The Page 69 Test: "The Big Fix"

Thursday, May 21, 2015

"The Big Fix"

Linda Grimes is a former English teacher and ex-actress now channeling her love of words and drama into writing. She grew up in Texas and currently resides in northern Virginia with

her husband. Grimes is the author of In a Fix, Quick Fix, and the newly released The Big Fix.

She applied the Page 69 Test to The Big Fix and reported the following:

Excerpt from page 69:
Right now I needed something, that was for sure. Maybe the poo was it. It wasn't like it hadn't worked to get me out of a tight spot before, as about a hundred neo-Vikings could testify to. But I'd been told lightning doesn't strike the same spot twice, so I wasn't going to count on it.

I started poking at the pile gingerly, keeping a wary eye on Bluto.

"Hurry up, girly. I ain't got all day."

I shoveled faster, turning over big globs of straw and manure, not really paying attention because, of course, I already knew the gun wasn't there. As I was lifting a particularly fresh bunch of horse hockey I heard a plane overhead.

Billy.

Everyone looked up, including me. Bluto didn't like it. "Hurry the fuck up! You two, start digging—hey, where the hell do you think you're going?"

Cody stopped. "To get more shovels."

"Forget it. Use your hands. Dig!"

Dave sighed. They both reached for the pile as Billy circled around. I dropped the shovel and threw my arms up in an I-give-up gesture, hoping Billy could see me.

"Listen, mister. I don't think the gun is here." I waved an arm, broadly, over the pile. For all this guy knew, I was a heavy gesticulator. "Maybe we should check the other stalls first"—I swung my other arm toward the barn—"because maybe the ex-boyfriend threw the gun in the wrong one," I said, my voice growing louder with the approach of the plane.

Bluto glanced upward, looking edgier by the minute. "You're not done here—keep digging!"
Page 69 is actually pretty representative of the wacky, but still dangerous, kind of trouble my protagonist seems to attract. There's action, humor, and even a bit of snark in her references to the bad guy as "Bluto." (He reminds her of the villain from the old Popeye cartoons. Ciel is fond of assigning nicknames to people she doesn't know, and the nicknames aren't always flattering.) Also, Ciel's best-friend-turned-boyfriend buzzes into middle of things, as he is fond of doing.

So, yeah, not a bad slice of the pie for a reader skimming to find out if it's a flavor they might enjoy.