Meredith Cole's Lydia McKenzie novels

Meredith Cole started her career as a screenwriter and filmmaker. She was the winner of the St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic competition. Posed for Murder (2009) was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Mystery Novel. Dead in the Water (2010) continues the adventures of photographer Lydia McKenzie in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Here she shares her casting ideas for a cinematic adaptation of the Lydia McKenzie novels:

Since I started my career as a filmmaker and screenwriter, people often ask me when my books will be made into films or a television show. It seems natural to other people that I would imagine my stories as both novels and films from the very beginning. But I don’t. When I set out to write something new, I choose at some point whether a story is destined for the screen or for the pages of a book. And then I write it (or direct it). And then I’m done.

I wouldn’t say “no” if someone bought up the film rights and gave Lydia a new life in a different medium. There are probably things I would find painful (they might exaggerate her vintage clothes or goofiness), and others I would find enlightening (I wrote that?). But it would be an interesting experience nonetheless.

When someone first asked me who I saw playing Lydia, one actress popped into my head: Maggie Gyllenhaal. I think she’s a great actress. The first film I saw her in, Secretary, I couldn’t stop watching her. She is a beautiful woman, but very distinctive. She wears every emotion on her face and in her eyes. She has the quirkiness to play Lydia. And, even better, she lives in Brooklyn these days.

The rest of the cast? The main returning players are her bosses, the D’Angelo brothers and their bigger than life mother. If you’re going to dream, dream big: Olympia Dukakis as Mama D’Angelo, James Gandolfini as Frankie D’Angelo, and Andreas Katsulas (the one-armed man in The Fugitive) for Leo. And for Detective Daniel Romero? That’s tough. He has to be handsome and have a lot of charisma. Someone like Javier Bardem would fit the part exactly.

But really one of the most important characters in my book isn’t an actor. It’s the streets themselves. I would definitely object if they decided to move the film to somewhere in Canada. First, there are so many talented film professionals living in the New York and in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But second, the film wouldn’t feel authentic without the industrial parks, the quirky cafes, the East River, and Manhattan peeking over the top of the buildings.

Learn more about the books and author at Meredith Cole's website.

The Page 69 Test: Posed for Murder.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Cherish D'Angelo's "Lancelot's Lady"

Cherish D'Angelo launched her debut contemporary romantic suspense Lancelot's Lady on September 27, 2010. Her novel has already won an Editor's Choice Award from Textnovel.com and placed in the semi-finals of Dorchester Publishing's "Next Best Celler" contest. Though this is Cherish's first romance novel, she's no stranger to booklovers; she's best known as bestselling Canadian suspense author Cheryl Kaye Tardif.

Here she shares some ideas for casting an adaptation for Lancelot's Lady:

Lancelot's Lady was the first novel I've written where actors and actresses didn't immediately come to mind. I'd completed the novel before even imagining who would play the roles--a first for me as I usually have a strong image as I write. In fact, it was a struggle at first to think of who should play my unsuspecting lovers, Rhianna and Jonathan. But now that I've thought of two names, I can't get them out of my head. I can see their scenes in my mind--intense, conflicting, passionate, super Hot with a capital H, and even humorous at times.

The actress who would be perfect as Rhianna McLeod, a young mid-twenties palliative care nurse who has hidden herself away because of a horrible past, is Canadian actress Rachel McAdams.

Rhianna is a fiery redhead, beautiful and easily flustered. She has a temper and a wicked sense of humor when provoked. I think Rachel could pull that off very easily and she'll look great as a redhead. When I think of her in Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr., I can definitely see her as Rhianna McLeod. Ironically, Rhianna and Rachel have the same initials. Destiny, perhaps?

Jonathan's character was harder for me to cast, mainly because the actors that first came to mind are much older than Jonathan, a semi-recluse who lives on a private island in the Bahamas. Jonathan is a man of talent--and mystery. When Rhianna first meets him, he's covered in paint and looking rather grimy. And he's pissed that she's invaded his privacy. He finds ways to make her pay for the inconvenience she's caused. Jonathan is moody and impatient, but he's also dangerously attractive. His long dark hair is usually tied back and he's often unshaven.

When I finally thought of actor Josh Holloway ("Sawyer" from LOST), I realized I'd stumbled across the perfect Jonathan. Long haired, piercing eyes and boy, does he make unshaven look sexy.  Josh has everything it takes to pull off Jonathan's character. He does sarcasm with ease and brooding with intensity. All he'd have to do is darken his hair and pop in some blue contacts and―voila!―Jonathan is born. Actor Ian Somerhalder (Damon from The Vampire Diaries) would be my second pick.

Rachel McAdams and Josh Holloway would heat up the big screen to SIZZLING, and that's what's needed in a romantic suspense. Lancelot's Lady is a love story about fate and destiny, about secrets and lies, and redemption.

Learn more about Lancelot's Lady and Cherish D'Angelo (aka Cheryl Kaye Tardif) at the official website and author's blog.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Mary Jane Maffini's "Closet Confidential"

Mary Jane Maffini is the author of three mystery series and a number of short stories. Her real life dogs are Daisy and Lily, both miniature dachshunds of "a princessy disposition." They look a lot like Sweet Marie and Truffle in the Charlotte Adams mysteries.

Here Maffini shares her thinking on a few of the more important casting decisions should Closet Confidential, the latest Charlotte Adams mystery, be adapted for the big screen:

A main character is like a beloved child. I think this is especially true in a mystery series where author and sleuth are yoked together for years. And as if writers didn’t have enough responsibility, we have to worry about our protagonist’s well-being too. We want the best for them: love interests, loyal friends, excellent instincts, speedy recoveries and, of course, not getting killed anytime soon. The usual. In short, we want everything to work out all the time. So I’m thinking big in considering who would play my amateur detective Charlotte Adams, currently sleuthing her obsessive little heart out in Closet Confidential, the fourth Charlotte mystery.

A little background on Charlotte: she’s just turned thirty and is running a professional organizing business in Woodbridge, NY, a historic town on the Hudson River. She’s pretty well over that lying dog of an ex-fiance and has fun hanging out with ‘the misfits’, her lifelong wisecracking buddies – think Friends with murder. That’s good because people are always getting bumped off in Woodbridge, and Charlotte always finds herself trying to unmask one villain after another. Nice work if you can get it.

A professional organizer sees into people’s homes and lives. And as Charlotte likes to say: “Show me your closets and you show me your secrets”.

All this build-up to say, Ellen Page would make a great Charlotte Adams. I am totally captivated by this small, vibrant and talented actress. And by the time the Closet Confidential movie got made, she’d be the right age. Hey, these projects don’t happen overnight.

Ellen Page has the right intensity and that interesting bit of edge. She’s 5’1” and Charlotte’s just a tiny thing too. Perfect. In spite of that edge she’s likeable, as is Charlotte. Neither one of them is a pushover. Even when Ellen has played troubled characters, they’ve had something resilient and admirable about them. She has the essential comic timing and dry wit that would be essential, as we saw in her Oscar winning Juno performance. Funny yes, but with authentic emotion underneath.

Her coloring’s right too: dark hair and eyes, crisp features. As a bonus, she’s from Nova Scotia as I am. I’ve been watching her career grow through Canadian television productions like ReGenesis and films like Marion Bridge, then on to Juno and right through to this summer’s blockbuster Inception with Leonardo DiCaprio. I’m proud of that girl. Plus I couldn’t help but note that Inception launched within two weeks of Closet Confidential. I’ll take that as a good omen.

In short, Ellen Page would do justice to Charlotte Adams and give her star power.

But you know, it’s not only the protagonist that matters. What about Charlotte’s miniature dachshunds, Truffle and Sweet Marie? They would best be portrayed by Daisy and Lily, my own two, seen here in their dressy pearls. Of course, they’re Canadian too.

Between Ellen Page and the canine companions, I can’t wait to see this movie. Pass the popcorn!

View the book trailer for Closet Confidential, and learn more about the author and her work at Mary Jane Maffini's website.

Read--Coffee with a Canine: Mary Jane Maffini & Daisy and Lily.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Jodi Compton's "Hailey's War"

Jodi Compton is the author of the acclaimed novel The 37th Hour, which features Detective Sarah Pribek.

Here she shares some ideas for cast and director of an adaptation of her latest novel, Hailey's War:

On my website and in bookstore discussions about Hailey’s War, I’ve made a lot of the fact that no major character in this book is over the age of 24. The story grew out of the circumstances in which it was written -- I was living in a college town called San Luis Obispo, which is dominated by young people, and I was surrounded by their culture, music and slang.

Unfortunately, the downside of a book with such young characters is that it’s hard to mentally cast the film. Although I enjoy youth movies, it’s been a while since I’ve seen any, which means I’m likely overlooking some gifted young actors in addressing this question. So, here’s how I’m going to handle this problem. You’ve heard of colorblind casting? This is going to be "age-blind" casting: I’m going to pick actors I think have the right qualities and not worry about the DOB -- mostly I’m using these choices to emphasize the qualities I hope a casting director would look for in filling these roles.

My protagonist, Hailey Cain, is a Texan-born ex-West Pointer: not dewy, not gamine, not pixie-ish. Not a laeta, as Hailey herself would say (laeta being her term for a certain kind of L.A. girl, from the very flexible Latin word that can mean happy, fortunate, fertile or silly). For this part, I favor Abbie Cornish, who was in Stop-Loss with Ryan Phillippe and brought a quiet, almost sullen, gravitas to the part.

For Serena Delgadillo, Hailey’s old schoolmate turned veterana gangbanger, I think Sara Ramirez of Grey’s Anatomy would be awesome -- she’s so commanding and self-confident. Enough said.

The casting decision that would keep me awake at night, though, is that of Cletus “CJ” Mooney, Hailey’s sweet Appalachian-bred love interest. My fear is that a producer will think, "OK, love interest, let’s get a couple of young A-list studs in here and pick one." For my part, I would have liked to see a character actor named Tom Wood do this role -- back in the day, he played the rookie U.S. marshal in The Fugitive. Physically, he was right for it -- the height and the hair color, etc -- but he also has a gentle, thoughtful, inner-focused quality that reminds me a lot of CJ.

My dream director for this film would be Antoine Fuqua, because his Training Day observed L.A. so beautifully. Hailey’s War is a similar story in several ways. Though Training Day was about 24 hours and Hailey’s War covers six months, they’re both about dangerous journeys through California’s various socioeconomic strata, rich to poor, righteous to corrupt (and downright evil).

Read the opening pages of Hailey’s War and more on Jodi Compton's website.

Writers Read: Jodi Compton.

The Page 69 Test: Hailey's War.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Nora McFarland's "A Bad Day's Work"

Nora McFarland has worked for CNN and is a former community relations manager for Barnes & Noble. She has an MFA from the University of Southern California's school of cinema and television.

Here she shares some casting input should her debut novel, A Bad Day's Work--a funny, fast-paced mystery similar in tone to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series--be adapted for the big screen:

My main character is named Lilly Hawkins. Despite her physically demanding job as a TV news photographer, called a “shooter” in the industry, she’s actually fairly petite. She uses intelligence and a pit-bull personality to stay ahead of the bigger and stronger male shooters in her hometown of Bakersfield, Calif.

Ellen Page is physically perfect, but more than that, she has the right combination of toughness and vulnerability. She’s also got excellent comic timing. She’s younger than Lilly, but I don’t mind because she so perfectly embodies the character.

Rod Strong, a new reporter at Lilly’s TV station, is very handsome and wears expensive designer clothes. Lilly initially believes he’s shallow and vain, but over the course of the story discovers most of her assumptions about him are wrong.

I’d love to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt in that role. He’s great with both comedy and drama. The tricky part about Rod is that the audience needs to slowly shed their dislike before completely falling in love with the character, just like Lilly does. That’s tough to pull off, but I think Gordon-Levitt would be great. Also, after seeing Inception, I like the chemistry he has with Ellen Page. The two of them as Lilly and Rod would be fantastic.

Lilly’s Uncle Bud is someone who hasn’t been a strong presence in her life, but comes to her aid once she becomes embroiled in the murder investigation. He’s a bit of a shady character who works the angles and doesn’t mind running afoul of the law. He came to Bakersfield as a young child during the Dust Bowl migration in the thirties. He still has his southern accent and is fond of using colorful sayings like, “Harder to shed than a booger you can’t thump off.”

Ian McKellen is my dream Bud. He always appears to know a little bit more than he’s saying and has a twinkle in his eye. It’s important that Bud always looks like he’s having fun, even when he’s diving into the backseat of a moving 1972 Plymouth Fury—with police in pursuit.

Learn more about A Bad Day's Work at Nora McFarland's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Matthew Dicks' "Unexpectedly, Milo"

Matthew Dicks is the author of the novels Something Missing and Unexpectedly, Milo. An elementary school teacher, he was named West Hartford’s Teacher of the Year in 2005 and was a finalist for Connecticut’s Teacher of the Year.

Here he shares some casting options for a big screen adaptation of Unexpectedly, Milo:

Since the film rights to Unexpectedly, Milo have already been optioned, the question of who should fill the role of Milo is one that I have been asked many times. It’s not a question that is easy for me to answer. Though I see a lot of movies, I tend to focus more upon plot and character than the actual actors who are playing the roles. I often find myself involved in a conversation about actors who I have seen in dozens of films but have never known their actual names.

Keeping that somewhat limited perspective in mind, here is my attempt at casting a few of the lead roles in Unexpectedly, Milo:

Matt Damon seems well suited for the Milo role, and there are people in the film business who agree (and who admittedly planted the idea in my head). While Damon can play the role of an action hero quite well in films like The Bourne Identity, he can also play much less-assuming lead roles in films like The Talented Mr. Ripley and The Informant!. It’s the slightly bumbling, somewhat wayward hero that he played in The Informant! that seems especially apropos for the role of Milo. Likeable but fallible. Capable but flawed.

I also think Greg Kinnear would make a great Milo. Kinnear has played a flawed anti-hero in such films as Little Miss Sunshine and Flash of Genius, and these qualities seem especially suited to Milo’s disposition. These were characters (one fictional and one real) forced to confront and ultimately accept their own limitations, yet they still rose above expectations in a way that surprised even them. This seems to capture the essence of Milo.

I think that Ellen Page would handle the role of Freckles quite well. Her performance in Juno was terrific. Specifically, I think she managed to occupy the space between eminently confident yet deeply fragile quite well, walking that fine line with artistic dexterity. Freckles is a woman who is attempts to portray strength and assurance while the ghosts of her past constantly threaten to tear down her carefully framed façade. In Juno, Page portrays a teenager who attempts to remain calm and in control in the face of her unwanted pregnancy, yet in the end, she is just a young girl, frightened, immature and feeling alone.

The role of Christine, Milo’s wife, is a tougher one for me. I immediately thought of a younger Demi Moore, but unless there is a way to reach back and access the Demi Moore of 1995, this is not a realistic option. The actress playing the part would need to have the ability to appear likable and rotten at the same time, capable of causing the audience to wonderful she is justifiably angry, just plain awful or perhaps both.

Any suggestions?

Visit Matthew Dicks' website and Facebook page.

Writers Read: Matthew Dicks.

Read--Coffee with a Canine: Matthew Dicks & Kaleigh.

The Page 69 Test: Unexpectedly, Milo.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Lisa Black's "Trail of Blood"

Lisa Black spent the five happiest years of her life in a morgue, working as a forensic scientist in the trace evidence lab until her husband dragged her to southwest Florida. Now she toils as a certified latent print analyst and CSI at the local police department by day and writes forensic suspense by night. Her books have also been published in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain and Japan.

Here she picks cast and director for a big screen adaptation of her latest novel, Trail of Blood:

In Trail of Blood a series of real-life 1930s murders start over again in present time. Forensic Scientist Theresa MacLean recognizes the pattern and uses the facts of the Depression-era crimes to battle this new killer. Meanwhile, back in the 30s, battered WWI vet James Miller struggles to find the original Torso Murderer. So the good movie-making news is: We have two very intense periods of history to portray.

To play my cop from the past, James Miller, I need a man who’s tough but doesn’t think he’s tough, who’s smart but doesn’t think he’s smart, with a wry smile and haunted eyes. I wouldn’t want someone too famous or too pretty in this role. James is an everyman kind of guy, just trying to make enough of a living to keep a roof over the head of his wife and infant son despite the constant threat of unemployment from the deeply corrupted system that was the Cleveland police department at the time. The famous Eliot Ness had arrived as a remedy, but there was only so much he could do, and the force as a whole was completely unprepared for the insane savagery of America’s version of Jack the Ripper. So to play James, I think I’d like Rory Cochrane, and not just because I’m madly in love with him. Well, okay, largely because of that. But he could convey not only James’ controlled strength but his deep hurt.

Humphrey Bogart would have been perfect too, but he is, alas, dead.

As for Theresa, as always, I want Julianne Moore. She could combine the no-nonsense quality of Theresa, who approaches the series of deaths as she approaches any other problem—this is my job, I need to figure this out, without any sort of fear or ego or agenda—and yet remains unpredictable enough to a) fall for James Miller’s ghost rather than sexy hostage negotiator Chris Cavenaugh and b) both mother and browbeat her cousin, detective Frank Patrick, into mobilizing the entire homicide unit behind her theories.

Frank is smart, short-tempered and focused, with a mess of a personal life (or, more accurately, no personal life) and needs to be played by someone who is not too handsome nor too serious. That leaves out Daniel Craig and Thomas Kretschman. Maybe Vincent D’Onofrio (in non-crazy-man mode) or Simon Baker (in non-insufferably-smarmy mode).

As for a director, Stephen Sommers. Anyone who could make a movie I’ve watched at least fifteen times—The Mummy—has my vote.

So we’d have gruesome murders, cutting-edge forensics, a savvy modern woman and a fedora-wearing 30s man, mysterious suspects and train tracks criss-crossing the valley through a shifting fog…yes, a pretty cool movie.

View the video trailer for Trail of Blood, learn more about the book and author at Lisa Black's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

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