Meet  the dreamcast of the novel The Mind’s Eye by K.C. Finn. Read more about The Mind’s Eye and enter the giveaway here.

Catherine ‘Kit’ Cavendish, age 15

Kit is the central character of The Mind’s Eye, a girl with secret psychic abilities who can step into other people’s heads, look through their eyes and feel their emotions. She suffers from what was known in 1939 as Still’s Disease, which is actually a form of juvenile arthritis. This means that she has suffered a period of physical deterioration, so when we see her at the start of the book she is bound to a wheelchair and wishing that her life could be very different to the situation she’s trapped in. The Mind’s Eye is just as much about Kit’s war with her body as it is about the actual war surrounding the story. Kit’s condition is based on my own debilitating long term physical illness (M.E.) which presents a lot of very similar symptoms and difficulties in my everyday life. My dream cast pick for Kit is Georgie Henley, famous for playing Lucy in the Chronicles of Narnia movies. I chose her because she has a subtle but classic beauty that could easily sit in the period of the 1940s and she is a youthful teenager rather than a mature-looking one.

Henri Haugen, age 17

When Kit first connects her mind to Henri’s she finds him in Oslo, Norway on the day that the Nazis first arrive to take control of the city. Henri is a kind and brave soul but he can be impetuous and make snap decisions without thinking; not a clever move to make when you’re surrounded by the occupying forces. Kit takes it upon herself to counsel Henri through his troubles and eventually help him to escape the terror in Oslo so that he can do his part for the war effort. During this time the two youngsters develop a strong bond of friendship and romance. I was inspired to create Henri’s character after visiting the Resistance Museum in Oslo, Norway whilst on a holiday cruise. I was amazed by the stories of very young men who took it upon themselves to traverse the frozen mountains of Norway in order to cross the sea and join the British Army via Scotland. My choice for Henri is a bit of an obscure one since he’s not actually an actor, but here I present Aljaz Skorjanec, star of ballroom dancing show Strictly Come Dancing! He has a typically European look (although he is Slavic rather than Nordic) but his cute little dimples and flyaway hair made him a perfect candidate for Henri.

There’s actually a YouTube video from Strictly Come Dancing where you can see Aljaz dancing with model Abbey Clancy to the song Dear Darlin’ by Olly Murs. To me this performance really captures the spirit of Kit and Henri’s relationship and the song was very influential in channelling the kind of love they share: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riXwYKM-ggY

Blodwyn Price, age 20, and Steven Bickerstaff, age 29

Blod is not a character I expect you to like the first time you meet her, but I hope that as you read on in The Mind’s Eye you will come to understand her attitude and the life events that have shaped her into the moody, guarded young beauty that she is. Doctor Bickerstaff forms a kind of enemy for Kit at the start of the tale, his harsh words and unsmiling attitude aren’t what she needs when she’s struggling enough already… or are they? Blod and Bickerstaff are my secondary main characters and I genuinely love the way their story unfolds as Kit learns to understand why they behave the way they do and discovers secrets about them she never thought possible. My dream cast picks for them are Dominique Swain for Blod (star of the Jermey Irons version of Lolita) and Dan Stevens for Bickerstaff (whom you will all recognise as Matthew in Downton Abbey). I chose Dominique for Blod because I think she is a natural beauty and a typical teenage temptress. I picked Dan for Bickerstaff because I really needed someone who could still look sexy when he was miserable!

Read and excerpt here.

*All photos via Juniper Grove Book Solutions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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