"The Girl From Nebraska"

I'm still busily working on my second novel, "The Girl From Nebraska" (a tale of steel drums, love triangles, and chalk outlines). Here are the principal characters:

Tony Vick —an aspiring novelist from Tempe, Arizona; the story is told from his first-person perspective. His favorite event: Festival of the Arts.

Atabarkab (pronounced a-TAHB-ar-KAHB)—steel-drum-and-dance ensemble, based in Pullman, Washington; for years, they were the main attraction to Tony at the Festival

Lola Blackhall —petite, slim-figured, dreadlocked member of Atabarkab, object of Tony's desire. She's a native of Omaha.

Rico Coelho —Tony's romantic adversary; the only thing getting in the way of the girl of his dreams

Gavin Connors —crooked defense lawyer who helps Tony hatch a murder plot

The following characters are employees of Behind The Wall, Tony's favorite hangout:

Matt Beneke
Olivia Venedetti
Nicholas Rivera
Rachel Ash
Gib Jameson
Dawn Murrie


Selected chapter titles:

1) That Thing
2) Sunday Will Never Be the Same
6) Dart Night
8) The Fall of the Tempean Empire
12) Lola Blackhall, I'm Givin' My All!
14) Equilateral Triangles
17) Scenes from a Poster Store
18) Two Out of Three Ain't Bad
20) The Not-So-Accidental Accident
23) The Old Lady, the Fly, and the Horse
24) Cornhusked
27) Brake Every Rule ( a personal favorite of mine; has PEDAL PUMPING scenes! )
28) Omaha Stakes
29) Jamaica Mistake?
31) Dial 187 for Rico

Cast choices

And for the film version, here's who I've chosen:

Tony: Rich Cronin --former lead singer of LFO, the group known for the songs "Summer Girls" and "Girl on TV"

Rico: Petey Pablo --rapper from North Carolina

Gavin: Flex Alexander --star of "One on One" and "Homeboys in Outer Space"

Crescenda Clement (fellow member of Atabarkab): India.Arie

For the character of Lola, I have four names in mind:

Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins
Debra Wilson --formerly of MADtv--same birthday as T-Boz!
Amerie --recently in film "First Daughter"
Ashanti