It’s time to meet the characters! As well as explaining who they are, I’m giving pictures of actors who could play them.

A caveat: this is a little different from my other book fancastings for The Next Together and The Last Beginning, because I tried really hard not describe Romy’s appearance in any real detail in the book. I thought that looks would be almost entirely irrelevant to a girl living alone, away from society – and I wanted to allow the reader to feel as much like they were Romy themselves without excluding anyone by describing her in a specific way.

Please imagine the characters in any way you wish while reading the book – in this case, it really is up to you.

Commander Romy Silvers – Alia Shawkat

Romy has a lot of pressure placed on her to complete her mission, and even though she sometimes struggles with the responsibility, ultimately, she always does what is right. She has to be played by someone who can express a lot of subtle nuance in their expressions, and look very vulnerable.

Commander J Shoreditch – Chris Pine

Romy and J communicate via email, so she doesn’t know what he looks like, and neither does the reader – but this is how I visualise J the first time Romy sees him.

Dr Molly Simmons – Hattie Morahan

Molly is Romy’s therapist, and sends her voice messages guiding her through calming exercises from Earth. I loved Hattie in Sense & Sensibility and I think she would portray a very reassuring Molly.

Dr Talia Silvers – Lesley Sharp

Romy’s mum is a complicated, intelligent character, and I think Lesley could really pull her off. I love the episode of Doctor Who she was in, Midnight.

Romy’s Dad – Ricky Whittle

I recently watched (and adored) American Gods, and as soon as I saw Shadow I was like “that’s him! that’s Romy’s dad!”. He’s a soft, gentle giant, who makes Romy feel safe and protected. He has a sweet tooth and loves arts and crafts.

Jayden Ness – Alfie Enoch

Jayden Ness is a selkie in Romy’s favourite TV show, and he’s such a big part of the book that I had to cast him! He’s also how Romy pictures J for a lot of the time while they’re talking.

Lyra Loch – Georgia King

Jayden’s love interest is a feisty feminist banshee called Lyra.

Note: Lyra and Jayden also appear as characters in my murder mystery novel An Unauthorised Fan Treatise, where I imagine them as Antonia Thomas and Ezra Miller.

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The Loneliest Girl In The Universe