Anita Hughes's "French Coast"

Anita Hughes was born in Sydney, Australia and had a charmed childhood that included petting koala bears, riding the waves on Bondi Beach, and putting an occasional shrimp on the barbie. Her writing career began at the age of eight, when she won a national writing contest in The Australian newspaper, and was named "One of Australia's Next Best Writers." (She still has the newspaper clipping.)

Hughes received a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing from Bard College, and attended UC Berkeley's Masters in Creative Writing program.

Her debut novel Monarch Beach was released in June 2012, followed by Market Street in March 2013 and Lake Como in August 2013.

Here Hughes dreamcasts an adaptation of her latest novel, French Coast:

One of the biggest inspirations for French Coast was To Catch A Thief with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly - my favorite couple in cinema. French Coast and To Catch A Thief are both set at the fabulous Carlton-Intercontinental Hotel in Cannes. I watched the movie a half dozen times to soak up the spectacular architecture and interior design while writing the book!

So when I was asked to cast French Coast in my mind, I jumped at the chance. Here are my selections:

It's not hard to imagine Blake Lively as Serena. (Especially as she played Serena on Gossip Girl). Blake Lively is beautiful and confident and wears clothes wonderfully, I think she would be perfect for the part.

I imagine someone bright and bubbly as Zoe - perhaps Selena Gomez or Zooey Deschanel (well, I do love her name). I loved the character of Zoe, so it would be fun to have someone who's not afraid to play the part a little quirky.

Yvette is a little more difficult - in my mind she is sophisticated and mysterious - maybe Jessica Lange (with dark hair) or Christine Baranski. (I'm a huge fan of The Good Wife).

Matthew Goode would be great as Nick. He's tall and handsome and has gorgeous eyes - as long as he could do a French accent.

Josh Duhamel would make a perfect Chase. He has the great jaw - I might not like what Chase did, but he is very good looking in an All American way.

I am curious to know who readers imagine in the parts when they read French Coast.

Learn more about the book and author at Anita Hughes's website.

My Book, The Movie: Market Street.

My Book, The Movie: Lake Como.

--Marshal Zeringue