Justin Gustainis' "Quincey Morris" series

Justin Gustainis is a Professor of Communication at Plattsburgh State University, where he earned the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2002. His academic publications include the book American Rhetoric and the Vietnam War, published in 1993. The Hades Project, his first novel, was released to rave reviews in 2003.Here he shares some ideas for the principal cast in film adaptations of his “Quincey Morris Supernatural Investigations” novels:There are two books in my urban fantasy series about occult investigator Quincey Morris and his partner, “white” witch Libby Chastain.

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Barbara Levenson's "Fatal February"

Barbara Levenson, former prosecutor and judge, is the author of Fatal February, available on February 1st.Here she lays out some ideas for cast and director of a film adaptation of the novel:Fatal February is one part romance, one part mystery with a large spoonful of humor. After I wrote the book, I received several suggestions that it really was the blue print for a TV series, because it is the first in a series of mysteries with continuing characters. But who hasn’t dreamt of selling their brainchild as a movie?The protagonist, Mary Magruder Katz, is a quirky criminal defense attorney in M

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Jill Sorenson's "Crash Into Me"

Crash Into Me, Jill Sorenson's new romantic thriller--"featuring one too-tough female agent, one too-hot male suspect, and a head-on erotic collision"--hits bookstores on Tuesday, January 27th.Here she shares some preferences for the main cast of a cinematic adaptation of the novel:Crash Into Me is set in San Diego, a real place, but none of my characters are based on real people. I guess I start with a blank face, adding details as I go. It was a lot of fun to surf the net, searching for actors who resemble the pictures in my head.With his brown hair and dark, bedroom eyes, Eric Bana is a

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Laurel Corona's "The Four Seasons"

Laurel Corona is a professor of English and Humanities at San Diego City College and the author of more than a dozen middle school books and Until Our Last Breath: A Holocaust Story of Love and Partisan Resistance.Her latest novel, The Four Seasons, is set in "glittering 18th-century Venice, [where] music and love are prized above all else—and for two sisters coming of age, the city’s passions blend in intoxicating ways."Here she shares some ideas for the principal cast in a film adaptation of the novel:Writing The Four Seasons, I quickly realized how much of a challenge it was going to brin

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Erika Mailman's "The Witch’s Trinity"

Erika Mailman is the author of Woman of Ill Fame and The Witch's Trinity, the story of a medieval German woman accused of witchcraft when her village undergoes famine.Here she lays out some casting ideas for a film adaptation of The Witch’s Trinity:It’s a heady thing to imagine a movie made of one’s novel. Most novels never get optioned for film, let alone have the rights bought outright—and then to be filmed and distributed, well, let’s just say it’s a guilty pleasure to visualize. Much like my daydreams of getting an Olympic gold medal (in some vague, undefined sport) or saving someone’s li

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Michael Wiley’s "The Last Striptease"

Michael Wiley’s The Last Striptease (St. Martin’s Press) received the Best First Novel award from the Private Eye Writers of American and St. Martin’s in 2007 as was nominated for a Shamus in the same category in 2008. His Bad Kitty Lounge is forthcoming.Here he shares some casting ideas for a screen adaptation of The Last Striptease:I wrote The Last Striptease with the big screen in mind but didn’t think about real actors until I’d finished.My private detective, Joe Kozmarski, is a six-foot-tall Polish-American in his mid-forties. He looks sort of like Rod Blagojevich but with abs and a hair

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Jeffrey Hantover’s “The Jewel Trader of Pegu”

Jeffrey Hantover, who has written on social issues, art, and culture for publications in the United States, Europe, and Asia, is the author of The Jewel Trader of Pegu, now available in paperback.Here he lays out some ideas for cast and director of a film adaptation of the novel:As a writer in these dark economic days with royalties far south of John Grisham’s, I follow a prudent investment strategy – I buy weekly lottery tickets and daydream who will star in the movie of my book. An East-West love story set in 16th century Venice and a Burmese city turned to ashes will not come cheap, but I

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J.M. Hayes' Mad Dog & Englishman series

J.M. Hayes is also the author of The Grey Pilgrim (2000), Mad Dog & Englishman (2000), Prairie Gothic (2003), Plains Crazy (2004), Broken Heartland (2007) and, coming in May 2009, Server Down.Here he shares some casting ideas for a film adaptation of his Mad Dog & Englishman novels:A rural Kansas sheriff, his oddball-born-again Cheyenne brother, and their efforts to solve the rare crimes of a small community are the essence of the Mad Dog & Englishman series. But when those crimes hit, it's with a Murphy's Law kind of fury—everything that can go wrong will. I'm delighted to make

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