Who would you cast to play Castilblanco?
[Note from Steve: be sure you see the offer at the end of this post!]
My character, NYPD Homicide Detective Rolando Castilblanco, is a complex guy. His partner, Dao-Ming Chen, is the yin to his yang (or, vice versa—I never can keep them straight). His wife, Pam Stuart, is a crime reporter for a local TV station. He’s hooked on ethnic foods and strong coffee but uses Tums to counter his acid reflux (so you can’t answer Telly Savalas to the question in the title, because Kojak was addicted to lollipops).
The big cop’s acerbic quips, sprinkled through the books in “The Dectectives Chen and Castilblanco Series,” seem to contradict his gentle nature. (OK, sometimes he has to be violent while on duty when his life’s at stake—he’s an ex-SEAL, so he knows a bit about combat, even though he’s a bit soft now.) He’s romped through four novels (soon to be five with The Collector), covering the mystery, suspense, and thriller genres, and he’s appeared in a number of short stories (see Pop Two Antacids and Have Some Java and Donna and Alex Carrick’s soon-to-be-published new anthology World Enough and Crime).
He’s complex because he’s conflicted. He’s grown spiritually in the novels, philosophically moving from his rigid Catholic upbringing to Zen Buddhism, but he still has a tough time accepting that there’s evil in the world and his failures at dealing with it. Pam worries about him because he maybe cares too much, but he’s her anchor because she sees that dark underbelly of human activity in her job too.
You haven’t met Rollie Castilblanco? Shame on you! Double shame if you’re Hispanic because Rollie’s culture in NYC and the U.S. is your culture. I consider myself part of that too. Even though my name screams Irish, I have connections to that culture after spending many years living in Colombia.
Some might think that Castilblanco is my alter-ego, but he’s my hero instead, because he does so many things well. I only write. Rollie’s many tasks are difficult, both physically and mentally; writing for me comes naturally. In fact, Mr. C (Stuart often calls him that) practically writes his case histories without my help! He often surprises me. (My characters do that a lot.)
So, if you haven’t read Castilblanco’s stories, do so. Join those people who have. Then comment on this blog post, answering the title question: what actor would you suggest for the role of Castilblanco? I’m terrible at this, but I think that’s a common failing, so I’m curious about what you think. People develop their own image of a character (one reason I provide only a minimal, broad-brush description—the reader can participate in the story by imagining the character in his mind). As a reader, I did this for James Bond when I was a kid. When I saw the movie Dr. No, I was a wee bit disappointed in Mr. Connery (not Ms. Andress, though). Sean Connery didn’t fit my image of the British spy. With time, of course, he did, so much so that subsequent film Bonds, especially Roger Moore (no relation), always seemed lacking. (The current one is better, though.)
For the first twenty (20) readers who comment, tell me which book in the series you haven’t read yet (that includes Pop Two Antacids… but not the Carricks’ anthology) and want to read, and I’ll comp you a free copy via Amazon’s gifting service; or, say that you’d rather wait for The Collector, and I’ll comp you that when it’s released this fall. In fact, even if you haven’t read any of these books and can make a suggestion using the info above, I’ll comp you an ebook from the series to get you hooked. And everyone who comments will be enrolled in the C&C Fan Club. I’ll use your email only to gift you the book you request (if you’re one of the first twenty) and to inform everyone about new C&C books—I never divulge emails because I know no one wants to be spammed. (No reviews are required for this promo but will certainly be appreciated.) Be sure to put “Steve’s Casting Castilblanco Offer” in the subject of your email.
BTW&OMG, you have to hurry—this is a thirty-day offer that closes September 20. It’s a race against time! And, be assured, if some Hollywood producer wants to make a movie out of a C&C book, I’ll mention some of your ideas about who should play Castilblanco. That should help the poor man or woman with casting costs! Gotta save money for poor Hollywood, you know.
An MJM diary entry for December, 2012: Almost got shanked today! Otherwise, Hazelton Penitentiary isn’t so bad. Ha!
In libris libertas….
