Stephanie Chong's "The Demoness of Waking Dreams"

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Stephanie Chong worked as a lawyer at a top-tier Canadian firm and completed five university degrees before landing her dream job: romance novelist. Her degrees include a J.D. and a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, and a Master’s in Creative Writing from Oxford University.

Here she shares some ideas about the cast and film location of an adaptation of her latest novel, The Demoness of Waking Dreams:

Luciana Rossetti, Rogue demoness, is the novel’s heroine. The noble daughter of an 18th century silk merchant, she’s as headstrong as she is beautiful. For centuries, she has survived on her wits and her skill as an accomplished seductress. Luciana will stop at nothing to get whatever – and whoever – she wants. At the beginning of the novel, she returns to her home city of Venice to embark on her annual hunt for a human sacrifice.

As Luciana: A young Monica Belluci would be perfect. Megan Fox has the right look. Keira Knightly with an Italian accent would be fun – she can pull anything off.

Guardian angel Brandon Clarkson arrives in Venice to track down Luciana. An ex-cop with a tough-guy exterior, Brandon is also highly intelligent and an expert at his job: safeguarding humankind from the most dangerous demons on the planet. His rain-grey eyes and tattoo-covered, rock-hard body fascinate Luciana, even though he’s her sworn enemy.

As Brandon: Channing Tatum at his most intense and brooding. Wentworth Miller during his Prison Break days.

When Luciana and Brandon meet, fireworks ignite. In the lavish and labyrinthine city of Venice, a forbidden desire sparks between them. It is a passion that changes each of them profoundly, but threatens to destroy them both.

Just as important as casting the movie is the cinematic vision of Venice. Here are a few of my favorite movies set here: Death in Venice (1971); Italian for Beginners (2000); and The Italian Job (2003).

Learn more about the book and author at Stephanie Chong's website, blog, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

My Book, The Movie: Where Demon’s Fear To Tread.

--Marshal Zeringue