Sharon Fiffer's "Lucky Stuff"

Sharon Fiffer is the author of eight Jane Wheel mysteries, including the recently released Lucky Stuff, published by St. Martin’s Minotaur.

Here the author shares some casting suggestions for an adaptation of the series:

Begging your indulgence, I’d like to cast my book as a television series rather than a movie. Why? Isn’t a feature film the Holy Grail, the place where stories are elevated to iconic status? Well, maybe before television got so very, very good—and before everyone realized how much we liked stories to unfold over time. Besides, Jane Wheel and her crew are junkers, scavengers, treasure hunters and sentimental small town folk at heart and, at the end of the day, they are TV watchers.

Also, Lucky Stuff is number eight in the Jane Wheel mysteries and writing a series of books tends to make the characters into family members who grow and change a bit with each adventure. A television series allows for the arc of the books’ stories, so here are a few of my casting picks for the new HBO hour-long comedy-drama, JANE WHEEL, PPI.

Since this my fantasy line-up, I assume I can use actors past and present, alive or dead—so please imagine the talent I name at their peak—or a little older or younger to fit the ages of the characters.

Nellie, Jane Wheel’s curmudgeony, secretive and mercurial mother—Thelma Ritter or Nancy Walker, come on down from character actor heaven. And even though it’s television and I want the series to last long enough to go into syndication, I won’t accept Betty White. She’s far too over-exposed!

Don, Jane’s bear-like barkeep father—If Brian Dennehy can be persuaded to step off the Broadway stage and give the Eugene O’Neill canon a rest, I have a steady job for him.

Michael, Jane’s younger brother—Michael had a major role in only one of the book, but he’s a big influence on Jane and family. For the series, he and his family will be far more involved in the family situations. David Letterman of twenty years ago, are you ready to show your acting chops?

Tim, Jane’s best friend who is suave, sophisticated and far more stylish than Jane—if we go major network? Neil Patrick Harris, come on down! If we go Masterpiece Mystery, I want Laurence Fox. Detective Hathaway, can you do an American accent and smile once in a while?

Detective Oh, Jane’s Asian-American mentor—Here’s where time-travel comes into the casting. Harry Shum Jr. from Glee will have to fast-forward himself into his forties, but I’d like him to remain as graceful and light on his feet. I can write in a dance scene if I have to, Harry.

Jane Wheel, picker and private investigator, is the hardest to cast. The woman is always longing and searching, yet she’s as funny and acerbic as Nellie even if she claims she’s nothing like her mother. Her mind is a garage sale of ideas and plans and the actress has to convey both vulnerability and odd wisdom. I like Lauren Graham for Jane. I also like Mary-Louise Parker and perhaps an aged-up Ellen Page. She and Harry Shum Jr. can share the time travel machine.

Lucky Miller, guest star in the Lucky Stuff episode will be played by the ghost of Sid Caesar. Or Phil Silvers. Or a slightly younger Don Rickles?

Stuff. Although not technically part of the cast, the prop-master for this show is going to have a blast—and will also be the hardest working tech person in the business. Jane Wheel’s life is all about stuff—and there has to be plenty of it—Killer, Dead Guy’s, Wrong, Buried, Hollywood, Scary, Stagy and Lucky!

Kankakee, Jane’s hometown that is part of her soul and psyche is most definitely a character. And, it must play itself. Park those Craft Services trucks on Station Street in The E Z Way Inn parking lot, please.

Learn more about the Jane Wheel mysteries and the author at Sharon Fiffer's website.

Writers Read: Sharon Fiffer.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Robyn Arianrhod's "Seduced by Logic"

Robyn Arianrhod is an Honorary Research Associate in the School of Mathematical Sciences at Monash University. She is the author of Einstein's Heroes.

Here Arianrhod shares some ideas for casting a cinematic adaptation of her new book, Seduced by Logic: Émilie Du Châtelet, Mary Somerville and the Newtonian Revolution:

Seduced by Logic blends biography, history and science in a story that covers two centuries of scientific history. So I guess there are two movies here, one for each of the book’s two heroines: Émilie, marquise du Châtelet, the wonderfully outrageous French aristocrat, mathematician, and muse/lover of Voltaire; and Mary Somerville, a shy, illiterate, Scottish country girl who transformed herself into the nineteenth century’s celebrated ‘Queen of Science’.

At first, I found it surprisingly difficult to imagine ‘strangers’ playing these women onscreen, because Émilie and Mary were so multifaceted that they are uniquely ‘themselves’ to me: I’ve ‘lived’ with them, in my mind, for years, and I feel I know them intimately, through their own writings, and through my empathy with them as a female mathematician myself. But I do love movies – and films are, of course, things in themselves, separate from books, and from real lives – so here are some tentative thoughts on how ‘my’ Émilie and Mary could appear (or have appeared) on the big screen.

Jeanne Moreau could be fabulously feisty, seductive, and intense, all in that very French way. She could have portrayed, effortlessly, Émilie’s mix of imperious aristocratic confidence and fun-loving radiance, her ability to be self-contained, disciplined, and ambitious, and, by contrast, her ability to abandon herself to the moment – singing operas all night long, or staking everything for love. A more contemporary actress, and a very different one, is Tilda Swinton (especially as she was in Orlando). Like Émilie, she is tall and striking, and I can imagine Tilda/Émilie galloping her favourite horse, or dressed up for an eighteenth-century ball, or gambling astutely at cards with the Queen. I can imagine her exuding an intelligence that fills up the screen regardless of whether she is debating with others on behalf of Newton and Leibniz, or whether she is alone, dressed in her old work clothes, poring over mathematical equations by candlelight.

Geoffrey Rush ten years or so ago would have made a consummate Voltaire: he’s marvellous at portraying characters who are masters of wit and irony, and he could easily add the requisite doses of hubris and hypochondria, along with a touch of emotional cruelty to temper the extraordinary love and loyalty Voltaire generally felt for Émilie. Of course, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt come to mind as an Émilie-and-Voltaire double act. Apart from the fact that Voltaire was 12 years older than Émilie, Angelina and Brad at their best each could play these demanding roles brilliantly. (As for the interminable gossip about the couple’s private lives, three centuries ago there was similar fascination and gossip about Émilie’s and Voltaire’s glamorous and sometimes stormy relationship.)

Mary Somerville shared Émilie’s unusual ambition, and she, too, suffered because of the taboo against intellectual women. But this is where the similarity between the two women ends, and a number of readers have told me they prefer the quieter, ‘nicer’ Mary to the flamboyant Émilie. (I love them equally!) In many ways, Mary is like a Jane Austen heroine: she came of age at about the same time – and in the same constrained, provincial circumstances – as Jane Austen herself. Emma Thompson made a brilliant Elinor in the movie of Sense and Sensibility, and she could easily add the ambition and intellectual drive that lifted Mary way beyond Elinor, along with the endearing touch of vanity, and the natural, guileless charm that seduced everyone who knew her. Kate Winslet would also make a memorable and subtly charismatic Mary.

Learn more about Seduced by Logic at the Oxford University Press website.

The Page 99 Test: Seduced by Logic.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Janice Law's "Fires of London"

Janice Law is an acclaimed author of mystery fiction. The Watergate scandal inspired her to write her first novel, The Big Payoff (1977), which introduced Anna Peters, a street-smart young woman who blackmails her boss, a corrupt oil executive. The novel was a success, winning an Edgar nomination, and Law went on to write eight more in the series, including Death Under Par (1980) and Cross-Check (1997).

After Death Under Par, Law set aside the character for several years to write historical mysteries The Countess (1989) and All the King’s Ladies (1986). After concluding the Peters series, she wrote three stand-alone suspense novels: The Night Bus (2000), The Lost Diaries of Iris Weed (2002), and Voices (2003). Since then, Law has focused on writing short stories, many of which appear in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of her latest novel, Fires of London:

It’s embarrassing to admit that I now see very few movies, despite having done a long stint as a weekly movie reviewer during that golden age of foreign and US films from the late sixties to the mid-eighties. I also never think of adaptations, which is just as well, because only one of my novels, Voices, even got to the option stage –or perhaps I should say, pre-option stage–since I never saw any money.

As for Fires of London, I’m sure that there are any number of good young actors who would do just fine as Francis, genius painter and reluctant snoop, and the underfed rent boys who are in danger. But if a leading man is required, I’d suggest Leonardo DiCaprio, who has the right sort of face, and who, from his work in Inception, might be up for something, and some one, off beat.

As for Nan, Francis’ madly devoted, light fingered, and cynical old nanny, the late Joan Hickson, who was the greatest Miss Marple ever and one of the few to convey her top level intellect, would have been splendid. Today, in an ideal situation, I’d cast the divine Maggie Smith. Indeed, cast Maggie Smith as Nan – or as anything in my opinion– and you have a good chance of cinematic success.

Learn more about the book and author at Janice Law's website and blog.

The Page 69 Test: Fires of London.

Writers Read: Janice Law.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Shelley Freydont's "Foul Play at the Fair"

Shelley Freydont is the author of the Katie McDonald and Lindy Haggerty mystery series, and the Liv Montgomery, Celebration Bay Festival Mysteries.

Here she shares some suggestions for casting a big-screen adaptation of her new novel Foul Play at the Fair, the first Celebration Bay Festival mystery:

I have colleagues who always imagine their books’ characters as movie or television actors. I’ve never been able to do that. When I do try to think of the perfect casting, I always seem to default to the actors of the thirties and forties. Even when they were scruffy or silly there was something steady about them. My kind of heroes —and heroines.

Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn, Myrna Loy and William Powell, Myrna Loy and Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and just about anyone. For me, she is the perfect combination of ditz, good humor and a woman who knows what she wants and how to get it.

Would I ever pattern a character with her in mind? No, I’m sure she would take over. I do keep the qualities I like about her in the back of my mind.

But if someone would like to make the series into a film today?

I would suggest Anne Hathaway for Liv. Liv is a Manhattan event planner who moves to a small upstate town to be the town’s event coordinator. She’s smart, savvy and a fish out of water. It’s a big learning curve for someone who’s more used to society backstabbing than death by farm implement. But she’s not afraid to get down and get dirty, especially when it comes to protecting her town and her new friends. Anne Hathaway has the look, the personality, and the resiliency as an actress that I admire. Plus she has a great comic sense and can seem perfectly at home while being just a little out of kilter.

Chaz Bristow on the other hand is one massive contradiction. Liv calls him the laziest newspaper editor in the world, but before returning to town to report local news and fishing conditions, he’d been an investigative reporter for the LA Times. He delights in making smarmy, but harmless, propositions to Liv, refuses to take any interest in the murders that plague Celebration Bay, and yet always seems to be one step behind Liv. Which can be annoying; but sometimes life saving.

An actor who played him would have to be unusual. A combination of Clive Owen and Owen Wilson, with a bit of Ewan McGregor thrown in.

And to round out the cast, Jeremy Irons as Ted, Kathy Bates as Dolly, Stanley Tucci as Dolly’s husband Fred. I guess this would have to be a big budget movie.

Learn more about the book and author at Shelley Freydont's website.

The Page 69 Test: Foul Play at the Fair.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Erika Robuck's "Hemingway’s Girl"

Erika Robuck was born and raised in Annapolis, Maryland. Inspired by the cobblestones, old churches, Georgian homes, and mingling of past and present from the Eastern Shore, to the Annapolis City Dock, to the Baltimore Harbor, her passion for history is well nourished.

Her first novel, Receive Me Falling, is a best books awards finalist in historical fiction from USA Book News. Her second novel, Hemingway’s Girl, was published last month by NAL/Penguin.

Here Robuck dreamcasts an adaptation of Hemingway’s Girl:

Before I write a word of any novel, I spend several days casting it. This is a very important part of the process for me because I am a visual learner, and until I can fully see my characters, I can not write them. Even if I’m not successful at first, at least this step allows me to spend several days viewing headshots and film clips of beautiful or interesting people as part of my work, which I find inspiring.

My novel, Hemingway’s Girl, takes place in Key West in 1935, where a half-Cuban young woman goes to work for Ernest Hemingway in order to support her widowed mother and sisters, and to save money for a charter fishing boat business. Soon after she becomes Hemingway’s housekeeper, she finds herself caught between her infatuation with the writer and a WWI veteran and boxer building the Overseas Highway.

Since day one, George Clooney has been my Hemingway. He has a combination of virility, humor, and intensity that would lend him well to the role. He also has an uncanny resemblance to Hemingway when he has a mustache.

My protagonist, Mariella, would be played well by either Camilla Belle or Selena Gomez. Both young women are just stepping into adulthood from more childish rolls in television or film, and would successfully play a feisty girl forced to grow up too fast.

Ryan Gosling would make a perfect Gavin Murray: a thirty-three year old boxer and WWI veteran. Gosling has the youthful face with the intense, haunted eyes that would present just the right blend of dependability, courage, and appeal necessary to compete with Hemingway for Mariella’s attention.

I’m confident that these power players could carry any cast to the Academy Awards. I hope to see you at the movies!

Learn more about the book and author at Erika Robuck's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Michael Kardos’s "The Three-Day Affair"

Michael Kardos’s debut thriller The Three-Day Affair has received starred reviews from Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Publishers Weekly, which named it one of the best books of the fall. He’s originally from New Jersey and currently co-directs the creative writing program at Mississippi State University.

Here Kardos shares some ideas for the lead actors and director of an adaptation of The Three-Day Affair:

It all hinges on the recording-studio owner. It’s a small role, a few moments of levity in an otherwise very intense story, and just right for an actor needing a comeback—John Travolta would’ve been ideal, had his career not already been revived once with Pulp Fiction. So Travolta’s out.

Who’s in? Tim Allen—acting so eccentric and looking so grizzled that it isn’t until the closing credits that you smack yourself and say, “Wow, so that’s who that was.” (Kelsey Grammer would do in a pinch.)

The Three-Day Affair revolves around three college friends who kidnap a convenience store clerk and use the recording studio as their hideout. The guys need to play 30 but also look college-age in flashbacks from their Princeton days. Will Walker, the main character, has to be likeable but not too likeable, good-looking but not too good-looking. Adam Scott I think would be great. He’s so natural in Parks and Recreation, it never seems like he’s acting. Another choice would be Jason Segel, in a surprisingly dark role.

The convenience store clerk has to be unassuming but sharp. An unknown, ideally. If we go with a known, then it should probably be Hailee Steinfeld, who has, well, true grit. Elle Fanning might be even better. She was utterly believable in Super 8. Trouble is, she’s too young. But maybe the production will get stalled for a couple of years.

And the director? That’s a no-brainer: Christopher Nolan.

Learn more about the book and author at Michael Kardos's website.

Writers Read: Michael Kardos.

The Page 69 Test: The Three Day Affair.

--Marshal Zeringue

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D.E. Johnson's "Detroit Breakdown"

D. E. Johnson, a graduate of Central Michigan University, is a history buff who has been writing fiction since childhood. He comes by his interest in automotive history through his grandfather, who was the vice president of Checker Motors. Johnson's books include The Detroit Electric Scheme and Motor City Shakedown.

Here he shares some ideas for the above-the-line talent to adapt his latest novel Detroit Breakdown, and its predecessors, for the big (or small) screen:

“Everybody” asks me when my books are going to be made into movies. I write in a very cinematic style, and I think my readers visualize the stories as they occur. I’m lucky enough to have very passionate readers, and they have lots of ideas for who ought to be in the movies.

In a dream world, I’d have to go with Leonardo DiCaprio as Will Anderson, Keira Knightley as Elizabeth, and Martin Scorsese as the director. Leo and Keira are getting older than my characters now, so maybe Joseph Gordon-Levitt ought to be Will. I’m not sure about Elizabeth. Anyway, I think Keira can pull off mid-twenties.

While I was writing the books, there was really only one character I saw as a particular actor, or actors, I should say, because I thought both Gabriel Byrne and Liam Neeson would be great as Detective Riordan.

Actually, I (and my agent) see the Will Anderson series as a cable TV series. My plots have a lot of twists and turns, and have a bit of a Deadwood/Breaking Bad aesthetic. I think every book could be a season, so I’ve got three years already written. Give me David Milch or Vince Gilligan to run the show, and I’m happy to let them choose the actors.

Learn more about the book and author at D.E. Johnson's website and blog.

The Page 69 Test: Motor City Shakedown.

Writers Read: D.E. Johnson.

The Page 69 Test: Detroit Breakdown.

--Marshal Zeringue

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