Brian Freeman's "Spilled Blood"

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Award-winning author Brian Freeman is an internationally bestselling author of psychological suspense novels. His books have been sold in 46 countries and translated into 20 languages. Freeman's debut thriller, Immoral, won the Macavity Award and was a nominee for the Edgar®, Dagger, Anthony, and Barry awards for best first novel. Since then, each subsequent novel has been published to similar acclaim. Freeman lives and writes in his native state of Minnesota.

Here Freeman dreamcasts adaptations of his Stride novels as well as his latest book, Spilled Blood:

I’ve spent the first few years of my writing career talking with readers about the perfect actors to play my series characters from Immoral, Stripped, Stalked, In the Dark, and The Burying Place. Nothing generates more passionate discussion (or disagreement!) than the idea of finding stars for Jonathan Stride and Serena Dial.

George Clooney as Stride? A lot of readers think so, although he seems a little polished and perfect for Stride in my mind. Stride wears his emotional scars on his sleeve. I’ve always thought Russell Crowe could do the job; he’s got the right combination of toughness and sensitivity.

As for Serena…well, I always said Catherine Zeta-Jones. My wife always said Angie Harmon. So I guess we’ll go with Angie.

But now I have two stand-alones…The Bone House from last year and my newest book, Spilled Blood. It’s a different experience “casting” a stand-alone novel than a series book, because the actor only gets one shot at the role. (Well, unless it’s a huge hit…then you’ll see him over and over in sequels.)

The hero of Spilled Blood is Chris Hawk, a Minneapolis lawyer who comes to the rural lands of southwestern Minnesota to defend his daughter against a murder charge – and gets pulled into a bitter feud between two towns. It’s intense emotional suspense, like my other books, so you need an actor who can bring out the emotional depths of the character. Chris Hawk is a father trying to trust his daughter. He’s an ex-husband trying to re-kindle a spark with his ex-wife. He’s a man in search of redemption.

Ryan Gosling? He’s got the depth of expressions in his face. Jim Caviezel? He definitely has the intensity.

Of course, great actors make the roles. I was always a big fan of Robert Ludlum’s Bourne novels, and I was surprised (dismayed?) when Matt Damon first took on the role of Jason Bourne. I thought he was too young and “baby-faced” to step into Bourne’s shoes. But he took that role and made it his own; it was inspired casting.

So whoever plays Chris Hawk…or Jonathan Stride…I’ll be rooting for him, and I’ll be in the theatre watching for that immortal line to cross the screen: “Based on the novel by Brian Freeman.”

Learn more about the books and author at Brian Freeman's official website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue