"The Storyspinner"

In second grade, Becky Wallace had to sit in the corner because she refused to write anything except princess stories and fairy tales (and because she talked too much). Her time in isolation gave her plenty of opportunities to dream up the fantasy worlds she’s been dabbling with ever since.

Wallace applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, The Storyspinner, and reported the following:

From page 69:

“Have you done this before?” he asked quietly, eyes focused on the body. “Have you killed?”

“No.” Pira found a bag of coins on the first body and slipped it into her pocket.

Her words surprised him. She was so calm, so focused, so decisive.

“You’re very good at it.” Leao meant it as a compliment, but Pira shot him a glare hotter than the fire that still flickered between the bodies.

She moved onto the second corpse and resumed her searching. “Next time, you’d better be good at it too.”

If someone only read pages 69 of The Storyspinner, and they were an action fan, then those paragraphs might very well encourage them to continue reading. There’s only a hint of the relationship dynamics between these two characters, but it’s something that grows and shifts throughout the story.

Visit Becky Wallace's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Storyspinner.

Writers Read: Becky Wallace.

--Marshal Zeringue