It has been snowing in Colorado these past few days, which makes me very happy to report that I am currently floating off the coast of California. This might actually be a good time to share a question I was asked by an interviewer lately, which was that if the book were to be made into a film, who would play the main characters. I had already given this some thought, so here you go. (Some of these people might be sitting on shore right across from this very ship sipping martinis pool-side. But more likely, because they are Scots, they are turning their collars up against the cold and rain of beautiful Scotland.)
Maggie: Kelly MacDonald
We saw her as Diane in fellow Scot Irvine Walsh's Trainspotting. She played the Irish love interest for gangster Nucky Thompson in HBO's Boardwalk Empire (which my actress daughter was also in, I might add!) She comes from Glasgow, where Maggie of my book grew up. She's a versatile actress and would be able to modify her acting easily from the settings of modern day to ancient Scotland.
Fergus: Richard Madden
He looks the part, doesn't he? Looks are important for this part, more so than for Maggie. He needs to have a brooding quality, as well as incorporating some lighter cheekiness. He is known for playing Robb Stark in Game of Thrones and comes from Elderslie, home turf of Scottish hero William Wallace, and not that far from the location of my book, Dunadd. In fact, when I fly into Glasgow Airport, I drive past signs for Elderslie on my way home to Argyll.
This is David Robb from Edinburgh who plays the Scottish doctor in Downton Abbey. At this point he would be my choice for the character of Jim, the older man who lives in the cottage near Maggie's, the one who wouldn't mind at all if Maggie turned a kind eye in his direction. This is an actor who brings dignity to the roles he plays, and I think Jim is his own man in that way (if a little starved of female companionship!) He can't come across as nsipid, or he won't seem like any kind of competition for Fergus.
It's fun to think about actors for the characters I created, especially in the vicinity of Hollywood. In fact, before I write the screenplays for my stories, I usually think of an actor for the role, so that I can more easily envisage the action.
I enjoy movies a great deal, and I hope Veil Of Time will one day hit the big screen. The screenplay is ready and waiting! It took me a while to understand that screenplays weren't novels written on Final Draft, but a different literary form altogether. But I got there, and by now have quite a collection of them, including some adaptations of novels I like (something I did whilst waiting for one of my books to be published!)
For now I am enjoying being away from the heat of the book publishing process for a while. Away from star ratings and sales figures and reviews. Bottoms up! I get to stay afloat, sipping Zinfandel until I drift back into the ice and snow, until the palm trees turn back into fir trees and I am in Narnia once again.
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