Friday, January 23, 2009

Jill Sorenson's "Crash Into Me"

Crash Into Me, Jill Sorenson's new romantic thriller--"featuring one too-tough female agent, one too-hot male suspect, and a head-on erotic collision"--hits bookstores on Tuesday, January 27th.

Here she shares some preferences for the main cast of a cinematic adaptation of the novel:
Crash Into Me is set in San Diego, a real place, but none of my characters are based on real people. I guess I start with a blank face, adding details as I go. It was a lot of fun to surf the net, searching for actors who resemble the pictures in my head.

With his brown hair and dark, bedroom eyes, Eric Bana is a good match for Ben Fortune, my surfer hero. Ben is a struggling single father and a successful pro athlete, a former ladies’ man and current murder suspect. Since his wife’s death, he’s been in virtual seclusion, shunning fans and avoiding the media. Bana seems like a reluctant heartthrob, and a strong, sensitive type, which makes him a perfect choice for Ben.

My heroine, Special Agent Sonora “Sonny” Vasquez, is more difficult to cast. Physically, she’s kind of fierce, like Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2. She’s also part Latina, with light eyes and dark skin. The only actress I can think of who even vaguely resembles her is Estelle Skornik, a sultry-looking Frenchwoman. If I had to pick an American actress, I’d go with Cameron Diaz. In a bikini! She’s the ultimate California babe, and Crash Into Me is all about suspense (and sex) on the beach.

High School Musical vixen Vanessa Hudgens could play the role of Carly, Ben’s troubled teenaged daughter. This spoiled rich girl with a disturbing secret falls for James, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. No squeaky clean Zac Efron will do here. I’d choose a younger, edgier James Franco from Freaks and Geeks.
Read an excerpt from Crash Into Me and learn more about the author and her work at Jill Sorenson's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue