Sheila Lowe’s “Written in Blood”

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Sheila Lowe is the author of Poison Pen, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Handwriting Analysis, Handwriting of the Famous & Infamous, Sheila Lowe’s Handwriting Analyzer, software and Written in Blood.

Here she names her ideal director and cast for adaptations of her Forensic Handwriting mysteries, Poison Pen and Written in Blood:

If I had a buck for everyone who’s said to me, “this series would make a great movie!” I could buy a Mont Blanc pen to write my next book. My character, Claudia Rose, is a forensic handwriting expert who uses her special knowledge to understand the people she gets involved with—especially the ones who create problems. She’s an independent 40 year-old, facing all the challenges of any modern woman, and has an LAPD detective partner, Joel Jovanic. Claudia also has a couple of sidekicks: Kelly Brennan, a man-eating family law attorney, and Dr. Zebediah Gold, a semi-retired criminal psychologist.

I thought about some of my all-time favorite movies and discovered that Jeannot Szwarc had directed Somewhere in Time, and also currently directs numerous forensic-type shows, so he’s the perfect fit for my forensic handwriting mysteries.

For the series characters, my number one pick for Claudia is Minnie Driver, and many readers of Poison Pen agree there’s something very Claudia in Minnie’s energy and her looks. When I first created Jovanic, I had in mind a cross between Michael Keaton and Harrison Ford, and then I thought—Denzel Washington! But it took so long to get Poison Pen published that now they’re all too old (sorry, guys). Then I recently saw a film clip of Mark Wahlberg, and instantly thought, “That’s Jovanic.” He’s good looking without being a pretty boy, you can tell he’s sharp and intelligent, and there’s a seriousness to him that would make him a good police detective. He’s a little on the young side right now, but by the time the movie is made, he’ll be just right.

Claudia’s irreverent friend and confidante, Zebediah Gold, has to be Sean Connery (or someone who looks just like him and has those twinkly eyes). Reese Witherspoon is cute enough and perky enough to be Kelly, but the part may not be big enough for someone with her star power.

For Written in Blood, Jennifer Connelly has the looks and attitude to be Paige, the not-so merry widow who needs Claudia’s expertise. The abrasive Sorensen twins would be played to perfection by Steven Weber and Juliette Lewis. I’ve always seen Greg Kinnear as their tragic disabled brother, Neil. Antonio Banderas shares the cute butt and smoldering Latin looks factor with hunky Sorensen Academy athletic director Cruz Montenegro.

Written in Blood also introduces a spoiled, troubled fourteen year-old, Annabelle Giordano, who comes to play an important role in Claudia’s life. When she’s a couple of years older, Abigail Breslin would make a great Annabelle if she’d color that lovely copper hair black and learn to hide her smile behind a scowl. Armand Assante is Annabelle’s father incarnate. Dominic Giordano is a studio head rumored to have ties to the mob.

With the enormous interest in forensics these days, people want to know what makes things work. Handwriting is the key to understanding personality, and Claudia Rose wants to help them see what makes it so.

Read an excerpt from Written in Blood, and learn more about the author and her work at Sheila Lowe’s website.

--Marshal Zeringue