Andrea MacPherson's "Beyond the Blue," the movie

Now showing at My Book, The Movie: Andrea MacPherson's Beyond the Blue.

MacPherson's entry opens:

I’ve always thought about novels in a cinematic way: pan to the long, lingering sun-bleached fields. Tight focus on the way the loom whirs and spins, how the hand is acutely aware of the possibility of danger. But, in most cases, I don’t think about the characters as actors. Why? Because I imagine them as the characters they are — who they appear to be on the page.

So, I've thought a lot about who might play my characters in Beyond the Blue. First, it takes place in Dundee, Scotland in 1918. I need actors who might be chameleons, able to slip into eras and countries with ease. Then, who resembles them the most, in appearance, yes, but also in spirit? I have a relatively large cast, so my mind was whirring. [read on]

Andrea MacPherson is the author of four books: two novels, When She Was Electric (Raincoast, 2003) and Beyond the Blue (Random House, 2007) and two poetry collections, Natural Disasters (Palimpsest Press, 2007) and Away (Signature Editions, 2008).

Read an excerpt from Beyond the Blue and learn more about MacPherson's work at her official website.

The Page 69 Test: Beyond the Blue.

My Book, The Movie: Beyond the Blue.

--Marshal Zeringue