"Miracles, Inc."

T. J. Forrester has been a fisherman, a subsistence farmer, a bouncer, a window washer, and a miner. He is one of the few hikers in the world to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail. He has written fiction since 2001, and his stories have appeared in numerous literary journals. Forrester also edits Five Star Literary Stories, an online site that brings the best fiction published on the web to a new audience for both reading and review.

He applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, Miracles, Inc., and reported the following:

Page 69 contains a description of Miriam MacKenzie, an aggressive businesswoman who left her parent's dairy farm and never looked back. She plays an integral role in Vernon's life, picking him to head her radical faith-healing scheme, but I cannot say more without giving too much away. Apropo of this blog title, a sexual discussion ensues near the bottom of the page.

Miriam had earned a business degree, worked as an accountant for a Chicago firm, saved her money, and invested in the first interesting proposition to come along. The carnival was owned and run by an old man who died within days of her investment. She took over. Fired everyone who didn't want to work for a woman.

"I heard you had sex shows in the early days," I said. "Johnny Bentley said something about midgets—"

"Stephan and Pauline! Thinking about them does bring back the memories. They were a married couple who put on a show for two hours a night, every night of the week. Hated every minute of it, as I recall."

I laughed.

"Seriously," she said. "They were like McDonald's employees eating free lunches. Eat hamburger every day, you wind up hating hamburger."

Read Chapter 1 of Miracles, Inc., and learn more about the book and author at Visit T.J. Forrester's website and blog.

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

--Marshal Zeringue