News and Updates

I heard from the publisher over the weekend and hopefully "Game Faces" and "Dabblers" will soon be out in paperback! Can hardly wait to get my author's copies.

I started writing a blurb for "Where Power Lies" in the interest of coming up with a cover concept, either that I could do myself or hire someone to do. Of course, I still have a long way to go on the proofing from hard copy that I began, and then making all the corrections to the manuscript. You'd think as many times as this story has been rewritten, I'd have it down by now, but alas... Sometimes, how I respond to reading my own book relates to my particular mood at the time. I had thought I would hold off doing more editing for a bit, but I may get back to it sooner rather than later.

That's because I'm stalled in "Mongan Manor" for the moment. It's time for Paul to get involved in solving the mysteries, an his interactions with the other characters are crucial. They will reveal things in very subtle ways which makes the coming passages tricky to plan and write. While I'm making every effort to not fall into the same plot pattern as in the first two books, there is one pattern that stubbornly exerts its influence, and that's not necessarily bad. Stefanie absorbs events and details and she reacts to them in her own emotional way. Paul comes in and applies his logical thinking and people-reading skills to pull her observations together to indicate what people are planning and doing. This is their synergy, filling in each other's gaps in ability. In this outing, in the name of changing things up, Paul is not resistant to the uncanny and Stefanie is not hiding anything from him any more. I guess another recurring theme is that Stefanie's psychic abilities continue to develop, but that's intentional. It's part of her character growth, which in turn is what makes me want to keep writing the same characters.

Also on my mind of late is more promotional activities. I need to polish my book brochure for a slicker look, as well as on-site materials for book fairs, etc. Since there may be speaking engagements in my future, I should probably outline a talk to give. I'm also considering a sort of book give-away, but I need to work out the details before I announce it.

Joliet Author Fair and Updates

Received confirmation from the Joliet Public Library Black Road Branch for Author Fest in October. Here are some of the details:

Joliet Regional Author Fair

Saturday, October 12, 2013

11:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Joliet Public Library

Black Road Branch

3395 Black Road, Joliet, IL  60431

This was such a great event last year, and I'm really looking forward to meeting people and having the chance to sell books. 

Looks like more of my ebooks are soon to be in print format--Dabblers, Game Faces, and Stranger Faces. That will mean ALL of them are available in both formats! 

Now then, for book #8, "Where Power Lies": still making changes and catching repetitions as I go. I'm starting to feel more of an itch to get onto the next Windsong Lake book, but I'm trying to exercise some discipline here. "Power" still needs editing, and a synopsis, and a blurb, and a cover...

More Paper Editions

Looks like "Dabblers," "Stranger Faces," and "Game Faces" will at last be available in paperback editions very soon. I can hardly wait to start stocking up for my two upcoming library events.

Working on "Where Power Lies" this morning, I realized two long sections of dialog will need to be revised. They both introduce a line of thought as though it were brand new, but that can only happen once. I know I'll still have to go back over the whole book and look for that sort of thing in other places. The only method I know of is to jot down notes in a separate file while I read of the important things that occur. Then I can more easily determine if I've got any duplication.

I've also started reading my first book for Windy City Reviews, and the book in question has passed the first hurdle--it drew me in. More on that when the review comes out. I also abandoned another book I was trying to read. It did not draw me in. Several pages into the book, I still had no idea who the main character was. I couldn't connect. I tried my old trick of turning to the back to see how it ends, but the last pages contained a whole different set of characters not introduced in the early part of the story. Ah, well . . .

A Working Title!

Inspiration struck this morning, and the new Jack Watson mystery has a working title: The Janus Games. Part of the multiple plots is that people aren't who they seem to be, hence "Janus". This title may change of course, maybe if I find a word I like better than "Games."

Of course, the writing itself comes slowly. While all the fingers of my left hand are outside the cast, the ring finger still cannot take much pressure. I am going to try touching a key with it...oops. That "w" I just hit caused a little jolt. Best let it heal some more and go back to the 6-finger method.

Speaking of games, "Game Faces" is going to print post haste, making four novels in both mediums. I also signed a print contract for "Dabblers." Too bad I can't get around much yet, but I'll be in good shape come October for the author fair in Joliet with lots of books to sell.

The Good Stuff

Oooh, this is getting good! I just revealed a key piece of the puzzle in "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" and it will lead to some startling conclusions. Events are coming faster now, as they should at this point in a story, but I still find I need to go back and add bits of foreshadowing as I go. For example, I need one character to have a certain predisposition to react in a specific way to something scheduled for the big confrontation scene, so I went back and added a few lines here and there to give hints of it earlier in the book.

The drive to finish the book is strong now, but that is also in competition with a number of other things I wish to do with my abundant free time now. It's also a struggle to not fritter away that time with goofing off, which I sometimes tell myself I have every right to do if I choose. When I do goof off some, I usually wind up regretting not spending the time better. Ah well. Guess I'm just not as disciplined as I could be.

On other fronts, I've checked corrected galleys for "Game Faces" and "The Changeling Kill" print editions, and I believe they are ready to go. "Dabblers" paperback is also on the horizon. Being that I published three ebooks in 2012, I would like to keep up the pace by finishing "Seer" soon. Then I'm thinking it's time for the third Jack Watson book, although I've not had much time to think about it. I have an opening scene in mind, as well as a general plot, but I usually have much more than that in my head before I start putting words in a document.

After that, I have in mind a reworking of a previously written though unpublished novel. It has to do with conspiracies and an alternative view of how society really functions. I've been thinking of pushing the setting into the future a bit and extrapolating on current trends in setting the stage in a dystopian world. Since I wrote it once (or twice maybe) already, I have characters and a few scenes. The original plot will need some tweaking, and the main point of view character has already gotten an overhaul.

Then again, as I've worked on "Seer," I've begun getting a few ideas about a third entry in the series. But those are just fragments, not a plot or anything, so it's way out on the horizon.

Who Are These People?

A bit of a departure this morning, since I've not really accomplished much on "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" today. Still trying to decide how to do something. The "fiend" is going to contact Stefanie, but I'm not sure how just yet.

Anyway, the departure: how I name and develop characters.

Jack Watson: Oddly enough, when I began writing "The Dreamer Gambit," the private detective was meant to be a secondary character. I decided my main POV, Tabitha, should find him attractive, but he would want to stay purely professional. The next question was why, what motivated him. Thus began background development of the detective--stuffy upbringing, strong on ethics, recently divorced, disastrous marriage. He started to interest me more, and about the same time, I found that making him a POV would help to take the reader where the action is and could set up some tension in certain scenes. Why Jack? I don't know. The name popped into my head. Why Watson? His full name came out to be John Holmes Watson, Junior, but I wasn't even thinking of a Sherlock Holmes connection when I found the name Watson on a website of surnames. Then it fit. Make him an ex-cop and let his old connections tease him about Watson the Private Eye. With "The Changeling Kill," Jack sort of took over the series.

Tabitha Solo: Since the story of "The Dreamer Gambit" revolved around her, hers was the first name I had to come up with. The inspiration for "Dreamer" came from the dream sequence, and for no reason I can really explain, it started with Scott's voice calling Taaaa-bith-aaa. Her surname was Solokowski, which seemed like a good name for a Chicago girl, and HONEST, I SWEAR, I didn't think about naming a singer "Solo."

Tracy Wiley: Okay, I confess on a little word-play on this one. Once again, the name Tracy just popped into my head, but I chose the last name as applicable to her tendency to crack jokes.

Elena Griegos: Tracy's Doppelganger in "Two Faces, Two Faced." I wanted a name that sounded exotic, foreign, but perhaps not definitely indicating one country or another. Didn't want to target another culture or fall into any cliches about countries. The other consideration was that it be easy to pronounce. I don't want readers to struggle with the name every time they encounter it. The resulting name could come from a number of countries, but in the end, the character came from none of them!

Christian Roosa: Believe it or not, the sexy police detective of "Game Faces" and "Stranger Faces" was about to be called Jefferson, short form, Jeff. A friend of mine who could hardly wait for a followup to "Two Faces, Two Faced", didn't like it, and I wasn't all that excited about it either. Then I thought of Christian, which is kind of an antonym because the character is a womanizer. His last name? I once worked with someone with the last name Roos and was told it was Dutch. I remembered this as I passed a street on my regular route to the grocery story--Roosa Lane. Bingo! The detective has a last name!

Stefanie Durant: When I first wrote "Dabblers," some of the names were different. Stefanie's last name had to say "French" because of Paul and I chose Devereaux. Her friend Amy's maiden name was Parker, and her husband was Nathan. Then some good friends turned me onto the TV show "Leverage." It had characters named Nathan Ford, Sophie Devereaux, and Parker. Oops. Purely coincidence. I looked up French surnames on a website and found Durant, which means enduring, and I liked the underlying meaning for Paul. Amy's husband became Adam, and I changed her maiden name too, but it only gets mentioned a time or two and isn't really important in any way. By the by, I spelled Stefanie with an "f" instead of a "ph" because people call her Steffie, and it's easier to make the mental connection by sticking with the "f" all the way.

Today's Gotcha: Envelop/envelope The first one's a verb meaning "to surround." The second is a noun, meaning something that surrounds. The trick? Past tense of the verb is enveloped.

Recap of Day 1

Accomplished a lot of writing-related stuff yesterday. Lots of writing done on "Seer, Tyro, Fiend." I decided, since my post yesterday, that I did not need to figure out all the esoteric clues I was about to deliver. I can always go back and tweak, augment, and refine what I write. Once that scene was done, another one developed smoothly from it. And the reason it flowed so smoothly was because I let the characters take over. I let them be who they are as they tackled the situation.

Galley proof for "Game Faces" the print edition - done. Verifying corrections to "The Changeling Kill" print edition - done. In the process, I picked up some interesting editing info. I did not know that Gurney should be capitalized because it is a trade name for a particular type of stretcher. I also did not know that the Chicago Manual of Style says that the word "god" should only be capitalized when used reverently. When a character says, "Oh my god" - no capital g. Never knew that.

Transitions

A tiny bit of progress on "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" yesterday--a couple of new pages added. Even as I write this, I'm thinking about undoing some of what I did because I'm not sure the scene I started is really necessary. I put it in because of timing issues. Stefanie is about to take another step in exploring her talents, but the plan is for Paul to come home from work and find her in the middle of her psychic journey. Unless I have him come home early from work, she needs to be doing something else before her experiment starts. Do I need to account for that time, either as it happens or in a summarizing statement? Or does this constitute a scene break? Once again, I remind myself that whatever I write in the first draft, I can change later, insert something later, or remove something later. There's still an old-fashioned part of me that wants to get it right the first time.

I've also been proofing "Game Faces" for the paperback edition, and so far, it's pretty clean. Sometime after that, "Dabblers" will be destined for paper, too.

As I wind down from my day job, more people have been finding out about my writing pursuits, and I have no hesitation in discussing it as part of my future plans. While employed, I tried to avoid mixing those two worlds as I did not want to give the appearance of using office time to promote my books to a captive audience. Since writing is soon to be more my real job and people are asking me what I'm going to do when I leave the company, I feel it is appropriate to tell them about it.

Leaving a job. I've done it before, but this will be the longest I've ever been at a single company -- 13 years! -- and for the first time, I do not have another traditional-type job lined up. As much as I have anticipated the scenario of not having one, the feeling as it approaches being reality is somewhat surreal. Will I miss it? Don't think so, although my hubby thinks I will. Time will tell. I have writing to do, promotion, books to read, a small business of editing I'm thinking of starting, household projects that are long overdue. No shortage of activities to fill my day.

Whatever trepidation I might feel about this transition, what I'm about to do is embark on being a "real" writer, making a living at it.

Counting Down

Did not get any writing done over the weekend, but I did download the "Game Faces" print galley and started to proof it. So far, it's pretty clean with only three corrections for missing/misplaced italics in the first 50 pages or so. Maybe I have gotten better at proofing the initial manuscript.

I'm really eager to get back to "Seer, Tyro, Fiend", especially after a long break over the previous weekend. As always when I don't get to write even a little bit for a period, my mental gyroscope starts wobbling a bit. I need that outlet for my imagination to keep things spinning levelly. I've also been having other thoughts about the title and the cover. Two images play in my head for the cover, very different from each other, but both represent a significant plot line. There's the search for a missing woman on the one hand, and my early cover design would reflect that story. On the other hand, there's Stefanie's exploration of her psychic talent, also an important theme. Unfortunately, my thoughts on which one to emphasize have begun pointing to which one will attract potential buyers of the book. I feel an element of shame for being so mercenary, but all things considered, either cover will be a little work of art, perhaps my own, and will represent something important in the novel.

With only a few days left on my day job remaining, I've also started contemplating a side line in editing services. My idea is to offer to review, for a fee, the first few pages of a manuscript. I would return a mark-up copy with both simple proofreading corrections as well as a critique of sorts. Did it draw me in? Is there enough story introduced early enough? What about character development, especially for the point of view? Is there anything that might cause a publisher or agent to reject it?

Certainly, I don't see myself as an expert, but I guess having six published novels qualifies me to some degree. The idea of doing complete manuscripts seems a bit overwhelming, and I don't want to take away that much time from writing my own stuff. But perhaps ten pages for a nominal fee would be an attractive offer for new writers looking for a little guidance in the face of past rejections. I have mentioned before that I always try to take lessons away from any criticisms received with rejections, but the fact is, so many "no thank yous" arrive with nothing at all in the way of advice or reasons. Sometimes, all I got back was a strip of paper, not even a full sheet, with a formula response. Somewhere in my files, I have my own query letter returned with a handwritten note of "Not for me, thanks." I need to work out the mechanics of this idea--the exchange of payment and documents, a disclaimer of sorts, where to advertise, etc.--before I can pursue it further.

One Door Closes...

Well, it's now official. I will retire from my day job on February 28th, champing at the bit to work on my writing career on a more-or-less full-time basis. I've known it was coming for a while, and I'm ecstatic about it.

Interestingly, I received an email today from Write Words that galleys are ready to proof for "Game Faces," the print edition. Perfect timing, right?

And I've got "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" to finish as well. Lots of ideas coming and the book seems to write itself. Who knows how many books I can complete in 2013 with eight hours a day to devote to it? I know there are writers out there who must force themselves to do a page or two a day, but my problem will be getting anything else done--like running a home and a couple of dozen other projects around the house.

Ah, what a wonderful day!

The Joy of a Series

Haven't blogged for a couple of days. Friday--company holiday party and then preparing for company at home. Saturday--more prep, company stayed until late, but we had a great time. Now I'm looking forward to Monday and Tuesday off to do some series writing.

"Stranger Faces" is slated for release February 1! Still have to proof galley when it becomes available. Feb. 1 is also the date for release of "Two Faces, Two Faced" print edition. And all of this just in time for Love is Murder.

Sequel to "Dabblers" is progressing well, socializing notwithstanding. I had a couple more ideas for the title, but I want to do a search and make sure there are no other books published recently with the same title. Don't want to cause confusion out there.

In regard to the subject for this post, there's a lot of good to say about writing a sequel. It means I get to explore the character more deeply. In "The Changeling Kill," sequel to "The Dreamer Gambit," I got the chance to delve into Jack Watson's past, specifically his hellish marriage. In the sequel to "Dabblers," it's digging into some of Stefanie's unhappy childhood, her early days of dealing with her psychic gift. In both cases, the past is reawakened by current events, so the retrospective angle becomes important and necessary. Applying more history to the character is fun creatively and turns him or her into a more real person, even to me. I get to meet them during their first novel and then we become closer friends, sharing our dark pasts and deep secrets, in the sequel.

Tracy Wiley, on the other hand, did not work out the same way, but that's because her personality flaw, i.e., her withdrawal from people when her mother and brother died, has left some aspects of socialization underdeveloped. Her naivety in that regard is part of what gets her into trouble. Ah, well, if people were all the same, what a dull world it would be.

Cover Art, Etc.

I do believe I have a cover design for "Stranger Faces." A crucial scene in the story occurs at a freaky sort of nightclub in Chicago where things happen that are important to resolving the puzzle later on. That is what I've tried to capture in the cover. It has faces on it, strange ones of course, in keeping with the visual theme of the rest of the books in the series, and also has a sort of sunset sky motif. It's a combination of free photographs, some digital drawing, and lots of cutting, pasting, cropping, and touching up. I'm getting better with my graphics tools, though. Mainly, I use MS Paint for selecting stuff from public-domain art work. I found if I zoom in extremely close, I can use the eyedropper tool to fill in transient white spots where I've pasted something in.

Here's what I've got:

There's still a lot of work to be done on the text, of course, but I think I'm very close to having a finished product.

"Dabblers" FB page went up, but I'm holding back on making an ad for it until more vendors are available for people to buy it. Right now, it's still just Write Words. I hope it shows up on Amazon. "Game Faces" never has, although I don't know why. If "Dabblers" makes it there, I'll investigate further about it.

Struggling Along

Still on the last chapter of "Stranger Faces" although I continue to backtrack through the manuscript to check things, adjust things, etc. I was starting to worry that the story was coming up short in length, since most of my novels finish up around 80k or so. But even with the last chapter not quite complete, I'm approaching 71k and with additional edits, the length should come out about right.

The cover art . . . I've tried a few ideas out, but they appear dull to me. I've had one more design occur to me, but it will require me to DRAW something. (She gasps in awe.) I want to do some outlines of weird faces, to go with the title. For this one, though, I'm not sure what sort of background to use. Someone suggested something with Chicago because a trip there for Tracy becomes a very important event. It would be great to get a picture of the city skyline on a clear day with a road running to it straight out of the camera viewpoint. Then my drawn faces could overlay it at the edges. Not sure how that would look, but first I'll have to find the photo.

"Dabblers" comes out in one more week. I was trying to use Twitter, as I think I mentioned last time, but ideas of what to tweet each day have dried up. I continue to worry about the balance between my attempts to advertise not being seen or being seen so often they become annoying. I did put something on the Facebook group page for CWA which I hope will reach a wider audience.

A friend is reading "Game Faces" now. Can't wait to hear some feedback. I do wish it would become available on Amazon, but I've never gotten anywhere trying to find out why it isn't already.

Joliet Library Author Fest

Saturday, October 13, I will be at the Joliet Public Library's Black Road branch selling my books--ebooks as well as signed paperbacks of "The Dreamer Gambit." I look forward to meeting people there and talking about my books. "Dreamer" will be sold a special reduced price, and purchasers will receive a free chapbook for "The Changeling Kill", i.e., the first three chapters.

I'm going to try my hand at printing business cards myself. The forms were readily available at WalMart. I have the ink jet printer. Printing my own has the advantage that I can print a small number at a time and then be ready to update the content as needed. Can't do that very easily with business cards from an office store, where you have to buy hundreds of them at a time.

Finished second proof of "Two Faces, Two Faced" for the print edition. Only 12 changes, and they are very minor--some lost italics, a couple of misspelled words, a couple of word changes to prevent confusion to the reader. I've gone over the cover art several times. I think I'm done.

Hope "Game Faces" shows up on Amazon soon. Work on "Stranger Faces" has temporarily taken a back seat to other stuff, like promotional activities and proofreading. "Dabblers" galley should be ready in a few weeks, and I'll get to work on that.

Updates and News

After the Glen Ellyn Bookfest in June, I joined the Chicago Writers Association, and my membership may have just paid for itself. I received an email from them with an invitation to participate in another event held by the Joliet Public Library. They are hold an Author Fest in mid October, and I will be attending. I still have copies of "The Dreamer Gambit" to sell--at greatly reduced prices--as well as an abundance of information for the rest of my books. And participation is FREE! (I like free. Anything that furthers the sale of books that costs me little or nothing is like a gift.) I've already started updating promotional materials to include "Game Faces." I'll have a table where I can sell my books and talk to people. Very exciting.

Still proofing galley for "Two Faces, Two Faced" print edition, but the second reading has not unearthed any more changes so far, and I'm up to Chapter 5.

Looks like "Dabblers" will get into the next phase in a few weeks. I sent the cover art to go with the manuscript. Sounds like it will be released in 2012. Three books in one year!

"Game Faces" is starting to show up on other vendor sites, which is great. I also revamped and funded my Google ad.

"Stranger Faces" is progressing, but I'm still struggling/tinkering with that final big scene. I want to try to lighten things up a bit since I just finished a very dark passage. Tracy has reached her turning point, where it's time for her to fight back. I thinking to bring all the different factions together for one final chaotic showdown, and I'd like to do it with a touch of humor.

What comes after "Stranger Faces"? So many possibilities. A third entry for the Jack Watson series? A sequel to "Dabblers"? One of my old manuscripts resuscitated? There are a fair number of those to tap into. Ah, if only I could spend all my time writing . . .

News Flash

"Game Faces" now available at www.fictionwise.com!

Moving On

I did not realize so much time had passed since my last post. Been dealing with some life issues in the last couple of days.

So I got past the stuck place in "Stranger Faces" and am well into the big climactic scenes. One of them has been written for the most part. I decided on a two-stage climax which might be sort of unusual. The first stage turns the tide, so to speak, by resolving one of the major puzzles that had to be figured out. The second stage will involve getting all the bad guys out into the open and brought down. This second stage is kind of a new direction from the original outline (as much as I outline anything) and is still formulating in my mind. The final chapter, as always, ties up all the loose ends, supplies details, and sets the path for the future. Once I have a full story draft, I'll go back and edit, clarify, revise, etc., etc.

For the time being, I have only "Stranger Faces" to work on. Still waiting for galleys for print edition of "Two Faces, Two Faced." Still waiting for galleys for "Dabblers." Still waiting for "Game Faces" to hit the major Internet vendors so I can lean on the advertising. I had really hoped to get "Game Faces" selling in a big way to bump up numbers for the quarter. I still hope "Dabblers" will make it to market before the end of the year.

Catching Up

Still no sign of "Game Faces" on Amazon. There was an issue which might have held things up a bit. The folks at Write Words made some changes to the cover of "Game Faces" and "Two Faces, Two Faced" to reflect the fact that they are part of a series. I'm really hoping to see "Game Faces" available on a variety of vendors very soon.

"Dabblers" needs a cover, and I have finally assembled all the elements I need. Next step, I have to make some of the sketches which Stefanie does in the book. Some of them will have drops of blood on them--fake blood, of course. Then the drawings and sketch pad will be laid out on a black background and photographed. The photo will be merged with another of a lightning bolt in the sky. My thinking on a cover is that it should use elements of the book which also appear in the blurb, and that when someone reads the book, they return to the cover and say, "Aha!" And all that has to happen with a imagery which grabs attention. I know I am drawn to books with intriguing covers and then read the blurb to see if I'm interested. I'm sure I'm not the only person who book-shops this way.

I also received word today from "The Windy City Magazine" of the Chicago Writers Association that the article I submitted will be included in the next issue. It contains some advice and things I have learned about writing since I started on this journey. Perhaps it will lead to more potential readers looking me up and wanting to see what I have published.

Making great strides in the third entry of the Tracy Wiley series. It's quite a wild ride for Tracy, and as always, she is fun to write because of her smartalecky mouth and sense of humor. The Big Scene is coming up soon. An odd thing happens as I approach the climactic chapter in a book. It's almost as if I'm hesitant to write it. Maybe because once I've done that, all the questions are answered, all the mysteries solved, and then it's just wrap up time. The way things look right now, the door will be open for yet another Tracy Wiley book in the future given the way the third story works out to its conclusion.

Lady In Waiting

Sometimes, it seems half of the writing life is waiting.

Waiting for "Game Faces" to show up on Amazon and B&N so that advertising can begin in earnest.

Waiting for response from book committee at Write Words regarding newest manuscript.

Waiting for galleys to proof for "Two Faces, Two Faced" paper edition.

Waiting to hear back on a request for a review of "Two Faces" from Windy City Reviews.

Waiting to find out if all those Facebook "likes" on my "Changeling Kill" page, resulting from my ad, have translated into actual book sales.

And in between, I keep writing, because I can't help it. "Faces 3" is around halfway through the book now. And I keep finding small things to correct/tweak in "Dabblers"--adding or changing a word or two here or there. I hope Write Words will accept it for publication because I think it could be a good seller with its paranormal aspects. I had an idea for a sequel to this one too, and after the most recent rewrite, the door to a whole series is now open. If they accept it and it gets published before the end of the year, I'll have three books for the year.

Having joined the Chicago Writers Association, I have also been planning an article to write for them about things I have learned on the road to getting published. Need to start organizing my ideas and see what sort of article it works out to be. Maybe more than one depending on how much stuff I can pull together.

"Game Faces" - The Dream Cast

If someone were to make "Game Faces" into a movie and I got to pick the cast and every one of them agreed to take the part and was available and money was no object . . . (sigh). Anyway, here are the actors I would choose for each role.

Tracy Wiley - As mentioned for "Two Faces, Two Faced", Michelle Monaghan

Alex Laughlin - Simon Baker still the first choice.

Chris Roosa - Bradley Cooper. It was his image I saw as I was writing it.

Norah Cavendish - Tilda Swinton. I've admired her work in a number of movies.

Leonard McAvoy - I needed someone who could play the evil doctor, and I searched the IMDB lists for best movie villains. Jason Isaacs came up a number of times, and he's about the right age and has the look.

I haven't yet found anyone to play Pappy, but I'm open to suggestions.