I would be lying if I said I had never dreamed of having my first book picked up by Hollywood and made into a blockbuster. So in the spirit of indulging a wildly optimistic imagination, I’ve decided to do the leg work for the casting people and make suggestions for the roles of the characters in my book. By the way, it’s called The Secrets of Hallstead House and it will be out (in book form, not in theaters) in July, 2014, from Kensington Publishing.
The main character (I prefer to think of her as the star!) of the story is Macy Stoddard, a twenty-year-old nurse who moves from Manhattan to one of the Thousand Islands in upstate New York. Her parents have recently been killed in a drunk driving accident and her boyfriend, unable to deal with her emotions following the accident, dumps her shortly thereafter. She needs a change of scenery so she takes a new job. Her new patient is an elderly woman recovering from hip surgery. Macy learns of old secrets on the island that will change her future and that of all the others on the island. As she learns about life on the St. Lawrence River, she also must learn more about her own past.
In my humble opinion, Macy should be played by Zooey Deschanel.
The two main male characters are Will Harper and Pete McHale. Will is about forty and the nephew of Macy’s patient; Pete is in his early thirties and a handyman on the island. Neither man thinks Macy should be on the island, but for different reasons. I won’t say anymore about them.
Except that Will should be played by Edward Norton. And my choice for Pete? Casey Affleck.
Macy’s patient is Alexandria Hallstead. She is seventy-two and runs a family oil company. Determined and strong, Alex harbors a shocking secret that Macy doesn’t see coming.
I wonder what Dame Judi Dench is up to these days? Other than starring in Philomena, of course.
There is an older couple, Valentina and Leland Bryd, that live on the island. Both are miserable and want nothing to do with Macy.
I think Annette O’Toole would be delightful as Vali, and I picture Leland being played by James Cromwell.
There are two other characters in The Secrets of Hallstead House: Brandt Davis and Giselle Smythe. Brandt is in the Coast Guard and Giselle is a television news anchor. I can’t really say too much about these two without giving away spoilers, so you’ll have to read the book to find out more.
For Brandt, I think Orlando Bloom would be great. And Giselle can only be played by the great Naomi Watts.
So for all you casting directors out there, I’ve done the work for you. All you have to do is make a few calls.
Do you have dream characters for your books? I’d love to hear the people you’ve chosen!
Until next week,
Amy
Reade and Write 
I always think about who would play in my movie, but I see my characters as themselves and can’t imagine anyone else being them. I guess I will definitely have to leave that up to the casting director when Hollywood comes knocking. (I like Amy’s mantra, dream big or don’t go to sleep. I think I’ll steal it and use it when she’s not around.)
LikeLike
Go for it, Holli!
LikeLike
One of my husband’s friends approached me about who would play my characters if “End of the Road” were made into a movie. I promptly cast Mark Wahlberg as J. D. and Channing Tatum as Rick (and I would play Corrie, of course… hey, dream big or don’t go to sleep, right???) Anyway, if I had my choice, I’d pick Daniela Ruah (“NCIS: LA”) to play Corrie. Sometimes it helps to have a visual of my characters (though, to be honest, my characters look nothing like the actors I picked… it’s just my fantasy casting!)
LikeLike
Dream big, indeed! What great cast picks! I took a look at your website, etc. and your books sound really good. I’d love to read them. Have you heard of Annette Snyder’s Fifty Authors from Fifty States? Sounds like you’d be great for New Mexico week. Thanks for stopping by!
LikeLike
Haven’t heard of it, but I’ll definitely look into it! Thanks!
LikeLike
I always ‘cast’ my books. for our protagonist in our mysteries, MURDER…THEY WROTE and MURDER IN PARADISE, I’d love to have Lawrence Fishburn with Angela Bassett as his wife. When I wrote “Finding Love in Paradise,” my novella for our award-winning romance anthology, DIRECTIONS OF LOVE, I decided Tim Kang (Cho on “The Mentalist”) would be the perfect Jason. Having a visual image for the characters somehow makes them easier to write.
LikeLike
Hi, Lorna,
I love Lawrence Fishburn! Angela Bassett is all class, and Tim Kang is great in The Mentalist. It’s interesting that you always cast your books. I tried to do that, but was utterly unsuccessful. I found that I was getting myself too wrapped up in the actors’ roles and personality! Thanks for stopping by. I just visited your blog for the first time yesterday and I enjoyed it very much.
Amy
LikeLike