I picture May’s true love, Johnny, as a blond, blue-eyed young man who oozes joie de vivre. Add a dash of swaggering confidence and who should appear but Harry Connick, Jr., sporting a waxed and downturned mustache. And about that dastardly Pinkerton detective-he must be, by turns, suave and brash. She’s saucy and knows how to charm and allure. I believe Scarlett Johansson would be a great pick. So, seeing my cunning characters cavorting on the screen? Now that’s fun!įirst, we need someone with verve and poise to play May, our enchanting protagonist.

makes the most of every entertaining opportunity-and, hey, a girl’s gotta make a living, especially with a particularly persistent Pinkerton hot on her heels. How much fun did I have imagining Parlor Games as a movie? Perhaps an excerpt of the Booklist review will give a hint: “The deliciously fabulous foibles and follies of a woman born into hardscrabble circumstances but determined to make her way in the world with wit, beauty, and a brazen ability to exploit her feminine charms…. Here the author shares some ideas for the director and leads for an adaptation of Parlor Games: She specializes in writing historical fiction about real people. Excerpts of her novels have garnered Willamette Writers and Belle Lettres awards. Now she splits her time between writing and working as a higher education consultant. She improved her craft by completing three novels before writing Parlor Games. She attended writing conferences, started a critique group, and devoted half her time to writing. Maryka Biaggio, Ph.D, a professor of psychology for 30 years, undertook writing fiction as a serious pursuit around 2000.

Parlor Games by Maryka Biaggio