Casting Call Character Bloghop

Cool, a good reason to come up with another blog post this week!  I’m lucky if I get in one a week, so this is a nice surprise for me.  It seems my good buddy Lisa Regan and fellow writer/bloggers Carrie Butler and Melodie Wright are hosting a Casting Call Bloghop in which we introduce our characters in whichever form we like best. 

Since I’m a film buff and have often visualized my novel as a movie, I thought I would use the actors I believe best embody the main characters in my book, THE MISTAKEN, a psychological thriller.

First, the pitch:

Vengeance tastes sweet the day Skylar Karras pledges his wife's killer to sex-traffickers in the Russian Mafia.  In exchange for the woman, they’ll let his brother leave the business for good—with his debt wiped clean and his heart still beating.  But when Sky mistakenly targets the wrong woman, deal or no deal, he’s forced to protect them all from the very enemy he's unleashed. 

Now, the casting:

The male lead, Skylar Karras, is really a composite of two people, a friend of mine and an actor, Andy Whitfield.  Sadly, Andy past away on September 11th at the age of 39, a victim of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

For the role of Skylar’s wife, Jillian, I think actress Jessica Alba would be perfect.

For Skylar’s brother, Nick, I like Michael Graziadei.  Doesn’t he look a lot like Andy Whitfield?

For Hannah Maguire, the woman Sky has mistakenly targeted, I love Mila Jovovich.

For bad guy and Russian mobster, Alexi Batalov, the suave and debonair Ben Gazzara fits like a glove.  

What about you?  Do you have anyone particular in mind for your characters?   

The Hook for Your Book Contest

My BFF, Lisa L. Regan, was approached last week by former journalist and fellow blogger, Melodie Wright over at Forever Rewrighting to give an interview for her How I Snagged My Agent feature. She was quite flattered and readily agreed because she thinks her feature is a great idea. You should check out the last interview with YA author, Becky Wallace. Her blog has a lot of great stuff on it so check it out!

Together with the interview, they are going to be having a Hook for Your Book contest which will be judged by Lisa’s agent, Jeanie Pantelakis of Sullivan Maxx Literary Agency.

So here are the particulars:

To Enter:

You must be a follower of  Lisa’s blog and provide a link to either a tweet or a blog post spreading the word about this contest.

You must have a completed novel. Your novel MUST be finished to enter this contest.

Write a 50 word paragraph that is the hook for your book. Basically pitch your book in fifty words.

Post your 50 word pitch in the comments section of Lisa’s blog with a TITLE and your contact info before August 22nd.

If I were going to enter (alas, for obvious reasons, I cannot), mine would look like this:

The Mistaken

Vengeance tastes sweet when Skylar Karras pledges his wife's killer to sex-traffickers in the Russian Mafia.  In exchange for the woman, they’ll let his brother leave the business for good.  But when Sky mistakenly targets the wrong woman, he’s forced to protect them all from the very enemy he's unleashed.

Nancy S. Thompson

Email:  acadia1997@msn.com

Jeanie will choose three finalists. They will be announced on both Lisa’s and Melodies’s blogs on August 29, 2011.

The finalists will send her a synopsis of their book as well as their full manuscript. From those three finalists, Jeanie will choose one manuscript and that manuscript will get a full read and a possible contract with Sullivan Maxx.

Please spread the word. This is a great opportunity for writers looking for an agent. You’ve got till August 22nd. If you have any questions please post them in Lisa’s comments or email her directly at duchessmalfi@hotmail.com.

Oh and Lisa’s interview will be up on Melodie’s blog on August 12, 2011.

And one last thing:  If you need cheering up in light of the downgrading of the US government’s AAA credit rating and subsequent slide of the stock market, please venture over to Penwasser Place.  He’ll get you rolling on the floor with laughter.