Irene Radford's "A Spoonful of Magic"

Irene Radford, author of the Dragon Nimbus (The Glass Dragon, The Perfect Princess, The Loneliest Magician, The Wizard's Treasure) and the Dragon Nimbus History (The Dragon's Touchstone, The Last Battlemage, The Renegade Dragon) series, often appears at conventions in the Oregon-California area. She is the author of the Stargods and Merlin's Descendants series as well, and is also one of the founders of the Book View Cafe.

Here Radford shares some casting ideas for an adaptation of her new novel, A Spoonful of Magic:

How would I cast A Spoonful of Magic? Hands down Danica McKellar from Boy Meets World and lately a lot of Hallmark movies has that quirky little smile that will charm the socks off her audience fits the part of Daffy, Daphne Rose Wallace Deschants. In the book Daffy is a blonde, so my first thought went to Sarah Michelle Geller or Kristen Bell, but they don’t have that special smile that shouts innocence while hiding a cool cunning.

The part of G, Gabrielle Sebastian Deschants, was modeled on a younger Pierce Brosnan, but I’m not up on a lot of the current Hollywood gorgeous males. He’s tall, 6’2”, and broad shouldered with dark hair starting to gray, and vivid blue eyes that can strip your senses away while he hypnotizes you. He’s not a nice guy, but is redeemable.

Ted Tyler, the other male protagonist, is a younger Mark Harmon, handsome enough but neutral. Your eyes can slide past him, or be riveted by him, depending on what he’s doing.

Villains are hard to cast. I think Sarah Michelle Gellar would excel in the part of blind D’Accore. But John Mooney is elusive. He needs to be both a charming hippie shaman in tie-dye caftans and a hard-edged real estate mogul in $1000 suits. Who would you suggest?

Visit Irene Radford's website and Facebook page.

My Book, The Movie: The Broken Dragon.

The Page 69 Test: The Broken Dragon.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Tara Goedjen's "The Breathless"

Tara Goedjen adores fairytales, mysteries, and ghost stories.

She wrote her first story at age eleven about children who disappeared at midnight, and she’s been writing ever since. Mostly raised in Alabama, she played college tennis in Iowa and then moved to Alaska and Australia before heading back to the continental US.

While completing grad school, Goedjen worked as a tennis coach, a yoga instructor, a university writing teacher, and as an editor for a publishing house. These days, when she’s not making up stories, she's probably going for a hike, staring at a to-do list, reading a novel, or eating all of California’s seasonal fruit.

Here Goedjen dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, The Breathless:

The two leads would be easy. If I could have my dream cast, I’d want sixteen-year-old Mae Cole to be played by Millie Bobby Brown from Stranger Things. Besides being a fan of the show, I love how Millie plays Eleven, who starts off the series as a quiet, mysterious, gifted, and troubled girl: all qualities that embody Mae in The Breathless.

I’d also want Cage Shaw, my other main character, to be played by Nick Robinson, who I adored in the movie adaptation of Nicola Yoon’s Everything Everything (he also appeared in The Kings of Summer and Jurassic World, a movie I had to see out of nostalgia for Jurassic Park). In Everything Everything, Nick plays a character who’s in love with the girl next door, and completely devoted to her, but who’s also trying to protect his family, in the same way that Cage Shaw is in love with Mae’s sister, Roxanne Cole, and trying to do the best he can by both her and his family—especially after things go terribly wrong.

Visit Tara Goedjen's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

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A. J. Cross's "Something Evil Comes"

A.J. Cross, like her heroine Kate Hanson, is a Forensic Psychologist with over twenty years' experience in the field. She lives in Birmingham with her jazz-musician husband.

Here Cross dreamcasts an adaptation of her latest novel, Something Evil Comes:

If only.

I’ll get straight to it: I would choose a younger Jeff Bridges for the role of the American police officer, Lieutenant Joseph Corrigan, a man of few but always relevant words, a recurrent character in my books and a member of the Unsolved Crime Unit. Why? You’ve seen Jeff Bridges and you needs to ask? As I bash my keyboard I’m looking at one of my husband’s guitar catalogues, this one for Eastman. Here is Jeff on the cover, gazing direct to camera in black boots, denim and leather coat, a hand resting on an Eastman guitar, his hair long and worn back from his face. A good, strong head. Not a man to waste words. Oh, yes.

Another recurrent character is DI Bernard Watts, Birmingham UK born and bred, now at an age and stage of career when he feels outflanked by the much younger, mostly graduate intake of officers. Inside my head as I developed the Watts character around seven years ago was the sadly now deceased British actor Warren Clarke, who early in his career played the character Dim in the film, A Clockwork Orange. However, the role which made him my choice for Watts was one for television. He played an engineering firm’s manager in the fictional town of Rummidge opposite a feminist university teacher in David Lodge’s novel Nice Work. I’ve only just realised how influential both those roles were in shaping Watts and his professional relationship with the forensic psychologist who assists the Unsolved Crime Unit and is my main character. Let’s get to her, shall we?

Dr Kate Hanson, more recently a professor at the University of Birmingham, arrived inside my head fully formed at the start of my writing career.  She was partly inspired by a young colleague of mine at the time who had the unnerving ability to recall on demand the titles, authors and dates of forensic psychology research papers. I just know how to track them down.  I’ve never had anyone in mind to play Hanson but I can tell you exactly what she’s like: four books in, she’s thirty-six, divorced, a mother of one. Five feet three inches tall with thick, dark red hair. Somebody to be reckoned with. I haven’t given her mental health problems. You know: drink, communication disorder and so forth. She’s smart and she’s also everywoman. Which doesn’t mean that she’s uncomplicated. Far from it. She has a history of key failed relationships, commonplace enough but which underpins her refusal to commit to one man. So far.

Learn more about Something Evil Comes.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Marcella Pixley's "Ready to Fall"

Marcella Pixley teaches eighth grade Language Arts at the Carlisle Public Schools. She has written three acclaimed young adult novels: Freak, Without Tess, and most recently, Ready To Fall.

Here she shares her casting call for the leads in an adaptation of Ready To Fall:

Max Friedman: Seeking a male actor between ages 16 and 20. Tall. Gangly. All arms and legs. Slump-shouldered. Dark hair that slants into eyes. Questionable posture and awkward stride a plus. Must be able to ride a skateboard. Must look good in a pair of red converse all-star sneakers and black skinny jeans. Must possess an acerbic wit and the ability to show tumultuous expression even in silence. Other qualifications include being able to speed-sketch disturbing images of the Zombie Apocalypse. Lovers of football and Varsity lettermen need not apply.

Felicia Santacroce (Fish): Seeking a female actor between ages 16-20. This character is short and slim, but must possess such an enormous voice and personality that actress can easily fill any room with energy despite diminutive stature.  Must enjoy wearing strange hats. Must be willing to dye hair pink. Not just any pink but the kind of pink that it aggressive in its pinkness that it makes you want to sneeze. Nose ring a plus. Must be capable of reciting Shakespeare at full volume and must be comfortable performing the role of Ophelia in Hamlet. Must possess a raucous laugh and the ability to swear like a sailor.

Dr. Cage: Seeking scruffy middle-aged male actor, 45-65. Must be overweight. Penchant for suspenders and yellowed undershirt a plus. Must love Chinese food more than coronary health. Must have a familiarity with classic literature especially the poetry of Allen Ginsberg. Must love the poem “Howl.” Must enjoy fruity Polynesian cocktails and look oddly handsome with an unkempt beard. Strong body odor a plus. We are looking for a versatile actor who can portray a mixture of self-effacing wisdom, crankiness, supreme annoyance, and inability to tolerate B.S.  from anybody, especially teenagers. Teetotalers and health food gurus need not apply.

Visit Marcella Pixley's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Footloose (1984)

Check out the latest filming locations for Footloose on Set-Jetter.com!

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Rachel Neumeier's "Winter of Ice and Iron"

Rachel Neumeier started writing fiction to relax when she was a graduate student and needed a hobby unrelated to her research. Prior to selling her first fantasy novel, she had published only a few articles in venues such as The American Journal of Botany. However, finding that her interests did not lie in research, Rachel left academia and began to let her hobbies take over her life instead.

She now raises and shows dogs, gardens, cooks, and occasionally finds time to read. She works part-time for a tutoring program, though she tutors far more students in Math and Chemistry than in English Composition.

Here Neumeier dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Winter of Ice and Iron:

Kehera Elin Raëhema – Caitlin Stasey. Kehera would need to be portrayed as a responsible, kind, somewhat serious, girl-next-door young woman; definitely not as a glamorous beauty queen. Caitlin Stasey did a great job as Ellie in Tomorrow, When the War Began – I’m sure she could play an excellent Kehera.

Eilisè – Ingvild Deila. Kehera’s friend as well as her servant, Eilisè takes her duty to her mistress very seriously. The affection between them draws Eilisè into exile with Kehera when duty alone couldn’t have compelled her to go. I think Ingvild Deila would be wonderful for this role.

Tirovay Elin Raëhema – Colin Ford. Tiro, Kehera’s younger brother, shares the Elin character. Like his sister, he’s serious, responsible, and kind. He also has to grow up very fast in this story. He would need to be played by someone who could show the rapid shift of a boy into a man. At 21, Colin Ford is probably young enough to pull this off – and he did a good job playing the right kind of character in Under the Dome.

The Mad King of Emmer – Anthony Hopkins. I doubt Hopkins would agree to play such a small role, but dream cast, right? It’s hard to imagine anybody better for the creepy Mad King.

General Enmon Corvallis – Sean Connery. Can I have my real dream cast? Because the Sean Connery of The Hunt for Red October – which was made nearly thirty years ago – would be exactly right to play an experienced, capable, politically ambitious military general. Corvallis is just the guy who might be able to put the pieces of Emmer back together after the Mad King smashes the country to bits. He certainly wants to be the one to try. Connery in his prime would have been wonderful in this role.

Innisth Maèr Eänetaì – Christian Bale. Who else could bring such dark-edged intensity to the role? The Wolf Duke is all about dark-edged intensity. And chilly pride. And iron self-control. And, most of all, honor. Though he’d probably laugh in your face if someone pointed this last part out to him. Not that anyone would have the nerve, except Kehera.

Gereth Murrel – Ed Harris. The Wolf Duke’s seneschal, but also the closest thing to a surrogate father that Innisth Maèr Eänetai ever had, Gereth modeled kindness and responsibility for Innisth while the boy was growing up and continued to do so later after the young man became duke. Without Gereth’s influence, Innisth might well have followed in the steps of his biological father, with dire consequences for everyone. Gereth continues to play an important role in Innisth’s household all the way through the story.

Tageiny – Mark Wahlberg. Tag’s been around. Bodyguard, thug, maybe a soldier at some time in the past, he’s the kind of guy you want in your corner when it comes down to a dirty fight in a tight corner. It’s a role that would suit Wahlberg perfectly.

Quòn – Jay Ryan. The mysterious Quòn might be difficult to portray. I suspect Ryan could pull it off.

Visit Rachel Neumeier's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

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Weekend Movie Guide

Frances McDormand stars in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Lady Bird - 4 Stars. Greta Gerwig directs a spot-on mother/daughter battle, during a young woman's high school senior year. Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf deliver award-worthy performances.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - 4 stars. Caustic, often shock comedy, starring Frances McDormand as a woman at war with the town police over the unsolved murder of her daughter.

Mudbound - 3½ Stars. Epic drama of poor, white farmers and poor, black sharecroppers in the post-WWII South.

Blade Runner 2049 - 3 Stars. Sequel to the classic runs long, but packs in the special effects around a thick & juicy plot.

It - 3 Stars. Stephen King thriller delivers.

American Made - 3 Stars. Tom Cruise is winning, in the memoir of a bored pilot who goes to work for the CIA.

LBJ - 3 Stars. Woody Harrelson creates a sympathetic portrait of the formidable politician, assuming power after the Kennedy assassination, and passing the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. Rob Reiner directs.

Murder on the Orient Express - 2½ Stars. Hammy but loving remake of the 1974 Agatha Christie classic.

Last Flag Flying - 2½ Stars. Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne and Steve Carell as Vietnam vets, who help Carell bury his son killed on duty in Iraq. 

Justice League - 2 Stars. Charismatic Gal Gadot returns as Wonder Woman, and joins Batman and several others in another of the usual formula plots to save the world.

Thor: Ragnarok - 2 Stars. The latest chapter in Marvel's Thor franchise mixes comedy and action in an overlong, sometimes confusing package.

A Bad Moms Christmas - 2 Stars. Mila Kunis and friends vow to prevent holiday hassle. Follows the formula set by 'The Hangover" and "Bridesmaids."

Loving Vincent - 2 Stars. Beautifully animates Van Gogh's masterpieces, but uses them to tell a hokey story.

Victoria & Abdul - 2 Stars. Judi Dench (as Queen Victoria) grows fond of an Indian commoner, shocking her royal household. Lightweight stuff.

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