"Good People"

Marcus Sakey is the author of The Blade Itself and At the City's Edge.

He applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, Good People, and reported the following:

This is my third time running this test with Marshal, and the only conclusion I can draw is this: either the Page 69 test is flawed, or my books are. Probably the latter.

Or rather, maybe it's all in how you look at it. If the question is whether Page 69 is representative of the book as a whole, the answer is not particularly. It does feature major characters, and some emotional connections that are important, but I wouldn't say that the extreme closeup gives a good view of the larger piece.

But if the question is whether it would intrigue a reader and make them want to read on, I hope so. Because Page 69 of my new book, Good People, is the beginning of a sex scene:

He floated on the edge of dream, the world blurry, as something rubbed against him. Drifting, body here, consciousness there, sensations rolling through him. Skin against his own in a slow wriggle, neck to ankles. He could smell Anna, the faint homey hint of musk. The night air was pleasant, and he'd kicked the blanket off hours before. The sheet was soft as bathwater.

Tom mumbled sleep moans, thought about opening his eyes, didn't. He felt her back against his chest, a gentle dancing touch, warm and complete where she moved, cool and wanting where she pulled away. The press and arc of her bottom. A heat growing inside him, familiar and forgotten. He didn't know what time it was, hadn't opened his eyes to check, but it seemed late, somewhere in the lonely hours of the night when the world disappeared. She moved again, arched against him, and this time his moan wasn't from sleep. He felt himself taut in his briefs, rigid against the curve of her. Tom opened his eyes.

Anna's head was turned to the ceiling, her features faint against the dark, eyes just a glimmer of reflected light. He saw her smile; then she pressed backward again, the cleft of her ass grinding against him.

Hopefully, yeah, a reader would turn a page. After all, the good stuff happens on Page 70. And Page 71.

Sorry about that.

Read an excerpt from Good People, and learn more about the author and his work at Marcus Sakey's website.

Check out the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue