Characters in books can be mirrors to ourselves. Photo by Jovis Aloor on Unsplash
THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST comes out in 8 days! And in the #18DaystoMGDebut countdown, the prompt is to imagine who would be cast in the movie version of the book. This one is hard for me. While I love reading character descriptions in books, I get my own idea of what they look like and it doesn’t always match up. As a writer, I want my readers to be able to see my characters in their own ways. I want my characters to be mirrors.
There has been a lot of talk about having “mirrors” or representation of different cultures and races in books, and I think that is so important. Kids need to see themselves and their lives in the stories they cherish. They also need to see the kids around them, in their neighborhoods, represented in the worlds of the books they read.
But for THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST, the story examines something that a lot of people, no matter their race or culture, face: insecurity, fear, anxiety.
It’s human for us to want to be our best.
It’s human to be afraid of not being accepted.
It’s human to be anxious that we won’t be enough.
To me, the Boy in THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST is like the little 10-year-old in lots of people around the world who are trying to believe in themselves.
So, who would I cast in the movie version of this book? Look in a mirror…
Have you pre-ordered THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST yet? All pre-orders are eligible for a Thank You Gift, and can be entered to win a special book-themed gift pack.
Personalized copies of THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST are available for pre-order through my fantastic local independent bookstore, BookPeople.
The novel is also available for pre-order on IndieBound, Powell’s, Book Depository, Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Walmart, as well as numerous other independent bookstores.
One Response
I love this answer! I don’t always want to see books become movies. The beautiful thing about books is that each reader visualizes the characters, the story through their own lenses, their own schema. My brain becomes too focused on noticing the parts that were left out or changed. And once that movie is made, it’s so much more difficult for readers to see the characters as mirrors.