My favourite book and how I'd cast it for a movie

 I've decided to go a little off-piste for this topic from Long and Short Reviews, as I was struggling to think of a favourite book of mine that hasn't already been made into a film. My automatic response when I like a film is to check out the book. So I decided to do this with my favourite of my own books, because I would love to be able to cast it for a film.

Photograph has one particular trick in that the two heroines are fraternal twin sisters - as written, Tara and Azure are facially identical but have opposite colouring. As a result, I would prefer to cast one actress in a dual role and have her wear wigs and coloured contact lenses. My favourite actress for this role would be Katharine Isabelle, who I've loved in every film I've seen her in.

For Tara's love interest Ryan, I would cast Taron Egerton. Ryan is American, but I'm pretty sure Taron Egerton could manage an accent. I loved him in the Kingsman films and also Rocketman.

For one of the side characters, Tara's roommate Kiki, I always saw Kirsten Dunst. She's possibly a little old for the role now but I don't believe I ever stated Kiki's age, so I don't think that would matter.

The most difficult character to cast would be Liam, Azure's husband, who is a celebrity theme park owner and was originally inspired by Gene Wilder's performance as Willy Wonka. I eventually settled on Benedict Cumberbatch. He's very good at playing genius characters.

So which book would you like to cast for a movie?

My fantasy vacation

 I'm currently on leave from work and just back from a short holiday, so this topic from Long and Short Reviews was quite appropriate. However, in our case we're just back from the Scottish Highlands. It was a lovely few days, but certainly not fantasy level.

My fantasy holiday? A driving tour of America, taking in New York City. Niagara Falls, Route 66, the Grand Canyon and everything in between.

I've always been fascinated by the USA. As a teenager I fully intended to emigrate and become a citizen as soon as I finished university, and I memorised as much information as possible in service of that process (state capitals, presidents and so on). However, life happened and I never went, and since I couldn't do without the NHS I'm never going to move there now. But I still love the place, and would love to do a driving tour - or maybe a fly-drive, as there are a lot of wide open spaces in the middle of the USA.

If I did drive the whole way, it would be in a pink Cadillac Eldorado. Just because.

So what would be your fantasy vacation?

My favourite indulgence

 I really had to think about this topic from Long and Short Reviews, because the timing isn't ideal - I have just started a WW diet, and while it's going well (lost a stone already) I've had to cut back on basically every indulgence known to man. I haven't even eaten cheese for three weeks, and coming from me, that's something.

There are, of course, low-calorie versions of a lot of things, but it's often a balance between saving the points and enjoying the food. Low-calorie bread tastes like cardboard to me, so I would rather just use the points and have real bread. As for low-calorie wine, forget it.

However, I have discovered one indulgence I can still have - low-fat chocolate ice-cream.

There are a few companies like Halo Top and Oppo that do great ice-cream, so I've been keeping a tub of chocolate fudge brownie in my freezer for those days when nothing else will do. It's not quite up to the level of Phish Food, but it tastes amazing.

So what's your favourite indulgence!

Fictional character I'd love to meet and why

 After a break last week due to being away, I've picked up this topic from Long and Short Reviews and, just for a change, I had an idea straight away.

I've been very into reading Kazuo Ishiguro lately. His novels have a contemplative air which somehow draws the reader even when you realise that very little action has taken place. I read "Never Let Me Go" some years ago and "Klara and the Sun" just recently, so after that I took up "The Remains of the Day".

For which reason I've decided that I would like to meet Mr Stevens, the famed butler.

Why? The central point of the novel is that Stevens has dedicated his entire life to serving as a butler, never allowing any time for a personal life, and as he grows old he goes on a journey and starts wanting to enjoy what is left of his days. So I would like to follow Stevens on his journey and introduce him to a few places and life experiences he hasn't known. Frankly, given how limited his life has been, even taking him on a tour of the UK would be an adventure for him.

So which fictional character would you like to meet?

Creative outlets I enjoy

 I was rather ashamed when I saw this topic from Long and Short Reviews come up, because I am surprisingly limited in my creative outlets.

I am not, for instance, a person who goes in for arts and crafts. I can't draw, I don't knit or crochet, and while I know people who cross-stitch and embroider, I've never done it myself. So at the moment my only creative outlet is my writing.

I'm currently working on a piece with the working title of Hyperventilating. It has been re-planned about five times now but it's finally getting somewhere - and it has the advantage of allowing me to use a past creative outlet, which is songwriting. My hero is a rock star, and in my past I made several attempts at writing song lyrics, none of which were worthy of anything but which can be quoted safely whenever I write about my hero in performance. 

Makes a nice change from having to remove all song lyrics for trademark purposes!

So what are your creative outlets?

If I won a large lottery jackpot, I would...

 This topic from Long and Short Reviews was an interesting one, in that it reminded me how much life has changed since covid happened. My first thought was that I'd travel... if covid let me. As things currently stand, nowhere on my bucket list is available at the moment without having to self-isolate afterwards, which isn't ideal for a pair of key workers.

In any event, if I had a large amount of money, I would travel. I've always wanted to take a fly-drive across America - there are hundreds of places in the US I would love to see, such as the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls. I would also like to visit Thailand for the stunning beaches and the food (which is probably nothing like Thai food over here) and tour around Europe. I'd love to go somewhere like Iceland where we might stand a chance of seeing the Northern Lights.

The other thing I would get is a car. I absolutely love classic American cars and would really love a customised pink Cadillac Eldorado, one with a right-hand drive and better fuel consumption than they're known for. Actually, with enough cash, I'd probably end up with a T-bird as well.

So what would you do with a lottery win?

Books I chose based on the title

 I deliberately missed out the part about covers in this topic from Long and Short Reviews, as I couldn't think of a single book I chose based on its cover. I have, however, chosen a number of books based on their title.

Here Be Sexist Vampires - Suzanne Wright. I had no idea what this would be about (other than sexist vampires) but I couldn't resist a title like that. As it happened, it's a remarkably well written erotic romance with some interesting world building.

In Appreciation Of Their Cox - Janine Ashbless. This is a short erotica about an eight-man rowing team with a female cox, and definitely does what it says on the tin.

Stacy's Dad Has Got It Going On - Giselle Renarde. The title made me collapse laughing - the song is a guilty pleasure for me, and this was certainly a take on romance that I had never seen before. It didn't go the way I expected, but was always entertaining.

So which books did you choose based on the cover or title?