Part two (see Part one here) of casting for Burned Bridges brings us to the villain – or is she? The estranged (or not!) sister of victim Reggie is a force, and an enigma, who keeps PI Nate on his toes.

Poised, confident, high-maintenance: I picture sister Laura as Eva Green in this picture – more-than-a-Bond-girl, but equally dangerous.

Much of the story is propelled by the victim’s mother. She recruits Nate to find who killed Reggie, and pushes Nate on when he runs into obstacles. I named this forceful woman after my grandmother, Helen Skiles, with whom she shares a stubbornness to be reckoned with.

Visually, my character brings to mind Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher. While she doesn’t look much like Nana, it’s the image I have of my version of Helen.

My final character casting for Burned Bridges is a shadowy figure I’ve named George “Georgie P” Panagakos. (Yes, those of you who know me can share a chuckle!) He’s a big fish in the small pond that is Toledo, Ohio, and both Jadz and Nate tread carefully in dealing with him.

For appearance (and voice) for Georgie P, I’ve left Hollywood behind and gone with a courtly gentleman I was honored to work with on several editing projects, Professor Suheil Bushrui. He always encouraged my personal writing projects as well – even had his grandson read Forty & Out aloud to him after eye surgery – and sadly left us far too soon. He was a man of dignity and integrity, traits that my Georgie P emulates in very different, somewhat questionable, ways.

Now that Forty & Out and Burned Bridges are out in the world so readers can put their own faces to my characters, I’m mired in revisions/rewrites for #3 in the Jadz series, Unwelcome Ties. Stay tuned!