Amy Hatvany's "Outside the Lines"

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Amy Hatvany's books include Best Kept Secret.

Here she shares some ideas for director and main cast members for an adaptation of her new novel, Outside the Lines:

As an author, it is only in the dark, quiet moments of morning that I allow myself to ponder the “what ifs.” What if someone wants to make a movie of this book? What if this particular dream came true?

The story is told from two points of view - David West, a talented artist who slowly deteriorates into mental illness and Eden, the daughter he abandons when she is ten years old. For David, I imagine Robert Downey, Jr. in the role, simply because I believe he could carry off the character’s extremes - the highs and lows, the love he feels for his daughter and the hatred he feels toward himself and his illness. In the book he is described as “whip-thin, but sinewy and strong.”

Eden is a more challenging pick, because the story is told back and forth in time, so the reader gets to know her as a child and an adult. If Abigail Breslin could dye her hair black, her emotional range would make her perfect for the role of young Eden, and as an adult, I picture her Jennifer Connelly - intelligent, compassionate, and strong.

Without a doubt, my dream director for any of my novels would be Nicole Holofcener - I fell in love with her keen eye in Walking & Talking and then Lovely & Amazing came along and she once again blew me away. She is fearless, and I would trust her implicitly to visually translate the story.

Learn more about the book and author at Amy Hatvany's website.

The Page 69 Test: Outside the Lines.

--Marshal Zeringue