Bloglander

Real-life actors set to portray imaginary characters from the mind of Spokane-based author Stephanie Oakes' in an upcoming screen adaptation of her award-winning novel The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly have been announced.

Oakes' debut young adult novel follows handless protagonist Minnow Bly as she recalls events leading up to the murder of a man who led the cult her family belonged to. The novel, published in 2015, is being adapted for the small screen by Facebook's fledgling streaming service, Facebook Watch. Raelle Tucker, former executive producer of True Blood, and that series' director Scott Winant, are leading the planned 10-episode series, which has the shorter working title Sacred Lies.

Playing Minnow is 20-year-old actress Elena Kampouris, whose acting credits include the shows Before I Fall and American Odyssey, as well as the feature film My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.

Angel, Minnow's cellmate at the juvenile detention facility she's held following the earlier events of the book's dual-timeline plot, is being played by Kiana Madeira, who recently starred in the dystopian Syfy series Dark Matter.

Kevin Carroll is set to play the forensic psychologist who questions Minnow about what's happened to her.

Ryan Robbins is playing Minnow's father, Samuel, who is ordered by the cult's leader to cut off his daughter's hands as punishment for her disobedience.

Sacred Lies will be free to stream by any Facebook user when it's released, although no date has been set yet. Filming will take place in the Northwest, according to Oakes.

"Getting to see the characters I created be interpreted by actors is going to be amazing and surreal and probably strange," Oakes told the Inlander after the series was announced.

"I think the idea of a young actress playing the role of Minnow could be a really cool role for someone, especially someone starting out. There's a lot there for a young actress, so that is exciting."

Oakes shared her excitement Friday afternoon over the official casting announcement on Facebook: