down:

There is only one possible actor who could play Max McLean, the Irish spy-assassin protagonist in All Fall Down – and that’s the amazing Jason O’Mara. They’re even from the same part of Ireland! Jason read the audio book for All Fall Down (which is more like a one-man dramatization) and totally brought Max to life. When I hear Max’s voice in my head, it’s Jason’s I can hear. He’s a top chap, too – zero celeb bs – which I think is vital for playing Max, who has the world’s most finely tuned bs detector!

Commander Frank Knight – Max’s enigmatic operator… Gary Oldman, for sure. He has form for playing tricky spies, and Frank Knight is as tricky as they come.

Rachel Levy, the brilliant, beautiful and devastating spectre that rises from Max’s past… that would have to be Rachel Weisz, of course. I fell in love with the idea of Rachel while I was writing All Fall Down – she’d be both as powerful but also as tragic and flawed as Max in her own way – and Rachel Weisz would do her justice.

Doc Levy, Rachel’s father. If only Laurence Olivier was still with us! So Michael Gambon it is. Greater love hath no man than he lay down his life for his friends… but does he?

Talia, the hard-as-nails Shabak agent keeping overwatch on Max and his movements in Israel would be really well cast in Einat Weitzman – no-nonsense authority mixed with an ambiguous, friendly side. But do you trust her?

Finally, and most excitingly, it’s how to cast Baaz – Bhavneet Singh – who saves and infuriates Max by turn. That’s got to be Manjot Singh. It would be amazing to see him break out of Bollywood into Hollywood – and show them how it’s done!

Visit James Brabazon's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Break Line.

--Marshal Zeringue

Julia Fine's "The Upstairs House"

Julia Fine is the author of What Should Be Wild, which was shortlisted for the Bram Stoker Superior First Novel Award and the Chicago Review of Books Award. She teaches writing in Chicago, where she lives with her husband and children.

Here Fine dreamcasts an adaptation of The Upstairs House, her second novel:

The Upstairs House is about a new mother who is either experiencing postpartum psychosis, or being haunted by the ghosts of the author Margaret Wise Brown and her female lover. I’d love to see the film embrace all the messy, claustrophobic, feminist fractals of the novel—I envision a film that jumps between 1940s Manhattan and present-day Chicago, a film that blurs the line between fantasy and reality so that the viewer is just as unsettled as Megan, the protagonist.

Of the three lead characters, two are recent historical figures. I’ve tried to do their real-life counterparts justice in fiction, and in casting them I’d want to stick as close to their general real-life vibes as possible. Margaret Wise Brown was quirky and extravagantly generous and at the same time prickly. I envision an actress like Ruth Wilson or Kate Winslet in the role, someone who looks enough like Margaret in photographs, and could show us the vulnerability hiding underneath her many layers.

Michael Strange, Margaret’s partner of ten years, was a strong personality. She was extremely charismatic, and often very bossy—she definitely requires an actress with star power. I could see her casting going in a number of directions—Olivia Colman, Cate Blanchett, or Sigourney Weaver could each be a fit in their own ways.

Megan, the only fictional character of the three, needs an actress who we’ll root for even as she makes selfish decisions that put her new baby in danger. I’d love to see someone who can get raw, like Zoe Kravitz or Brie Larson—in the role.

Visit Julia Fine's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Marti Leimbach's "Dragonfly Girl"

Marti Leimbach is known for her bestsellers, Dying Young, made into a film starring Julia Roberts, and Daniel Isn’t Talking. She is interested in neurodiversity and has shared the stage with young inventors at the Human Genome Project (Toronto), the National Autistic Society, and the University of Oxford. Her interest in science influenced her YA thriller, Dragonfly Girl.

She teaches on the Masters Programme in Creative Writing at the University of Oxford. Dragonfly Girl is her eighth novel, but her first for young adults.

Here Leimbach dreamcasts an adaptation of Dragonfly Girl:

You never write a book expecting it to be made into a film, but I would love to see Dragonfly Girl on-screen and there’s lots about the story, such as its dynamic female lead and pacey backstory, that would make it easy to adapt.

As for my dream cast, let’s start with the guy who makes everything happen for the heroine. That’s Dr. Munn, Scientific Director of the Mellin Institute, where Kira figures out how to bring a lab rat back to life. He’s a forever-young older man with a wicked intelligence and a commanding presence. I’m thinking Bill Nighy, one of my favourite actors and the only actor whose movies I will watch regardless of content. But I’d also love to see Lucian Msamati, another giant in the world of film and theatre, tackle the role, as he, too, is an actor you can’t take your eyes from.

Kira…my heroine! I would need someone who can be, in turns, tough, mature, insecure, vulnerable, and witty. She has to be genuine in every way and with an incredible, almost other-worldly intellect. After all, she’s the girl who finds a “cure” for death. I’m thinking Kaitlyn Dever…the way she shed her quirky teenage persona from Booksmart to inhabit Marie Adler in Unbelievable confirms it for me.

In my head, Will (Kira's nemesis who later becomes tremendously important to her) is a tall, blond handsome guy who is also infuriatingly smart, smug and occasionally hateful. How about if we pretend that Will is Irish, not English, and give it to Fionn O’Shea?

Rik is the drop-dead sexy assistant to Dr. Munn who Kira has a huge crush on from early in the book. He’s supposed to be twenty so it may not work out for Takayuki Suzuki, but can we ask him anyway?

Visit Marti Leimbach's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Emilya Naymark's "Hide in Place"

Emilya Naymark was born in a country that no longer exists, escaped with her parents, lived in Italy for a bit, and ended up in New York, which promptly became a love and a muse.

She studied art and was lucky enough to illustrate numerous publications before transitioning to the digital world.

She has a particular fascination with psychological thrillers, crime, and suspense. All the dark stuff. So that’s what she writes.

In her other life, she is a web developer and designer, an illustrator, and an artist.

Here Naymark dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Hide in Place:

I set Hide in Place in my (new as of 2013) home of Rockland County, NY. This means I started by picturing real people I know for most of my characters. However, very quickly I began to fantasize about Hide in Place, the Movie, and immediately cast a young Annie Lennox as my lead, Laney Bird. Think Annie Lennox circa Sweet Dreams, sporting short hair and cheekbones you can cut glass with. I especially like her in her man’s suit and tie. Laney would rock that look.

The second POV character in the book is a teenage boy, Alfie, and the closest actor I can think of for him would be (an even younger) Timothée Chalamet, with bleached hair.

And since we’re dreaming here, Ewan McGregor would be perfect for Owen, my confidential informant antagonist.

Last, but not least—and I’ve given this one a great deal of thought—Steven Soderbergh would have to direct. In his career he’s made just the right mix of psychologically deep, unnerving crime and relationship films to be an absolutely ideal director for Hide in Place. Think Traffic crossed with Unsane.

Visit Emilya Naymark's website.

The Page 69 Test: Hide in Place.

--Marshal Zeringue

Marshall Ryan Maresca's "The Velocity of Revolution"

Marshall Ryan Maresca is a fantasy and science-fiction writer, author of the Maradaine Saga: Four braided series set amid the bustling streets and crime-ridden districts of the exotic city called Maradaine, which includes The Thorn of Dentonhill, A Murder of Mages, The Holver Alley Crew and The Way of the Shield, and a newly released dieselpunk fantasy, The Velocity of Revolution. He is also the co-host of the podcast Worldbuilding for Masochists, and has been a playwright, an actor, a delivery driver and an amateur chef. He lives in Austin, Texas with his family.

Here Maresca shares some thoughts about adapting The Velocity of Revolution for the big screen:

So, I have definitely thought about how The Velocity of Revolution might be made into a movie or series. My degree was in Film & Video Production, after all, and I like to think I write in a very cinematic style. So I definitely think the The Velocity of Revolution can translate very well to the screen It’s a dieselpunk fantasy filled with motorcycles, psychic magic connections, tacos, pansexual polycules, train heists, tacos, races, revolution, goddesses on the radio, and did I mention tacos? So it’s got a lot going on that has strong visual and cinematic appeal.

But when it comes to casting? I’m honestly not sure. Who should play Wenthi Tungét, the cycle-riding patrol officer who gets sent undercover with in the undercaste districts of the city so he can infiltrate the growing revolutionary movement? Or Nália Enapi, the arrested rebel whose thoughts and memory are implanted in Wenthi’s mind? Or Ajiñe Osceba, the cycle-riding insurrection leader who is trying to help her family and friends live better lives? I would think, perhaps, the best actors for these roles are fresh faces that I wouldn’t know, people who might use these roles to establish themselves in the public consciousness.

As for directors, though? Doesn’t this book seem like it would be a perfect Robert Rodiguez film?

And along those lines, the soundtrack should be done by his sister, Patricia Vonne. I even made a Spotify playlist to that end.

Visit Marshall Ryan Maresca's website.

--Marshal Zeringue