Keith Hollihan's "The Four Stages of Cruelty"

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Keith Hollihan worked as a business analyst and ghostwriter before publishing his first novel. Born in Canada, he has traveled widely and lived in Japan and the Czech Republic. He now lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Hollihan's new novel is The Four Stages of Cruelty.

Here he shares some author's input on casting a big screen adaptation of the novel:

The Four Stages of Cruelty is set in a maximum security penitentiary, but its protagonist and first-person narrator is a female corrections officer. Kali Williams is as professional, efficient, jaded, and tough as any of her male co-workers but she also has a strong sense of right and wrong. Her voice showed up in my third draft of this book, and took over the story. To me she embodied the whistleblower who can no longer abide the corruption and systematic abuse around her.

To me, the role calls out for a strong female lead. Vera Farmiga showed that blue collar realism in Debra Granik’s Down to the Bone. Michelle Monaghan had the integrity and sensitivity to go with her toughness in Gone Baby Gone. Naomi Watts has all the range you could want. There are so many good actresses out there right now, taking on challenging roles, it would just be a pleasure to see what could be done.

As for the men, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

Read an excerpt from The Four Stages of Cruelty, and learn more about the book and author at Keith Hollihan's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Four Stages of Cruelty.

Writers Read: Keith Hollihan.

--Marshal Zeringue